William: July 11-19: Brown Beach Week

Our family beach week at Litchfield by the Sea in South Carolina had a bit of a downer--William was sick! We began our drive on Saturday the 11th to allow for flexibility and to keep William's schedule from being too off for the first part of our vacation. William was a great traveler Saturday, but overnight at the hotel, he felt really hot. Daddy ran out to get Tylenol the next morning, and William was fine walking around the hotel, eating his breakfast. He slept most of the remaining three hours in the car and was fine for our stop at Broadway at the Beach for leg stretching and lunch before Bee Bee and Granddaddy could arrive and check us in to our condo. However William again got hot. Daddy ran out to get a thermometer, and William was 103! Granddaddy said he probably had the virus roseola. That evening we had to subject William to a few lukewarm baths to get his temperature down while administering more Tylenol. Monday he slept all morning until we took him out to lunch at the Island Deli in Pawleys Island. His fever went back up and he was irritable, so we went back to the condo and watched a lovely thunderstorm throughout the afternoon. Tuesday William slept all morning (with a little help from Mommy and Daddy driving circles around LBTS) until we took him to lunch at the Conch Cafe in Garden City. He was most miserable, and Mommy and Daddy had reached our limits and were taking out our frustrations on each other. We then drove William back down the coast and were able to spend a rather pleasant afternoon at the Hammock Shops. However, when Bee Bee and Granddaddy went to dinner at Nance's in Murrels Inlet, Mommy and Daddy took William to the ER to get him checked out as he was once again crying inconsolably. We were worried we were missing something. The ER doctor, after checking William's ears and throat and listening to his chest, verified Granddadddy's diagnosis of a virus. Wednesday, the fever broke, and William slept all day, completely worn out. His spotted rash began to break out, but he was in a much better mood, allowing us to go to dinner at Lee's Inlet Kitchen in Murrel's Inlet that night. Thursday, Mommy and Daddy took William on to the beach where he was a little hesitant to play and started falling asleep in Mommy's lap. He napped on the beach for over half an hour. That evening, we drove up to Broadway at the Beach to get dinner at Johnny Rocket's. As we approached, the sky turned black. We hurried along the sidewalks and over the bridge of the shopping area while listening to approaching thunder. We passed lines of people waiting to get into various restaurants, but were lucky enough to walk right in to our choice and get seated. Then the sky let loose, complete with popping lightning right over head. We ordered dinner and had our food delivered right before the lightening zapped the power for the entire Broadway. We would have lasted a little longer at dinner, except for the incessant beeping of some machine that did not like the power being out. After searching out enough cash to pay for dinner, we hurried back through the rain to get to the car just before the power came back on. No shopping, though. We got back to the condo for the rest of the family to arrive: Mary, Jason, Austin, Elizabeth, Spires, and Mary Elizabeth. Friday, William was almost back to his old self. He played with the boys, and then we all trekked out to the beach to play. After afternoon naps, the whole crew went back to Lee's Inlet Kitchen for dinner before more playing before bed. Saturday, the boys all played before morning naps. Then Mommy got to do a little shopping/browsing with Bee Bee before everyone met for lunch at the High Hammock at the Hammock Shops. While there, William got his silhouette made by a man who could not stop singing his praises. The evening was finished by everyone trying to finish all the sandwich fixings, watermelon, and other treats as it was our last night. Sunday was the rush of packing before we began our long drive back. This time we finished the trip in one day. Yep, the vacation was not the peaceful trip we were hoping for, but it will certainly be memorable!

Sleeping Monday