Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Good Vacation/Dobre Wakacje

August 13, 2007

Last week my father Woody (Wlodzimierz) Lipinki and his wife Shirley
took us on a fun vacation to the shores of South Carolina.  They
generously financed our whole vacation.  We met in Sumter South
Carolina and there we met Shirley's family.  Josh drove down with us
for the day since he had the day off.  My father gave Josh a fancy
road bike and biking gear, and they went on a bike ride together.  The
bike is really light and Josh just loves riding around on it.
Unfortunately Josh had to go back to work so he could not stay with us
for the rest of the vacation.

Next we drove Myrtle Beach.  Samuel and Isaiah loved the beach and the
ocean.  They loved battling the waves and wandered deeper and deeper
into the ocean.  They never tired of the waves and wished they could
skip meals in order to remain at the beach.  Nephi and Grace on the
other hand were scared of the rough salty sea.  After a few days Nephi
got brave and wanted to get in with my help for short periods of time.
 Grace kept her distance from the waves but played a bit in the sand
and in real shallow water.  The only thing that made her happy was
lying down on the wet sand and letting an inch or so of water wash
over her.

Myrtle Beach is a really fun place to visit because in addition to the
beach there are many attractions.  We saw an advertisement for
"Ripley's Believe it or not Museum".  Samuel and Isaiah got really
excited about it because about a year ago they got a "Ripley's Believe
it or not" book from the library.  So we decided to check it out.
When we got to the ticket counter they offered us a combo pass to see
two other attractions.  I hesitated at first because the combo ticket
was 57 dollars.  But then I asked for a military discount and cashier
told me that military families pay only 6 dollars per ticket!  That
was a great deal, so we went for the combo and it was well worth it.

The museum had a lot bizarre stories about weird people.  Some parts
were not tailored to kids because they were about real torture and
cannibalism, so we skipped over them.  But it was fun to see the
statue of the tallest man and a real lady who could pop eyes out of
her head.  I made sure to take pictures of her.  There were many
miniature works of art engraved on rice grains or feathers and there
were videos of a skateboarding chimpanzee and a guy who guides a snake
trough his nose to come out of his mouth.  The kinds of things that
boys enjoy to watch!

After the museum I took the older kids to a moving theater where the
seats moved with the action of the movies.  The first short movie was
about a semi truck driver who was speeding down a mountain road,
swerving and nearly driving off the cliff every few seconds.  It was
great fun and very realistic.  Samuel got a little nervous because he
is scared of heights and the movie felt a little too real.  In the end
the truck did drive off the cliff and landed in the water. Isaiah even
got sprayed with water in the face.  Next we took a virtual roller
coaster ride, and then we hit the sand dunes.  Last, but not least, we
experienced a snowmobile ride with real wind and manufactured snow
falling down on us.   Both Samuel and Isaiah thought the moving
theater was awesome!  Woody and Shirley fed Nephi and Grace at a
restaurant while we were at the show.

If that's not enough, next all seven of us together went to see the
world's tallest sand castle.  Grace and Nephi had enough but then, but
we continued on to our last attraction, the aquarium, and boy, it was
worth it.

At the Aquarium we first we checked out the pirate exhibit where we
learned a lot about pirates.  When Spain discovered America and became
a very wealthy superpower, France and England became jealous.   So
they hired men to attack and raid Spanish ships.  This worked for a
couple of years, until the men working for France or Britain decided
to work for themselves and became known as pirates.  They attacked any
ship they could, including British and French ones.

Hollywood movies often portrayed pirates incorrectly and the exhibit's
purpose was to teach us the facts and to point out the fiction.  For
example, pirates were not interested in destroying ships, so they
never fired canon balls directly at ships.  They only fired them as a
warning to make ships surrender.  They were interested in stealing the
ship and not in destroying it.  Also pirates spread false gruesome
stories about themselves in order to instill fear so that people would
surrender and give them the booty without a fight.  All pirate ships
were democracies.  The captain was voted in and could easily be voted
out and everyone had a say in all of the decisions.  Also, pirates
were the first to invent disability insurance.  For each loss of limb
they were guaranteed a nice pension.  Also walking the plank was a
myth.  If they needed to get rid of someone they would simply throw
them overboard.  Needless to stay it was a fascinating exhibit and
Samuel could have stayed there all day reading the facts.

