fall break

Hey Ya'll

Well this weekend and Monday and Tuesday (my fall break) have been so much fun.
Friday was another GRSP Conclave with the students from the scholarship. Of all 71 of us 67 students came to Savannah which is a great turnout. I was so excited to see everyone again as well as a little nervous as I was ill and couldn't go to the previous conclave so I was frightened that people wouldn't have remembered me but of course everyone was lovely and I had a ball. We arrived a little before dinner on Friday night so the Valdosta crew went on a little walk along the river front which was just so beautiful. Once we had eaten the burgers, hot dogs and 2 and a half cookies in my case, we all went on a ghost tour. I was a little scared that it would be like the ghost tours back home with people dressed up and jumping on your back however it wasn't like that at all. A woman drove around 40 of us on a bus around downtown Savannah telling us lots of stories of sightings of ghosts in the different old Georgian houses.

After the tour, the five of us from Portobello went to the host parents house. They were very sweet and had bought bourbon creams and shortbread for us as there is an actual Scottish shop near them. We talked until we fell asleep and then had to wake up a few hours later to go to the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum. It was a very interesting museum and they had so much information on WW II and different things on display I think I would have needed a day in itself to take everything in.

After that we went to Tybee Island to walk the 178 steps up the lighthouse which gave the most incredible view. It was so gorgeous there I could have been there all day too just watching the world go by. Then we all headed to the beach house of one of the Rotarian's. The beach was lovely and the sea was nice although once in it I didn't want to get out as it seemed so cold. Everyone had a lot of fun at the beach and the house it was just the most wonderful atmosphere.

Sadly enough after the beach we all went home, slept and then had to go our separate ways Sunday morning. However the fun didn't stop there for me. My Colombian friends host father took the four of us studying at Valdosta to a place called Jekyll Island which is where a lot of people go on holiday to escape from the world. It was very pretty and had a lovely beach however cactus plus flip flops equals problems but thats another story.
On Sunday night I stayed over at a friends house which was lovely. Her parents own 100 acres so we went around on the golf buggy through the pine trees and by the lake. It was so pretty. Her father made the most amazing steak for us and I brought them some shortbread which her mother loved. I was also so happy to find that they had Nutella and there is a shop here where I can buy it so that is amazing. When I left on Tuesday her mother had bought me a jar as a gift so I am extremely happy.

Monday my friend and I went on the almost 4 hour drive to Panama City, Florida which is the most beautiful beach. On the way there we bought some grapes, fig rolls candy called Air Heads and lots of water. We also dropped into a Dollar Store to see if they had a bucket spade which they didn't so we just bought cups to make our sandcastle.
At the beach we sunbathed for a while, went into the outdoor swimming pool of the hotel next door, sunbathed some more and read a little before building a 'sandcastle'. This took us from around 12 till 5 and then we thought it best to pack up and grab a bite to eat at Pineapple Willy's. This is the place to eat on the beach, we managed to get seats outside so we could see the sunset. We shared some alligator bites. They tasted a little like chicken but had a hint of fish and were really tasty.

We got back to her parents house around 11 so I stayed another night as it is about an hour and a half away from the campus. In the morning I met my friends sister and we all went with her mother to a cute town called Boston for lunch and a little look around its antique store. Then we went on a little tour of Thomasville so I could see the old oak tree and some of the pretty houses there. Back at the house my friends father was going out on the tractor for an hour so asked if we would like to join him. We both had a shot of driving which was fun although I was not born to be a farmer it seems.
So that was my fun long weekend. I am a little sad now that it is all over and school starts tomorrow. I think I needed that break though so I am glad that it turned out to be so much fun.