Other Summer Fun: Myrtle Beach

I would love to devote an entire blog entry to what a great husband and father Kevin is. He's a fabulous man, with a great sense of humor, and he's so much fun to be with! Unfortunately, writing about Kevin doesn't really fit this blog because he doesn't fall under the heading "Greenways", and if I did one under the heading "Other Summer Fun" it would probably be misinterpreted as appropriate for mature audiences only -- not quite what we were going for with this blog! To keep it more "family friendly" let me give you some examples of the how fabulous my husband is by telling you about our trip to Myrtle Beach.

First of all, last week when I was out of town with my book club, Kevin called and asked, "What would you think if I took next Friday off and we went to Myrtle Beach?" Umm, let's see: a weekend getaway to celebrate the end of summer in grand style (lazy river, frozen drinks by the pool, good food, family fun)? Yeah, I'm definitely in. He planned the whole thing (found the place, made the reservations, etc.) and then left town for the week to go to Nashville for work! My only job was to get us all packed and ready to leave by 7:00 am Friday morning, so we'd be down to Myrtle Beach early enough to get in some serious pool time Friday afternoon.


As we backed out of the driveway at 7:33 am on Friday morning, Noah asked, "Daddy, can we play that game? You know, with the questions?" The "game with the questions" consists of Kevin asking the kids trivia questions. Sounds simple, except that he makes the questions up on the fly (some with multiple choice answers), and the questions come from a huge variety of sources -- everything from Sponge Bob to Star Wars movies to Jerry Clower routines to baseball plays . . . . and, he asks them each separate questions, geared to their individual level of knowledge. The fact that he can do this and keep the kids occupied for as long as he can come up with questions may not sound like a big deal, but it's actually pretty amazing to witness. I try to jump in and help out by asking a question, and my mind goes blank. It's as if, not only do the kids and I share no common knowledge, but I know absolutely nothing. On this trip I resorted to asking a few multiplication problems, which they refused to answer. I concede that Kevin is the king of trivia, and I just like to sit back and enjoy the show!


Kevin put Noah off a little bit by saying, "It's not time for questions yet," and getting them to watch a movie first. After watching "Journey to the Center of the Earth" it was finally time for questions! About 20 minutes into questions everyone's nerves started to fray a little. The weather was iffy, with a dark sky, rolling rain clouds and scattered thunderstorms . . . Noah started getting frustrated that he wasn't able to answer every question right, so he started getting whiney. Nathan, never missing a chance to aggravate his younger brother, started jumping in and answering Noah's questions when Noah didn't know the answers, and even when Noah did. A fight ensued. There was yelling from the front seat. There was yelling from the back seat. People quit the game. And then, the booming voice that said, "CHOOSE FUN!" Of course, there was the implied threat of what would happen if fun wasn't chosen, but still, I was proud of how quickly everyone got on board. Choose fun! They did, and we did. No punishments or other negative consequences necessary!

We got to the resort and Kevin went in to get us some wrist bands (so we could us the pools before check-in time) and got us an upgrade to an ocean-front suite. I LOVE being able to sit in the car and have Kevin take care of stuff like that! I would never have even asked about getting an upgrade, or if I had asked I would have said "No thanks!" when I found out there was an extra charge. But not Kevin! Extra charge? Who cares?!? We're on VACATION!

For lunch we went to Margaritaville at Broadway on the Beach. We sat outside on the patio, sipping (what else?) margaritas and watched the clouds break apart and the blue sky and bright sun show themselves. After eating we let the kids ride a huge, rocking pirate ship ride, which I actually had to ride as well, because Noah wasn't tall enough to ride without an adult. Kevin sat on a bench and watched -- gotta love a man who knows his limits!

After lunch and rides we headed back to the resort to change and check out the pools. It is so great to be a mom of boys, because once they get to be a certain age (i.e., potty trained) and you're out as a family, you never have to take them to the bathroom. Or changing room. You only have to worry about getting yourself changed and ready, while your husband handles the boys. I love that husband of mine!

Over the next 36 hours we really did little else but swim in the pools, sit in the hot tubs, float in the lazy river, jump the waves in the ocean, eat, play games, watch TV, and generally relax and have fun with each other. We ordered food and drinks poolside, went to Starbucks for breakfast, ordered take-out pizza for dinner and ate in our room on the 12th floor, with beautiful views of the beach and ocean, the resort, and all up and down the coast. We discovered that this was Noah's first time to stay in a hotel with a balcony (at 8 years old -- poor deprived kid!), and I was especially glad Kevin and sprung for the upgrade! The kids got to watch a wedding that took place on the grounds below our room, watch fireworks light up the night sky, look down on pelicans flying across the sky, and we all watched with keen interest as a small garbage truck drove up and down the beach, emptying trash cans into its back end. Balcony's are cool!