Next we saw piranhas and other dangerous fish from the Amazon.  Grace
and Nephi were a bit bored until we got to the coral, shark, stingray,
eel…. tunnel.  They loved it, and ooohed and aaaahhed the whole time.
Next we got to hold very large horse shoe crabs.  Isaiah especially
enjoyed this part because he loves wildlife and pets.  And last but
not least, the kids got to pet sharks and stingrays over and over
again.  They kept their hands in the tank for about an hour.  I got to
touch one but I spend most of my time taking pictures.

The aquarium was open till 10:30 at night and we stayed till nearly
that time.  As we were leaving, the shopping center where the aquarium
was located put on a huge firework show.  We watched it on the lawn.
It was a great way to end our 6 dollar day!

We left Myrtle Beach and drove down to Charleston.  There we went on a
bike ride through the historic downtown and then the kids and I took a
boat to Fort Sumter.  Fort Sumter is located on a island and it is the
place where the Civil War began.  When South Carolina succeeded from
the Union, a Union General decided to display a 20 by 30 foot American
Flag at Fort Sumter.  This made the South Carolinians very mad and
they fired "hot shots" at the fort.  "Hot shots" were cannon balls
that were heated until they were red hot and then fired.  They set
everything they hit on fire.  Fort Sumter surrendered and was under
the control of the south for the rest of the war.  Surprisingly,
however, no one died during the very fist battle of the Civil War.
Also Fort Sumter was the place where the Americans won their first
battle during the revolutionary war.

Nephi loved the boat ride to Fort Sumter.  Now he loves boats almost
as much as he loves airplanes.  Samuel again enjoyed the museum where
he read about the many different kinds of cannon balls.  Not all
cannon balls were the same.  Some were made out of many small balls
bound together and they tore apart as they hit things…

From Charleston we drove to Hilton Head Island.  I've heard many great
things about Hilton Head, but I must say that I was disappointed.  The
beach was the same there as it was at Myrtle Beach and Charleston,
except that it was more crowded.  And there was absolutely nothing
else to do or see except for the beach.  I do not recommend Hilton
Head and I would not return there on vacation, but I'm glad I got to
see it once.  While there, I took the kids to a seafood buffet and
Samuel and Isaiah enjoyed eating crab legs for the first time.  Nephi
and Grace would not touch it, but they ate the chocolate cake.  All of
the waiters and waitresses at that restaurant were students on a
work/vacation from Poland.  It was nice to meet other Polish people.
When I asked them how they liked Hilton Head, they said it looked very
nice but it was rather boring.

Josh came to Hilton Head Island to spend the very last day of our 7
day vacation with us.  It was soooo good to see him.  He was very
tired and made a great sacrifice to be with us.  During our vacation,
he worked 15 hour days every day at the hospital.  When we went to the
beach someone stole Joshua's well used shoes (crocs).  And while we
slept at the hotel, someone stole Samuel's old rusty broken bike.  The
people there must be really desperate….

On the beach, a girl handed us a baby turtle and Isaiah found a live
starfish.  Earlier that week, Isaiah found a crab in one of the hotel
pools.  Isaiah loves animals and he was very excited to have temporary
pets again.  We released them all into their natural habitats after
examining them for a while.  Isaiah is very interested in sea
creatures and I bought him couple of books about sea life to read on
the way home.  Samuel reread 3 volumes of Harry Potter on the trip.

On Saturday we parted after grandpa Woody loaded our car with all of
the things he bought for us.  We headed for Georgia and Woody and
Shirley headed back to Sumter South Carolina.  Thank you Woody and
Shirley for such a fun vacation!

There are lots of pictures this time.  The first and the last are
taken at Myrtle Beach.  The next couple at the Ripley's Believe it or
Not Museum.  Then comes the picture of the biggest sand castle in the
world.  It was so big that birds actually lived on it.  The next few
pictures are at the Aquarium; first at the pirate exhibit.  Nephi
really enjoyed pulling the string on the cannon, because it made a
loud noise and emitted a flash of light.  In the next few you can see
the kids holding giant horse shoe crabs and petting the sting rays.
Next there is a picture taken on the boat in Charleston.  You can see
Fort Sumter in the back.  Next the boys are holding a live turtle and
starfish at Hilton Head Island.

