We have a large family in Savannah, including many nephews and nieces of my Grandfather’s. After he passed, my cousin Kathleen had the idea to raise some funds to purchase a memorial bench to have placed that the Bamboo Gardens in his honor. My Grandaddy was a regular volunteer at the Bamboo Garden. He not only fixed their machines and tractors, but also helped with planting and even maintained his own garden out there. I learned to drive in my Grandaddy’s Ford Festiva at the Bamboo Farm, as well as spent many hours picking the gardens and fishing for catfish. It was a very meaningful place for both of us.
Well, after many emails back and forth between all our family members, we had raised enough to not only purchase the bench, but also two trees to be planted in the rose garden there as well. We decided to plan a family reunion around the time the bench would be unveiled.
The date was set for June 21st and Charles and I decided this would be the opportunity to also take Owen to meet his Grandmother in Florida. We planned many stops along the way and broke the trip up so that we weren’t stuck in the car for too long with Owen.
Our first stop was Savannah and we arrived around midnight on Friday night. My parents had rented a small apartment in downtown and we decided to drive at night so Owen would sleep. it worked out well. The next morning, we got up to head to the gardens and spend a few hours with the family. The reunion was wonderful. It was great to see everyone. Owen got to meet his second cousin Fionn, and we had a chance to see so many faces we don’t see enough of. Afterwards, my parents, Charles, Owen and I headed to my Grandfather’s house. It was under contract, so I really wanted to go by there one more time. I enjoyed walking around the yard where Mema and Grandaddy once had a luscious vegetable and flower garden. We worked on cleaning the last items out of the attic. It was a strange feeling standing in the empty house. I don’t know how exactly to describe it. There was something calming about knowing he was finally reunited with Mema in Heaven. There was also a part of my heart that I left there.
Our next stop was Stuart, FL. It was about a 5 and half hour drive and we left Savannah after less than 24 hours and drove there Saturday evening. When we got to Conquistador (the condo where we were staying) we had a perfect plan down. Charles and I quickly unpacked and got Owen right to sleep in his pack and play. We spent the next few days visits with Peggy and Earl, Charles’ Grandmama and a few more family members. Charles and I even got a chance to go out and celebrate his birthday while Owen stayed with Peggy and Earl. Overall, it was great to see Grandmama meet Owen and spend some time with everyone.
Our final leg of the trip was to head to St. Simons with a few stops along the way. We stopped at Daytona Beach to visit a few places, let Owen play on one of the public playgrounds, and grabbed some ice cream on the way out. As we were heading out, a HUGE summer storm rolled in! We ended up in SSI that afternoon and settled in for a few days. It was nice to spend a few days relaxing and exploring the island as a family of three, but me being the homebody I am, I was ready to get home by the time we pulled back into our driveway.
