Ghivans Ferry -

Our first trip of 2016 started out a little rocky.  We took the whole crew- Ashlee, kids and baby Rowan for a four night stay at Ghivans Ferry State Park in the quaint town of Ridgeville which is just outside of Summerville, which is just outside of Charleston, SC.  

After Easter exploded in our bedroom we began preparations to travel an hour and a half south.  We moved through packing surprisingly quickly until Ashlee's keys got locked in her car.  Don't ask how; these things just happen sometimes, but the feeling was all to familiar as we were just beginning the trip.  Sixty five bucks and 30 minutes later, we were back on track and headed to our camp site.  

Some of us, coming down from a major sugar high, napped along the way.  Let it be noted the aforementioned party was also donning a bathing suit, a flannel pajama shirt, and new Easter crocs.  Ahh to be a kid again!  

Somewhere along the way it began to rain.  It rained and rained.  Hungry and trying to wait out the rain, we stopped at a Chinese place in Ridgeville.  This is one of three restaurants in the town and the only one open on Easter Sunday. 

  The adults enjoyed the food.  The kids were not impressed.  The teriyaki chicken was red and Kyndale was convinced it wasn't chicken.  Meanwhile it was still raining steadily.  With nothing left to do and the day getting shorter we resigned ourselves to making camp in the rain.  

At first it wasn't too bad- we had an "a little rain never hurt anyone" attitude.  Then it began to get cold.  Also, our camp site was a "hike-in" site.  No driving up to unload the car.  Everything had to be carried in to our site down a long sandy path.  By the third or forth trip in the now somewhat pouring rain, we were a little more realistic about our situation.  

Nevertheless, we set up camp and had a little dinner.  We slept a little wet and very chilled, but survived the night.

In the morning the big dry out was underway.  Tents were moved to dry out the puddles underneath.  Sleeping bags, clothes and towels were hung on lines to dry.  It was a general camp re-setup day. 

The big kids tried to get another site completely, and were willing to pay for it with their own money, but there wasn't one available for the extent of our stay.  What are they trying to tell us?

It was hard work, but once it was done, everyone was able to relax and enjoy hanging around the camp.  

Later that night we had smores and sat around our first campfire.  Sheppard and Landon enjoyed setting it up and everyone enjoyed smores!  

Sheppard was mesmerized by the fire.  He became reflective and we talked about growing up and having children.  Sheppard plans to have four boys and name them all Sheppard.  

Maybe one too many marshmallows for Melissa Rose.  She woke up in the middle of the night with a tummy ache and threw up in the tent on Maya.  No one enjoyed this including the many neighbors we woke up...

The next morning everyone was back to normal and we had bacon and eggs for breakfast.  We spent another day hanging around the campsite.  We had a picnic lunch in a meadow and then headed down to the Edisto river for some sunbathing.  The kids braved the water but the adults stayed dry on the shore.  

On Wednesday we drove into Charleston to see the sights.  We walked the kids through the market and grabbed some lunch at the Oyster House.  Sheppard picked out a car and Melissa Rose picked out a sweet kitty cat.  The big girls bought matching leather bracelets and Kirkland bought a limestone carved skull.

When we got back to our site, we played a quick round or two of corn hole (corn hole set courtesy of Becki).  Ashlee and I played Maya and Kyndale and the grown-ups won!  The girls are begging for a rematch!

One last campfire and one more night in our tents and it was time to head home.  We had an absolutely amazing time but rain was in the forecast ahead and we weren't looking forward to spending another wet, cold night.  Time to start planning for summer trips!