Huntington Beach Weekend

Charlie took a few days off this past week so we could go camping at Huntington Beach.  We left on Sunday looking forward to at least one good beach day.  Huntington has a beautiful flat wide beach.  It's May in South Carolina.  Gorgeous warm days are easy to come by.  But what we got was rain and wind and cold.  Even when the rain stopped it was too cool and windy to enjoy the beach.  We did go to check it out a few times.  The day we left which was Wednesday was the most promising weather wise.  We loaded Shoney in her new wagon and took her for a walk on the beach.  She can't manage long walks any more.  She only tried to escape a few times.

Since we couldn't go to the beach, we spent two afternoons at Brookgreen Gardens.  The landscape was beautiful with a huge variety of trees, shrubs and flowers.  We could have spent a few more days enjoying all the sculptures in the grounds and galleries.  It was well worth the visit.

Reunion Pictures

I thought I'd add to the reunion post with a few more pictures.  We're enjoying Frank's Italian feast.

  We took Mac to the playground and the Aquarium.

The Corcoran Reunion

The four Corcoran siblings, spouses, children and a grandchild gathered at Wild Dunes on the Isle of Palms for a family reunion.  We were there from April 15 until Sunday, April 19.  My brother Tim and his wife Laura drove up from Florida.  My sister Ann and her husband Frank flew in from California.  My brother Jim, his wife Liz and son Terry also flew from Connecticut.  My daughter Maggie, her husband Jay and baby Mac drove from Georgia.  This was the first time we have gotten together just to catch up.  Mac got to meet his great-uncles and aunts and his cousin Terry for the first time.

We had lots of time to visit.  There were old, some very old, family photos to look at.  We grilled out.  Frank created an Italian feast one night.  We all went to the Boathouse for dinner.  Eating was a weekend favorite.

A large group of golfers headed out to Charleston National to play.  Jay's brother Kemper was nice enough to come out to take pictures of the family at the beach one morning.  We all enjoyed many walks, jogs, runs, and bike rides on the beach or around Wild Dunes.

Weekend in Columbus

This entry will take us back in time to the last weekend in March.  I know it's late but we're still working on getting into this blog thing.  Charlie and I set off on Friday to spend the weekend with Mac.  His parents, Maggie and Jay, were ready for some time on their own.  Mac was lots of fun.  We hadn't seen him as a walker before except through Skype.  He knows a lot of words too.  He showed us all his new toys and how to use them.  He and Charlie disagreed about proper use of the workbench.

We were hoping to get out in the yard on Saturday but we had a deluge instead.  We did get out to Red Robin for supper. That was the first time we'd taken Mac out to eat.  I was afraid it was going to be a disaster because he cried when his food came.  He was quickly distracted back to his happy self.  Nana learned not to mess with the quesadillas.

The NCAA regional championships were also that weekend.  Mac wore his Connecticut Huskies outfit to support Nana's team.  UConn went on to the Final Four.

Mac Has a Climbing Gear

While Mac was visiting us he spent a lot of time climbing the stairs. The dogs spent their time getting out of the way while we monitored. He gave us lots of instructions. If only we knew what he said.

Wildlife in the Yard

Saturday was a very cold day. I started to gather the leaves after lunch and noticed a loud knocking sound up in the tree. There was a large woodpecker with a red head working on the live oak on a trunk that looks pretty rotten. I thought it looked pretty neat so I took his picture and looked him up. It is a Pileated Woodpecker, which are typically 17 inches long. According to Wikipedia, this bird type is the model for the cartoon character Woody Woodpecker. Click the picture for a larger view.

Holiday Report

It's taken a while to recover after a very busy holiday. We started with a visit to Kershaw for a drop-in with the Truesdales on the Sunday before Christmas. Charlie's Dad and step-mother Bonnie found room for children, grandchildren and a few great-grandchildren. We also stopped in to see Grandma Lois before we returned home.

In the days before Christmas, there was last minute baking, candy making, shopping

and wrapping to be done. But everything was ready for Maggie, Jay, Mac and Riley when they arrived. Mac wasn't quite into the present opening thing yet but he was excited about his new bug from Nana and Charlie. We enjoyed the traditional turkey and stuffing for dinner. Mac liked that stuffing which was made from an old family recipe. Riley would have eaten the entire turkey breast. We had to watch him. Our visit continued the next day until we had to say good-bye so the other grandparents could have their turns.

Riley and Shoney get ready to eat a present while Mac checks out what the dogs are up to.

Charlie and I promised that we would take care of Mac and Riley while Maggie and Jay took a break and a trip to the Gator Bowl. We were very busy from Tuesday until Friday. Mac was lots of fun. He explored the house and climbed all the stairs many times. He needed frequent visits to the Christmas tree. He started pointing to things around him. Walks with he and Riley were a fun way t0 spend some time. Shoney is not up to longs walks any more so she couldn't go along. Mac went with us to Mass on New Year's Day. He did well until he decided to get down and crawl down the aisle during the homily. We relocated to the cry room. He did better at the Piggly Wiggly but he was confined to the buggy. Their inventory was safe.

Mac enjoyed his New Year's meal. He even had hoppin' john for good luck.

We had a great time with Mac but by Friday, we needed a rest!