Spring Break

One of the perks of being a teacher is that, when you're absolutely on verge of crazy, you get a built-in break. Like Spring Break, which is conveniently scheduled the week after students start popping out of their desks and spinning around in circles at random (yes, even my good kids were doing this).

I, too, was spinning in circles in my head.

It was time to get out.

So on Tuesday, right after having the dentist tell me that I might need a filling replaced in six months (we won't discuss my feelings about the dentist), I jumped into my car and drove straight into a thunderstorm. That storm followed me all the way down Asheville Highway. If you'd been sitting in my car, this is what you would have heard: 

"C'MON, LITTLE BABY CAR. YOU CAN MAKE IT AROUND THAT SEMI TRUCK. YOU ARE A LADY. YOU HAVE POWER. YOU CAN DO BETTER THAN 45. I BELIEVE IN YOU. WE ARE NOT DYING TODAY!"

Anyway, I made it to Christina's house in Charlotte, and the next day we headed for--you guessed it--the beach. Hilton Head, specifically.

Sidenote: Christina is one of my best friends from college, and is also a teacher. She's wonderful. *coughcoughandsingleandavailableandgreatwifematerialcoughcough*

We stayed in a Ramada that had no signs indicating that it was a Ramada. The sign outside the lobby still said "Quality Inn & Suites" and the sign by the road was blank with the outline of "Applebee's" on it. It was, however, a good experience--minus some orange chunks in the microwave and our alarm clock going off at 6 a.m.

We spent the afternoon at a random beach and got dinner at a restaurant that served alligator bites. 

I don't know what that means.

That plate in my hands? A shrimp and crab salad. I thought that meant crab and shrimp on a salad, but it actually meant gooey chicken salad with seafood instead of chicken.

(It was gross.)

The next day we spent ALL DAY at a nice beach. And do you know what happened to me? What always happens to me??

My kneecap got sunburned. Not my arms, legs, face, or shoulders.

My kneecap.

We also did a lot of this: 

That night, we thought it would be fun to get dressed up and go to a nicer spot on the island, called Harbor Town. What we didn't know is that Harbor Town is inside of a resort, Sea Pines, and that you have to pay $6 to get into the resort. We also didn't know that there are only five dinner restaurants there, which serve almost the entire resort.

Needless to say, we didn't eat until the time that we normally go to bed.

But we got some nice pictures.

Do you see these two faces? They are the faces of beautiful women who are 100% NOT THINKING ABOUT CLASSROOMS OR PAPER. ESPECIALLY NOT PAPER.

The next day, we began the trek back home and decided to stop in Savannah for lunch--which was a leftover Publix sandwich and some popcorn (popped in the hotel lobby, NOT the chunk-filled microwave in our room).

We visited a park and a cemetery before it was suddenly 84 degrees and time to go home.

Because we are still teenagers at heart, we spent that night at her house eating ice cream, watching a Hallmark movie, playing Trivia Crack, and talking about boys.

Today, Asheville Highway traffic was waiting for me--but Lemonjuice and I were ready with foreign pop music and wicked dance moves (you are WELCOME, grandmas and grandpas in the cars around me). 

On Monday, I'll return to my spinning children. I'm sure some of them will have more to show for their time at the beach than a sunburned kneecap.