Sylwia

13 Sierpien 2007

W ostatnim tygoniu moj ojciec i jego zona Shirley zabrali nas a bardzo
fajne wakacje do stanu South Carolina.  Za cale nasze wakacje oni
zaplacili.  Spotkalimsy sie w miescie Sumter gdzie mieszka Shirey
rodzina i ich spotkalismy.  Josh przyjechal z nami na tylko na
pierwszy dzien wakacji bo on musial pracowac.  Moj ojciec kupil bardzo
fajny i leciutki kolarski rower dla Josha.  Razem pojezdzili sobie
rowerami.  Josh bardzo lubi ten rower.  Niestety po pierwszym dniu
wkacji Josh musial wrocic do pracy wiec dalej z nami nie pojechal.

Nastepnego dnia pojechalismy na plarze Myrtle Beach.  Samuel i Isaiah
bardzo lubili ocean.  Tak im sie fale podobaly ze nie chcieli wyjsc z
wody nawet aby jesc.  Mogli by byc caly dzien w wodzie.  Nefi i Grace
bali sie oceanu.  Nie lubili slonej ruszajacej sie wody.  Po kilku
dniach Nefi zaczol sie w oceanie ze mna bawic na krotki okres czasu.
Ale nie Grace.  Ona wolala lerzec na mokrym piasku i tylko pozwalala
aby troszeczke wody ja dotykalo.

Plarza Myrtle Beach jest bardzo fajnym miejscem do zwiedzania.  Tam
jest bardzo duzo innych atrakcji poza mozem.  Jak jechalismy to
zauwarzylismy reklame na museum "Ripley's Wierz lub nie Wierz Muzeum.
Samuel i Isaiah bardzo chciely to zobaczyc bo rok temu oni przeczytali
ksiazke o tym w bibliotece.  Wiec zdecydowalismy sie tam pojsc.  Jak
kupowalismy bilety to pan nas zachecil zeby kupic biletly na 3 rozne
atrakcje razen.  Nie bylam pewna bo taki bilet kosztowal 57 dolarow.
Ale potem zapytalam sie czy jest znizka dla ludzi z wojska.  Pan
powiedzial ze rodzina wojskowa tyko musi placic 6 dolarow za bilet.
To byla bardzo dobra cena bo atrakcje bardzo sie dzieciom podobaly.

To muzeum mialo wiele dziwacznych opowiesci o dziwnych ludziach.
Niektore czesci nie byly odpowiednie dla dzieci bo byly o prawdziwych
torturach i o ludorzercach.  Wiec te czesci ominelismy.  Inna czesc
muzem miala statule najwiekrzego czlowieka i tez tam byla prawdziwa
pani co mogla tak szeroko otworzyc oczy ze prawie jej oczy z glowy
nie wypadly.  Zrobilam jej wiele zdjec.  Tez byly powiekrzone ziarna
rzyzu na ktorych ludzie rusunki narysowali.  Tez byl film o tym jak
malpa jezdzi na desce i jak taki chlopak nauczyl swojego weza aby
wejsc mu do nosa i wysc mu przez usta.  Take dziwne zeczy chopca sie
podobaja!

Po muzeum ja wzielam Samuela i Isaiah na nastepna atrakcje na krotki
film w ktorym siedzenia sie ruszaja i na ekranie tobie sie wydaje ze
to ty jedziesz samochodem, lub samolotem.  Na pierwszym filmie
wydawalo sie ze prowadzilimy taki wielki "semi" samochod ciezarowy
ktory jechal bardzo szybko z wielkiej gory i ktory caly czas prawie
nie spadal z tej gory.  Samuel nie lubi byc na wysokosci wiec ten film
go troche przestraszyl bo to wygladalo tak prawdziwie.  Pod koniec
tego filmu ten samochod ciezarowy spadl z gory do wody.  Nawet woda
poleciala na mojego syna Isaiah.  Na nastpenym filme "jechalismy" na
roller coaster, potem malutkim samochodem po gorach piasku.  Na
ostatnim filmie "jechalismy" takim specjalym samochodem po sniegu.  I
nawet na nas wiatr wial i zrobiony snieg na nas padal.  Bardzo to sie
podobalo moim synom.  Male dzieci byly z dziadkiem Wlodzimierzem i z
Shirley w restauracji podczas tego filmu.

