Boat Trip

Over the summer for a family vacation, my family and I were planning on going on a boat trip. We were going with two other families. This was going to be a very big trip. We would leave Monday morning and return Thursday night. All eleven of us had been talking about this trip for months.

The time was getting closer and closer! Before long it was only three days before we would leave, I was so excited. My best friend, Blaire and I had been talking over the phone about what clothes we were going to take. Obviously it was very hard to pack because we had to fit seven adults’ bags onto one medium size boat so I had to pack very little. Later that day my dad had received a phone call from Mr. H saying that his son, Louis just came back from a Christian camp in Colorado with Young Life and that he was sick. The swine flu was going around at the camp and he wanted to make sure that he wouldn’t spread it anymore so the whole family wasn’t going to be able to make the trip!

I was still happy that are two families could still go. Our “float plan,” as we call it, was to start in Charleston, then go down to Beaufort. We would stay in Beaufort for two days and then head back up for Charleston again on Thursday. I know that seems pretty short, but we were going to be doing a lot of sightseeing, stopping places, and be taking many detours.

When we finally arrived the excitement filled the air. There were four adults and three kids. The girl Blaire, who is fourteen, is practically like my sister. Even though she lives in the northern part of Columbia which is about two hours away, we still get to see each other all the time. Now for JJ who is a senior in high school is still one of my best friends.. Our dads have been buddies ever since there were kids; they went to college together and everything. Our two families go everywhere together whether it is to football games, beach trips, or the mountains, we always go together It always helps to have a family that you are really close to, especially when you go on vacations.

Spending the night in different hotels every night is one of the best parts. After the first night of spending the night in Charleston, we were heading down towards Beaufort. When we all get into the boat to depart, it was around nine o’clock, way too early for me. Before we started to head south, we wanted to ride around and tour the Charleston area. We rode past the Battery which I thought was very neat. It is a strip of old houses right on the water looking out to see the ocean. The houses are very different from others; very narrow, long and close together. I also love the moss hanging down from the trees, where you can find in Charleston; it just makes me feel like I’m in South Carolina-home.

After sightseeing the Charleston area we turn around and start heading the other direction. On our way down we past many different islands. First were Folly then Seabrook, then Kiawah, then Edisto, and Fripp. It was interesting to see the difference between all of the islands. Seabrook is more relaxed and just a small resort, but Kiawah rather large and has huge, nice houses. My favorite is Fripp though because it is the perfect size. It’s not being big but not too small. It’s a safe and fun place to be. I think all of the islands that we past we’re nice.

There was a ton of wild life too! We would play a little game to try to see who could find the most animals. For an example, one of the parents would say find me an eagle, alligator, deer, snake, sea turtle, shark, and a hawk. Whoever found the most animals at the end of the say would win and get a candy bar or something. On our way down the Intercostal Waterway on the boat, we would take many stops to swim. Whenever somebody would get in the water too cool off, Mrs. Becky would always tie a floatable device to a rope to make sure wouldn’t get behind the boat and float away because the current was so strong.

After we went back to our rooms, took showers, and had gotten ready, we were all ready to go eat after a long day on the boat. Our dads had asked the lady at the hotel what restaurants she would recommend and she said a place called “Emily’s.” We took her advice and decided to go there. Oh my goodness, that place is best restaurant I have been to in my whole life! Blaire and I spilt this very large steak; best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth! The people who worked there were very friendly too, which is good because our dads always talk to the waitress. As soon so we were done with our dinner we started to walk back to the Best Western. Of course we just had to go the long way which would take at least ten more minutes. We had to walk back to the hotel by going through dark allies and quiet places. It was eleven o’clock at night and we we’re walking in an unfamiliar place; it was scary!

After a great day of fun we were exhausted and went straight to bed as soon as we got back to the our room . The next morning we woke up vey early and were ready to go on another exciting adventure. The plan was to just stay around the Beaufort area for that day. We all decided to head south down towards Hilton Head and hang out around there for a couple of hours. However getting there is quite a challenge. There is a huge body of water called the Port Royal Sound. It is so large that you can barely see the next marker on the water. It is probably ten miles across but, it seems like we we’re trying to get to the moon! After crossing it and finally getting into the creeks of Hilton Head we started to see many dolphins. It took us about a good thirty minutes to get to other side of the island where the lighthouse was. We started to see some dark clouds and we heard that it was calling for a storm that day but we weren’t too worried about it. After docking the boat at the marina, we walked up to the boardwalk and all got strawberry smoothies. The parents decided to relax on the boat but, Blaire, JJ, and I wanted to climb the lighthouse. The line was very long but it was worth the wait. As soon as we got back down from the top of the lighthouse my dad came and got us and said that it was time to go.

As I was looking at all of the people, shops, and restaurants at the Hilton Head Marina, I noticed that they sky just kept getting darker and darker by the minute. The parents were all well aware of it but said that we were going to try to outrun it- everything starting going downhill from there. I didn’t start worrying until we left the dock, knowing that it’s at least an hour and a half boat ride back to Beaufort. I have been on the boat many times but I have never gone that fast in my life. Mr. John was going as fast as a racecar at a pit stop! Right when we got out of the creeks, everyone started panicking. Our moms told us to put on our lifejackets, buckle down, and to hold on as tight as you can. Going across the Port Royal Sound was my worst nightmare; it honestly felt like I was on Drop Zone at Carowinds! The waves had to be at least ten to fifteen feet high. It almost felt as if we were in a tidal pool a water park excepted we were in a boat and the waves were ten feet higher! It was the scariest thing of my life. Every time the boat would go up onto the top of the wave, everyone knew to hold on because when we would get go to the bottom of the wave, the water would splash and go everywhere.

The clouds around us were so dark; I could barely see land. There wasn’t a mile marker in sight anywhere either. After us finally we got out of the large body of water, it started to down poor. When you are going thirty miles per hour in a boat and it is pouring down rain, it feels like little bullets hitting your face. Lighting soon started to strike everywhere and the thunder was as loud as a flyover at a football game. The moms were panicking and trying to call our friends in Charleston to see how bad the storm was. My mom and Mrs. Becky said that they were tornado warnings all over the coast of South Carolina. We decided that we weren’t going to be able go against the storm so we pulled up to a random dock and tie up to it. There was a little cover thing that was just big enough for us all to fit under it. After getting ourselves under the cover, we sat back and watched the storm. I have never seen anything like it before. I actually saw a water spout but it looked like that it was a mile away from where the dock was. It looked like a funnel that went up into the sky; I had never seen anything like it before. Even though it looked like it was far away, I was still scared!

After about an hour of waiting for the large storm to pass, we started to get back on the boat and head back to the hotel. After a long exhausting day of fear, excitement, and adventure it was very thrilling. I don’t think I will ever experience anything like the storm again. After the storm completely past, all seven of us decided to go swimming in the pool at the hotel to end off the day. Overall, the boat trip was the highlight of my summer. It was full of fun, excitement, adventure, and I even had learned a thing or two about History! I had a blast and hope we can do it again next year!