Family get-togethers are always great

Every year about this time my two daughters come for a visit of several days. As our family is spread out over several states, it is difficult to get together more often.

One daughter, who lives in Massachusetts, usually flies into South Carolina where the other daughter lives and together they drive down to Bainbridge. My husband Ron flees the opposite direction as he heads to S. Carolina to spend time with old classmates who live on Lake Keowee.

We girls always enjoy our time together just doing nothing more exciting than eating, drinking, shopping and catching up on each other’s lives.

This year things were a bit different. Their oldest brother, who lives in Columbus, Ohio, announced he was crashing “the Girl’s Weekend.” So he drove to S. Carolina and joined them for the ride down through Georgia.

We were definitely happy to see him and enjoyed his company, but it did add a bit of a different dimension to the time spent and what we did together.

He has a degree in forestry and one in landscape architecture, so he was very interested in the different plants we have down here that don’t survive in Ohio’s winters. He was perfectly happy covering the grounds at In the Garden, even finding a couple of plants he purchased to take home. He was also delighted with a trip to one of our local produce stands where he ordered canteloupe and Decatur County sweet corn to take home to his family. Another shopping trip to Flint River Outfitters occupied his attention for quite awhile as he perused T-shirts and caps for his kids and helped pick out a pretty bracelet for his wife’s birthday.

We toured the gardens and lawns of a couple of our friends, and made the prerequisite trip to Rutabagas in Chattahoochee for dinner one evening. That was a must, as he was the only sibling who had not been there, and it is such a good representation of Southern cuisine served in a rustic setting.

The other mandated trip was to Wakulla Springs where we took the boat ride and saw much of the wildlife for which Florida is known. The girls and I have been there, of course, but it was a first for him. We were fortunate to see a baby Manatee, unusual for this time of year according to the guide.

As always, when we get together, we relive the family jokes and memories from when we were all much younger.

I think he enjoyed his “girls weekend.” But he did comment that he didn’t see how people could live down here in this heat. He claims he will be back in winter when his work slows down and it is much cooler. I surely hope so.  Maybe he can get together with his brother who lives in Arlington, Va. and plan a new Southern tour.

There is talk among the family to look for a more centrally located area where the whole family can gather next summer.

I just hope it will be in a cooler climate.