Hello, Friday! This morning threw us a
curve ball as we began to drive to the food bank. Traffic was unbelievably
backed up before we were even close to the highway. We sat in traffic for forty
minutes before we passed a car stalled on the side of the road, closing one
lane. Arriving 27 minutes late to the food bank, we got started on our task. It
was the same as yesterday—sorting through boxes of items and organizing them
based on dry goods, drinks, cans, etc. Despite our tardiness, we completed all
of the boxes, with 10 minutes to spare! Winning!
We ate lunch and then began our free day
Friday! Huzzah! We hit up downtown where the boys and I went back to the
Market. They enjoyed the “fun with flags” merchant, while I perused the other
stands. I stumbled across a really cool jewelry stand.
It worked like this: select an
oyster—all of which had been growing pearls for 5 years—and make a wish. Select
a charm that will hold the pearl from the oyster. Select a chain to string the
charm on to and wear as a necklace. I looked at the oysters and felt my hand
drawn to one in particular of medium size and smooth. I held the oyster in my
hands and made my wish. The sales lady and I then stood over a bucket with a
knife and cracked the oyster open. Her fingers dug through the slimy insides
and pulled out a pinky, lavender, shining pearl. “I’ve never seen one this
beautiful!” she gasped. I picked out a charm in the shape of a rose and placed
the pearl inside the charm. Stringing it onto a silver chain, my necklace was
complete. I could not stop smiling. It was the perfect souvenir.
After this, we took a ferry to Fort
Sumter—the site where the Civil War began. The first shots were fired here
which thrust the nation into a long, brutal war. It was so cool seeing the fort
and all of the cannons. We spent about an hour at the fort and then took the
ferry back to mainland.
From there, we went to dinner. After
asking the locals, we settled on Bowen’s Island—a family owned and run business
off the road a ways down and set up right by the sea. The seafood was so fresh.
Literally, outside the restaurant, a small motor boat sat on the beach shore
with an enormous pile of oysters pulled straight from the sea just now. A man
with a giant hose sprayed them down where they would then be taken in, cooked, and
served to us with knives to crack open and slurp down. It was a great
experience! I ordered fried fish and shrimp and tried two oysters. De-licious!
As we licked our lips and wiped our
mouths, the boys turned to Alana and asked, “Mom, can we get ice cream?!”
Alana said yes, as long as we paid for
it since it wasn’t in the trip budget. So, she turned to ask a local family
about ice cream places in Charleston. They recommended a small crepe stand down
and off the road where you could get ice cream in your crepe. Gung-ho, we
hopped in our vehicles and followed the verbal directions they gave us.
As the rain came down, we found a small
pink stand off the road called Tokyo Crepes. A woman worked the cash register
behind the window and a man made the crepes behind her. I ordered a customized
crepe with vanilla ice cream, Oreo cookies, and chocolate drizzle syrup in it.
They wrapped it up in the crepe like an ice cream cone and when they handed it
to me, my eyes widened. It was huge! Running back to the Suburban through the
rain, I hopped in and slowly but surely, devoured my ice cream crepe. It. Was.
So. Good. Every bite was so yummy and sweet that I felt like my mouth had died
and gone to heaven!
After crepes, we drove home and talked
about the trip during reflection at home. After reflection, we played Truth or
Dare, but mostly Truth since the Dares were silly. During this time, Zach
commented to us, “I don’t feel so good.” Well, after 20 oysters, I suppose I
wouldn’t feel so good either.
He went upstairs to lay down. We
continued playing until 12:30, and that’s when I decided to go to bed. As I
pulled my covered up and closed my eyes, I suddenly heard THUMP THUMP THUMP. HURRRRLLLL. HURRRRLLL. HURRRRRLLLL. Poor Zach projectile
vomited all into the hall way up stairs before he could make it to the
bathroom. On the walls, on the floor, puddle deep. The stench wafted through
the house. While I was too tired to deal with it, the others jumped into
action. I slept, the rest of the girls helped clean it up, and the boys helped
clean the rest of the house. Apparently they were all awake until very late
into the night, so when we all woke up at 5:30 the next day, their sleep was
more of a “nap.”
I felt bad that I didn’t stay awake to
see what I could do to help. When it happened, only two girls were quick about
helping to clean it up. Everyone else remained downstairs, so I figured they
wouldn’t be helping. So I ended up getting the most sleep of everyone, which I
also felt guilty about. However, that allowed me to be energized and in a good
mood for Saturday, departure day.
Eleven different alarms sounded at the
same time, 5:30 AM. We woke up and began throwing our bags together and doing
last minute packing, i.e. deflating the air mattress. We were on the road by
6:30. I napped in and out until Asheville, North Carolina. From there, I took
the passenger seat next to the driver to serve as the Navigator. Since my
grandma Mimi lives in Knoxville, Tennessee and my mom was visiting her, I
decided to get dropped off there. So, fortunately for me, I only had a 6 hour
car ride, whereas everyone else had to go the whole 16 hours to Columbia.
My mom picked me up in Knoxville, I
waved goodbye to my comrades, and we drove to my grandma’s house. There, I told
them all about my adventures, showed them my souvenirs, showed them pictures,
and we went out to eat at a Mexican restaurant that greatly impressed me. We
closed the night with romantic-comedy movie and a couple episodes of Modern
Family.
Sunday morning, we sat in the living
room drinking our coffee. My plane would depart at 2, and I would arrive in St.
Louis by 6 PM. So, here I am, sitting in the airport waiting for my connecting
flight. As I sit here sipping on my Berry Blast smoothie from Jamba Juice, I
reflect on my spring break. Who d’a thunk that so many great, amazing things
could be accomplished in one week? So many great relationships between peers
and students could be made in a one week? I still cannot fully wrap my head
around it.
This spring break has by far been the
best spring break that I’ve had. Yes, I’ve done the beach scene, and yes, I’ve
done the stay-at-home-and-chill scene for spring break. And I can say with
confidence that there is nothing more exhilarating and rewarding than giving
your time to serve others, develop close, strong bonds, and truly live. Thanks
to all who made this possible. Here's to a truly, deeply amazing journey!
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