Potem wszyscy razem poszlimy ogladac nawiekszy zamek z piasku na
swiecie.  Grace i Nefi byli bardzo po tym zmeczeni ale my
zdedzydowalismy jeszcze pojechac i zobaczyc akwarium.  I ta wycieczka
naprawde byla warta!

W akwarium najpierw ogladalismy wystawe o piratach.  Celem tej wystawy
bylo nauczenie nas co jest faktem o co jest fikcja bo filmy Hollywood
duzo wymyslaja o piratach.  Jak Hiszpania kolonizowala ameryke to sie
zrobila bardzo bogata i poterzna.  Francja i Anglia byly zazdrosne,
wiec zatrudnili ludzi do atakowania i kradnienia Hiszpanskich statkow
i ich skarbow.  Ale to tylko im sie udala przez okolo dwa lata, bo
potem ci zatrudnieni piraci zdecydowali sie nie pracowac dla Angli lub
Francji ale dla siebie.  Wiec zaczeli atakowac i krasc wszytkie
statki.  To nie jest prawda ze piraci strzeleli kule z armaty na inne
statki.  Strzelali armete tylko aby ostrzegac statki zeby sie statki
poddaly.  Piraci chcieli ukradnac statek a nie go zniszczyc.  Piraci
wymyslali o sobie straszne opowiesci i rozprzestrzeniali te opowiesci
zeby ludzie sie ich bali i sie od razu poddali.  Piraci woleli sie nie
bic bo nie chcieli umrzec.  Kradzierz byla  ich celem.  Kazdy statek
piracki byl demokracja.  Kazdy czlonek statku mial glos i glosowal we
wszytkich decyzjach.  Kapitan statku byl wybrany przez glosowanie i
tez mogl byc zwolniony przez glosowanie, wiec musial dobrze innych na
statku traktowac.  Piraci tez byli pierwsi ktorzy wynalezli
ubezpieczenie. Jesli stracili noge rob reke to mieli emeryture
zagwarantowana.  To byla bardzo fajna wystawa i Samuel mogl by tam byc
caly dzien i czytac fakty o piratach.

Na nastepnej wystawie ogladalismy piranie i inne grozne ryby z rzeki
Amazon. Nefi i Grace sie na poczatku bardzo nudzili w tym akwarium.
Ale jak doszlismy do tunelu zrobionego ze szkla i ogladalsimy rekiny,
trygony, wegorze i inne ryby to im sie bardzo podobalo.  Na wszytko
patrzyli i paluszkiem nam pokazywali.   Potym tunelu mieslimy okazje
trzymac w rekach wielkie kraby i w ostatnim miejcu dzieci mogly
dotykac trygony i rekiny.  To im sie najbardziej podobalo.  Cala
godzine mieli rece w wodzie i dotykali te ryby jak dookola plywaly.
Ja robilam zdjecia.

Akwarium bylo otwarte do 10:30 w nocy i jak wyszlismy z akwarium to na
dworzu bylo przedstawienie firewerkow.  Dzieci chetnie to ogladaly i
to bylo swietne zakoczenie naszegolo dlugiego dnia  za ktory tylko
zaplacilismy 6 dolarow!

Po naszym pobycie na Myrtle Beach pojechalismy do slawnego miasta
Charleston.  Tam jezdzilismy rowerami po starym miescie i ja zabralam
moje dzieci na przejazd statkiem do wyspy Fort Sumter.  Fort Sumter to
jest miejce gdzie sie Amerykanska Wojna Domowa zaczela.  Jak stan
South Carolina sie odlaczyl od Ameryki, to pewien Amerykanski General
powiesil wielka Amerykanska Flage na wyspie Fort Sumter.  To bardzo
zdenerwowalo ludzi w South Carolinie i kazali mu te flage zdjac.  Ale
on nie zdjal, wiec South Carolina zaczela bombardowac wype Fort
Sumter.  Kule do armaty co wkladali byly rozgrzane na czerwono, wiec
wszytko co te kule uderzaly zaczelo sie palic.  Po dwoch dniach
Amerykanie na wyspie sie poddali.  Ale naszczescie nikt nie zginol w
tej pierwszej bitwie.  Wyspa Fort Sumter to tez bylo miejsce gdzie
Ameryka wygrala pierwsza bitwe niepodleglosci od Angli.

