Summer Vacation - Day 6

Day Six - McClellanville, SC

Today was a day of rest. Maya awoke this morning vomiting, so we avoided her to let her try to get some sleep. The girls spent the day playing outdoors on the swing, swatting at the mosquitoes that arrived with the hot, humid weather. Joyce and James are having their back porch enclosed. The brothers doing the work grew up on this property, living first in the guest house and then in the big house. I spent the day watching them put up the roof to the porch, wondering how they must feel to be working on the home they once lived in. The others believed that I watched the brothers because they were shirtless and sweaty, muscles bulging as they lift plywood up over their jean-clad torsos. I let them think what they wanted.....

We spent the better part of the morning rocking on the porch, talking and swatting mosquitoes and deer flies. Joyce's legs are covered in bites that are covered with dried pink Calamine lotion. She and Jay were attacked by fire ants on the Fourth of July, and now Joyce is a tad hysterical when it comes to anything fly-like landing on a human. We are learning to dodge out of her way when she jumps up with the flyswatter shouting.

Later in the day, we all took part in a cook-a-long. Tom and Darcy got the groceries. Jay and James cooked the brats, burgers, and hot dogs (Jay doing most of the cooking while James talked). Joyce made potato salad, baked beans topped with crispy bacon, upside-down pineapple cakes, one with dark rum poured over the top, and her famous sweet tea with mint from her garden, picked by Anya. Connie sliced the pineapples for the cake, tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers. Cara kept everyone working with mojitos, and Madison was in charge of the varieties of chips. Jay and James took turns playing the guitar, and we sang a few songs while we worked. We ate until we couldn't squeeze in anymore, and then Maya and Jay and family said goodbye and headed back to Charleston for the night as their flight the next day leaves before sunrise.

Later that evening, James hitched up his boat to the truck, piled the girls and Tom into the bed of the truck, and we all went boating in the Atlantic. We cast off, James and Connie at the helm, to watch the sunset. It was very peaceful on the water, and we had a gentle breeze to keep us cool. We were treated to several sightings of gams of dolphins, jumping trout, seagulls, skimmers, and shrimp boats. The beginning of the sunset was beautiful, but then the sun got behind a cloud that refused to budge. We didn't even mind as we shut off the engine to sit in silence, watching three dolphins frolic in the ocean. A sweet ending to another day in paradise.