Ode to Vacation

Our summer of 2006
Is something we will always miss.
We laughed a lot in spite of rain,
And our trip to Myrtle was kind of lame.
We enjoyed the ocean breeze,
And all our many shopping sprees.
We packed our bags and went real far
In our little Taurus car.
But now we’re home and happy too,
Because we saw the ocean blue!
By Katie Williams and Lindsay Hollowell

Senior Trip...Day 11

We went to Cracker Barrel for dinner. I love that place! I found a bear that says All Star Dad on his hind feet. It’s so adorable. I couldn’t walk away without it even though I know Daddy doesn’t really need it ;) We stopped in Knoxville, TN at the Parkview Inn. They were remodeling so it smelt like a mixture of plaster and paint and wallpaper paste in the hallways, but the rooms and people were very nice. We’re going to visit Belmont University today. I hope it’s as nice as it looks on the website. I would love to live in Tennessee. It’s all so pretty here. The mountains on the west and the musical influences on the east. It’s so perfect for me, isn’t it?! ;) I took so many pictures of the landscaping yesterday. I’ll probably do the same today.

Okay, well, I didn’t take as many pictures as I did yesterday. I slept a lot. We stopped at Belmont, and it was an okay campus from the outside; maybe it looks better on the inside. It was also on the other side of town than Passion was on…We ate lunch at Arby’s just outside of Nashville; I’ve had better, but it was okay. (I’m very critical this week I guess!) We got to Little Rock, Arkansas and ate at Applebee’s. It wasn’t that great either…they didn’t put enough sauce on my Fiesta Lime Chicken! (not a biggie though…it was still good). Now we’re at Best Western that isn’t the BEST! They don’t have ANY extra pillows, and you can’t see your feet at the bottom of the 3’ pool (what does that tell you!!)

Senior Trip...Day 10

We left the house around 10 AM this morning. It was so sad, but I’m glad I’m going back to reality. We stopped at Hardee’s not to long from now (1:05 PM) in Laurel Hill, NC It was PACKED in there! It wasn’t the best experience, but it put food in our tummies :D so it was just enough.

Senior Trip...Day 9

Today we prepared for leaving tomorrowL. We went out into the ocean tonight for one last time. It was very wavy! Why does it all have to end?! It’s all so sad! I originally had wanted 6 girls to come with me, but I’m kind of glad that it was just Katie and me. Don’t get me wrong, I would have had a blast either way, but it was nice to get closer to my wonderful friend that has stuck by me through ALL that I have been through since I’ve been five. Well, I’m still tired!
Adios Amigos!
Lindsay

Senior Trip...Day 8

Today it was extremely windy on the ocean, so we went to Ocean Isle Beach, NC. There, they had a Museum and we went there. It featured a lot of wild life information It was a lot better than that other museum we went to the other day in Cape Fear…or whatever. They had a spot in the museum explaining how the Aztecs counted. They counted with shapes 1-19 looked like the twisted side of a safety pin…20 looked like a flag and 400 looked like a pine tree. When we got back to Holden Beach, we stopped at a couple of shops. I got 2 movies (Moulin Rouge and How to Loose a Guy in 10 Days) I also got a necklace that matched Katie’s. It was very cute! Well, I’m extremely tired! So I’m going to hold off on the extra stuff.
Sweet Dreams,
Lindsay

Senior Trip...Day 7

Today we went to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It wasn’t as nice as I thought it would be. When we first got there, it didn’t seem to be that bad, just very commercialized. Almost every corner had a miniature golf course place. Then we took a left turn towards the shore and there were a MILLION hotels along the strand. We looked for parking and finally found one for a somewhat reasonable price. Then we walked and found a Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum. It was okay. Not as awesome as it sounded, but oh well, It was still a little interesting! (Some parts super gross…but what do you expect!) After than we looked for a place to eat, but couldn’t find very many places that sounded appetizing or little sister friendly. So we found a Subway with no seating. We had to wait for some inconsiderate jerks that didn’t dry themselves off before going into a restaurant to finish eating. Then we tried to find a place to shop that didn’t look like college party boys/girls lived there (Spenser’s). Then we got away from that area. (Thank goodness) We ended up going shopping at an Eagles and another outdoor shopping center. When we got to the beach house, we went out to the beach to search for sea shells, but got sidetracked by taking a bunch of gorgeous pictures of the ocean.

Senior Trip...Day 6

Today we went to Southport, North Carolina, where we looked in the North Carolina Maritime Museum. There was a lot about Cape Fear there; it was kind of interesting. We were planning on going to Fort Fisher and Bald Head Island, but it was pouring down rain when we left the museum and Jaime was being snotty so I knew that she wouldn’t make things easy on us if we stayed. Oh well, I probably don’t need to spend any money on stuff like that anyway. When we got back to the beach house, we played Cranium, watched an Elizabeth Taylor movie and ate breakfast for dinner (not in that order!) Tomorrow we are supposed to go to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. My grandparents are supposed to come in on Thursday (8th) but they didn’t make any promises. I hope they do though, I don’t get to see them as often as I like. I love my family, but miss them so incredibly much. My friends always complain about family get-togethers/reunions and stuff, but they truly don’t know how well off they have it. I would love to have the opportunity to get to learn about my family history and meet people who are related to me. Everyone has a life story and way better story to hear than my own family’s? Wow, I wrote more than I wanted to. Oh, I also got up SUPER early this morning and walked the beach with my mom and found lots of awesome shells! Well, I better go before I write a whole novel!

Senior Trip...Day 5

Today we went miniature golfing. I'm so tired. I can't even thing right now. All I can think about right now is

1. I hope it doesn't storm tonight
2. My tummy hurts really bad right now and I don't know why
3. That spegetti I had tonight was really good
4. This bed is really high off the ground and squeeks only sometimes...i hope i don't fall!

Okay, well, i can think a little, but that's NOTHING compared to what all normally goes on in my head! Makes you wonder now, huh?

Senior Trip...Day 4

Today we went out and enjoyed the ocean pretty much. We swam and tried to boogey board, but there weren't enough waves out far enough. We also made a sand castle. We didn't get to finish it though because it was dinner time. We named it "Je n'ai fini pas Castle," which means I'm not finished in French.

Another Unfinished Song!

Your awesome power created this splendor,
Your beautiful hands created this world,
Your wonderful loved breathed life so we could speak your name,

And I rejoice.
And you are worthy.
Your beauty is surrounding me,
As I sing about you.

So many others don’t acknowledge your great works.
Help me to show them what I see in You.
Your wonderful mystery amazes me;
I am in awe of You.

Senior Trip...Day 3

Well, we're FINALLY here! I've been waiting for this moment ever since I was working in Florida last summer! The Fairfield in was so much nicer than that dinging old Ramada from the night before!!!!! Today we had breakface at the hotel which was nice because we could eat in comfort (and in our pj's!). And for lunch we had Quizno's which wasn't too far from the beach. We went to one of the beach stores near Holden before we checked in at the beach house. We were able to get here a little bid early, which was nice. As soon as we got here we settled in to enjoy. Then shortly after that we stopped to go to the shore. Then went to the loval Wal-Mart and ate frozen pizza (YUMM :S) Today Katie commented on how nice it was to relax and enjoy life on vacation. It is nice I suppose. I loe hearing the waves hit the sand. It's truly amazing what God has created. I'm so blessed to just be about to be here enjoying his marvelous wonder.

Senior Trip...Day 2

We left Ramada a little later than expected because I didn't realize that it was past 9AM and I hadn't packed yet. We had a rough night last night anyways. First, there was a bright red light from the hair dryer in the bathroom. I couldn't sleep with that on, so I got up and unplugged it. As soon as I got back in bed, there was this super loud truck outside trying to back up into a parking space or something for about 10 minutes. My mom got up to look out the window and there was a black dude out there. But NONE of us in bed heard her get up and walk to the window so we were shocked when we heard her voice clear across the room. We laughed forever. I woke up at 2:02AM, and tried to go back to bed. I couldn't so I stared at the clock on the microwave for an hour and a half, timing how long it took for our loud air conditioner to come on and off (3 minutes to come on/4 minutes to come off) until I could finally get back to sleep. After that, I was out of it! Katie said that I kicked her, but I don't know, I was asleep! ;P We ate at IHOP for breakfast. (YUCK!..You know they don't have bagels?!) Oh well, I'll live. I took a bunch of pictures in Birmingham, Alabama. (They didn't turn out well, though, so I'm not going to include them!) We tried to look for a postcard, but there was no sign of one in the places we stopped. Maybe on the way back. We also made a little tiny documentary while driving. I thought it would give the movie a little more character ;) Right now we're in Atlanta, GA. I'm hoping to stop soon for lunch, but I doubt it. I'm the only one sort of hungry...Considering I just had a plate of hashbrowns for breakfast!


We did eat after we went through Atlanta, GA. We went to Chick-fil-A. Katie had never been there so it was a new experience for her...I know, I can't believe it either! Mom still didn't hand over the wheel until after we ate dinner in Columbia, SC at the Pizza Hut. That country speaking wonderful place (*rolling eyes*). I drove to Florence, SC and now we're in the Fairfield Inn, which is MUCH MUCH nicer than the Ramada Inn in Tuscaloosa, Alabama (by the way, never go there!)

Senior Trip...Day 1

Today we left at around 9 this morning. It was kind of hard to get EVERYTHING in the car! But we succeeded! I drove first uuntil we got into Shreveport, LA. We got there about 11:30. We stopped to eat at a Subway and then mom drove. We had to stop for gas somewhere! And then the next thing you know, Jaime had to go to the batheroom bad. So we stopped at a gas station again. About 2-3 hours later we stopped and ate dinner at Cracker Barrel in Jackson, Miss. I drove a ways down the road, well, another 200 miles, and we stopped at a Ramada Inn. So, that's where we are. I can't wait to get to the beach! It's gunna be great. I hope the weather is going to be superb for tanning and hanging out on the beach...(NO RAIN PLEASE!!!!)