Mojemu synowi Nefiemu bardzo sie jazda statkiem  podobala.  Wiec on
taraz lubi statki prawie tak samo jak lubi samoloty.  Samuel znowu
bardzo lubil wszytko czytac w muzeum.  Tam interesowal sie roznymi
kulami do armat.  Bylo bardzo duzo roznych kul.  Nie ktore kule byly
zrobione z malych kul co byly zwiazane razem.  Jak cos uderzaly to
rozpadaly sie i wiecej buzyly…

Od miasta Charleston pojechalismy na wyspe Hilton Head.  Tam bardzo
duzo ludzi jezdzi na wakacje, a mi sie tam nie podobalo bo byla tam
taka sama plarza jak w Charleston i w Myrtle Beach, ale nie bylo
zupelnie nic innego do zwiedzania.

Ja zabralam moje dzieci do restauracji morskiego jedzenia.  Tam Samuel
i Isaiah jedli kraby pierwszy raz, ale Nefi i Grace tylko chcieli jesc
czekoladowe ciasto.  Wszytkie kelnerki i kelnerzy w tej restauracji
byli Polskimi studentami co przjechali tam pracowac na wakacje.
Fajnie bylo z innymi Polakami porozmawiac.  Jak ich sie pytalam jak im
sie wakacje podobaja w Hilton Head Island, to mi powiedzieli ze
wszytko landie wyglada ale jest dosyc nudno.  Ja sie z nimi zgadzam.
Nie mam zamiaru wrocic na wakacje do Hilton Head, ale ciesze sie ze
zobaczylam jak ta wyspa wyglada.

W ostatni dzien jak bylismy w Hilton Head to moj maz mial wolny dzien
i do nas przyjechal.  Wszycy bylismy bardzo ucieszeni go zobaczyc po
calym tygodniu.  Josh byl bardzo zmeczony bo w tym tygodniu on
pracowal po 15 godzin codziennie w szpitalu.

Razem poszlismy na plarze i tam znalezlismy malego zlowia  i
rozgwiazde, a kilka dni wczesniej Isaiah tez znalazl kraba.  Isaiah
bardzo lubi zwierzeta wiec fajnie sie tymi stworzeniami bawil.
Oczywiscie wszytkie zwierzeta zwrucilismy do natury.  Na droge
spowrotem kupilam ksiazki o mozu dla Isaiah bo on sie tym teraz
interesuje.   Samuel za to znowu przeczytal 3 ksiazki Harry Potter.

Niestely na plarzy ktos ukradl mojego meza stare buty, a w hotelu ktos
ukradl Samuel stary zardzewialy zniszczony rower.  Ci ludzie w Hilton
Head sa rozpaczliwi….

W Sobote dziadek Woody zaladowal nam samochod prezentami, i my
pojechalismy do stanu Georgia, a Wlodek z zona pojechali spowrotem to
Sumter South Carolina.  Dziekujemy Woody i Shirley za wspaniale
wakacje!

Przesylam bardzo duzo zdjec tym razem.  Pierwsze i ostatnie zdjecie
bylo zrobione na Myrtle Beach.  Nastepne dwa w muzeum dziwakow.
Nastepne zdjecie jest przy najwiekszym zamku z piasku.  Ten zamek jest
taki wielki ze ptaki na nim mieszkaja.  Nastepne zdjecia sa z
akwarium.  Piersze pare na wystawie piratow.  Tam Nefi bardzo lubil
armate, bo jak pociagna za sznurek to armata miala blysk i gosno
strzelala.  Potem sa zdjecia jak dzieci trzymaja ogromne kraby i jak
dotykaja trygony.  Zdjecia na statku bylo zrobione w Charleston.  W
tyle widac Fort Sumter.  Zdjecie gdzie dzieci trzymaja zlowia i
rozgwiazde bylo zrobione w Hilton Head.

Sylwia

No comments: