Driving through the South

Another leg of our journey to see Roman was to drive through Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

After a great deal of prayer and search I bought a van off Craigslist. It was amazing the way the Lord led through all of ups and downs of trying to rent or buy a car. That van took us safely down to Ft. Jackson and most of the way back to Maryland before breaking down on us. It is being repaired right now, and they are having some difficulty finding the problem, so pray that the car issues will be resolved quickly.

Crossing from Maryland to Virginia over the Potomac River. I know it was a large river, but I was completely shocked by just how big it was. I cross it regularly to see Roman in Ft. Lee so I will have to take a better picture at some point. It is huge!

A late night drive took us to Raleigh, NC where we stayed with in-laws of in-laws of in-laws.

They were so gracious to take us in at kind of the last minute too. And they served us the best homemade yogurt ever! My kids ate several bowls.

This smily man was very patient through most the drive, but he did have rough moments.

The next day took us through cotton fields and small towns.

Seeing bales of cotton and thinking that it becomes clothes we wear is kind of mind-boggling.

We had our first experience at Chick-fil-a. The best part was the indoor play area, a welcome break for the kids.

 

We drove with Roman from Ft. Jackson to Ft. Lee, and made an overnight stop in Charleston, SC. It is a gorgeous old town, with amazing old buildings, a market where they used to sell slaves. And of course the Atlantic Ocean.

 The only building I got a good picture of before dark was the fire department. But there were some beautiful churches, and old houses.

We bought chocolates instead of slaves.

Ethan picked a pumpkin truffle and boy was he proud of it!

The boardwalk out to the ocean. To me the most noticeable difference between the Atlantic and the Pacific is the sound. The Pacific is much louder, since waves crash onto the rocks. The sandy beach of the Atlantic is much quieter.

All together for a couple of days.

 

We dropped Roman off at Ft. Lee late in the day, so the kids, my mother-in-law, and I stayed in a nearby hotel. The next day we headed back to Maryland and that is when the car broke down, so the final leg of our journey was made in a tow truck. Hopefully we will soon have the car issues resolved, but in the mean time, we just enjoy quiet days at home.

Probably one of the oddest things to me about The South is their boiled peanuts. They advertise them everywhere! Instead of coffee shacks they have boiled peanut shacks. I have yet to try them, but I think I must try to figure out what the fuss is all about. And when you say boiled peanuts in the south it sounds like bald peanuts. And they say I have an accent!

The Little Yellow House

Many of you requested pictures of our home here in Maryland. So here we are. 

The landlords call it The Farmhouse, and the property was once a tobacco farm. 

The road is Carl's Farm Place. I need to find out more about the history of the place. The setting is very rural and we are surronded by trees. Oaks, beeches, a few pine and some holly. 

There are also many birds to see, and we saw some deer as well. 

There are several old barns. 

The newer red barn is used as a wedding venue during the spring and summer. 

The view from the porch. 

A glimpse of the car, which is in the shop right now. More on the car story later. 

The woods we are surronded by, plus a soldier and his son. 

I love this big covered porch. The kids play here daily. 

Our road/driveway. 

Looking through the front door to the back door. The living room is on the left, kitchen and dining on the right. 

This is my cooking corner. And I am proud to say I made a Thanksgiving turkey in a crockpot. 

The kitchen is good sized, but carpet means daily vacuuming is a must. 

Thanksgiving dinner is served, plus a look into the otherside of the room. 

The fireplace is gas and definitely a centerpiece of the house. 

The rocks go floor to ceiling, two stories. 

Up in the loft is our sleeping quarters. 

A crib for Carsten, one bed for Ethan and Saoirse, and one bed for me. And whoever needs extra cuddles. 

So that is our home away from home. And over the next few weeks we should have it all Christmas-sy. I put pictures on Instagram regularly, if you care to follow I am sweetcaitmallery. Hope you enjoyed this little tour. 

 

Snail Mail

Email is great and texting is fun, but I for one enjoy using the United States Postal Service. So if anyone cares to send me a note or if you want to send Roman a care package (homemade cookies maybe) here is our addresses. 

Roman: 

Pvt. Mallery, RomanPaul

A Co 244th QM BN

820 11th St. 

Ft. Lee VA 23801

Caitlin and kids: 

15540 Carl's Farm Place

Hughesville MD 20637

If you want me to write to you, just send a note. I will answer it. 

Chicago

Staying in Chicago was the part of the trip I was most nervous about. It was not a place I have ever even considered visiting, so I had no idea about what there was to do. Also taking on the big city with 3 little ones in tow was rather intimidating. However the experience was rather enjoyable, if a bit daunting. 

We stayed at The Hotel Lincoln, which was quite roomy after our train quarters. It also had a very pleasant view. 

We spent Wednesday morning getting some air, sunshine, and excercise. There was a pleasant park where Ethan and Saoirse chased squirrels and geese and collected sticks. Ethan found a memorial for the last survivor of the Boston Tea Party. 

The skyline of Chicago. 

A little walk led us to the Chicago Zoo, which was free. Most of the animals were inside due to the cold, but we saw zebras and kangaroos which made us happy. 

A taxi took us downtown for the afternoon. We visited The American Girl Place. I had a Kirsten doll, which they no longer carry. 

Saoirse was ready to take home every doll in the store. 

The Lego store was more along Ethans line of interest. 

Our final venture took us to the top of the John Hancock building, one of the tallest buildings in Chicago. We had a view of Lake Michigan. 

While Saoirse disliked the elevator, the view was quite spectaculor. 

After this we took a taxi to the train station. The kids really enjoyed the taxi rides, mostly because they did not have car seats. Exiting the taxi was like jumping into a river. People flowing into the train station, commuters. It was insane. My brave mother-in-law took all the luggage down escalators while I clung to Ethan and Saoirse. Carsten was secure in a carrier and I had on a rather heavy backpack. We looked quite the desperate group and some gentlemen kindly took pity on us and got us to the Amtrack waiting room. Thus ended our Chicago venture!

I definitely felt like the country mouse in the city, but I did it. And someday I would enjoy visiting the city again, but when my kids are a bit older.