Vacation Report: Day 6

We slept in the latest today of any day this week. Once we got up and saw that it was really overcast, we decided to go and visit some of the places along the coast we have not been to before. First stop... Parris Island. Although I never served in the military, I have always had the utmost respect and admiration for our armed forces and those who have and are presently serving. I have heard of Parris Island all my life and all the stories and legend that go along with the Marine Corps. So we went.

I was not even sure if we could get on base, but I was going to try. Upon arrival to the front gate, we were instructed to get in line behind another vehicle that was getting a pass. You would have thought that whoever was in that vehicle was getting clearance for the White House. It took about 6 or 7 minutes and the marine conducting the questioning was looking at license, tag numbers, etc. I thought there would be no way this was going to happen for us. Finally, he came back to our van and asked what our business was. I told him we were simply a family on vacation interested in seeing the base. He then asked if there were any specific places or destinations. That is when I said we would be interested in seeing the museum. That was the magic word. He said that was what he was waiting to hear and shooed us in without so much as asking my name.

We drove all over the place, visited the MX, which I think used to be called the PX, bought some T-shirts, checked out the museum and had a great time. They were preparing for graduation ceremonies which are slated for tomorrow. They were marching on the parade grounds getting ready. Training was going on in various corners of the island and I thought Paige was about ready to enlist when she saw how many of the women were holding their own. The entire thing was simply fascinating. While there, I texted a young man from my youth group who is enlisting and sent him some pictures. I thought he may try to crawl through the phone.

Afterward, we drove to Beaufort, another city I had never visited. It had a really neat downtown area with lots of historic buildings and monuments. There were some quaint shops and a great waterfront park. We asked a couple of people where they would eat and both answered the same thing- 11th St Dockside Restaurant in Port Royal. That is precisely where we went. It was the quintessential seafood restaurant setting, located right on the docks where the shrimp boats are docked. The food was great although a little pricey-- but for the atmosphere it is a good enough trade off.

Looks like tomorrow, our last day, will begin on the beach.

More later...