For Friday night dinner out we took the the kids to Dick's Last Resort, a fun restaurant at Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle Beach. Kevin and I had taken Nathan there when he was 2 1/2 and I guess my memory was a little cloudy. I know Dick's advertises itself as "the place your momma warned you about", with the rude wait staff and tall, cone-shaped hats made out of butcher paper they put on your head with cleaver sayings written in black Sharpie . . . I remembered it being kind of "all in good fun", but parents everywhere, let me warn you: Dick's Last Resort is strictly for mature audiences only. Nathan was absolutely mortified when they put a hat on his head that read "Free Breast Exams Here" with a cut-out for his face to poke through, and I think he wanted to punch the waiter. Kevin (thank God for Kevin!) was able to talk Nathan down, and we did end up having a nice evening. However, I saw a glimpse of what our next few years may be like, as puberty moves in and takes up residence, and I admit it, I'm nervous! At least Noah didn't really understand a lot of what was written on the hats (his said "I'm wearing her panties" with an arrow pointing to me), so perhaps we've only caused great emotional pain and scarring to our oldest.

Overall, the weekend was such great fun, that come Sunday morning Kevin was suggesting that perhaps we stay another day. I love his free spirit, and hated to be a big party pooper, but hey, someone has got to work! And since I'm kind of liking the fact that it's not me, I figured we needed to get him back in time so he could be fresh and ready to go Monday morning!

Noah: On Friday we went to Myrtle Beach. We went on the balcony, we went to Starbucks, and we went to Dicks Last Resort. We went to the pool. There was a lazy river and a pirate ship with a pool. We went in the lazy river. We went in the pirate ship. I played. Then I went in the other pool. I did a front flip into the pool. Me and my brother were jumping in the pool. My Mom and Dad got in the pool. We played water tag. My Mom and Dad said we had to go back to the room. I had a great time at the pool. My favorite things were swimming and spending time with my family.

Nathan: We went to Myrtle Beach on Friday and we stayed until Sunday. On Friday we drove down and went to Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. We ate lunch and then we rode on a pirate ship ride. Next we went back to the hotel and went to the pool. First we went in a pirate ship pool, and then the lazy river. Me and Noah swam around it. But out of nowhere two 16-year-olds attacked us. They were splashing in our mouths and pushing us under water and grabbing us. When they turned on Noah, grabbing him and stuff, I said, "IT'S GO TIME." Then I sprung up and got one in a choke hold. Then the other guy came to help and Noah jumped on him and then they pushed us under the water and we ran to get Mom. We were coughing and hacking and Mom was all like, "What's the matter?" So I told her and she went over to them and put down the Law. On Saturday we swam in the pools and the ocean and everything. And on Sunday we watched TV until 10:30 am and then we went home. While we were there we also saw fireworks from the balcony, and went to Dick's Last Resort. My favorite things were swimming in the lazy river, going to Margaritaville, and playing miniature golf.

Mom's Note: I was really surprised, when I read Nathan's journaling, that he spent so much time writing about the "fight" with the two boys in the lazy river! I've got to admit, when they came up to me "coughing and hacking" I was dozing in a lounge chair , and so they startled me out of nap. I was a little disoriented, and had no idea what they were talking about or what had happened. I knew my boys were probably not completely innocent in whatever had happened, but I take horseplay in the water pretty seriously, so I felt I needed to address it with the other boys. We walked over to the lazy river and my kids pointed them out to me, and I waved them both over. One of the boys pointed to his chest and raised his eyebrows like, "Who, me?" I nodded, and looking nervous, they waded over. I'm pretty sure they weren't 16, but they were older, taller, and stronger than my boys. My laying down the "Law" consisted of the following: "They said you guys were playing really rough. I don't know what happened, but I've asked them to stay away from you and would like you to stay away from them. Can you do that? Great. Thanks." And then I headed straight back to my lounge chair -- after all, my beer was getting warm! Oh, and "It's go time"? Straight from the movie "Paul Blart, Mall Cop". Thank goodness I don't let them watch movies for mature audiences only!

Greenways: Alleghany Trail

I can't believe the kids start school in six days! We've had such a great summer, and while I am really excited for the kids to move on to third and sixth grade, I'm also a little panicked. Summer cannot be over. I mean, we haven't walked on all the greenways yet. The kids haven't done all the summer enrichment lessons I had planed. We haven't gone to one museum or taken one "field trip". And don't even ask me how the multiplication table memorization is going!



Actually, I've (mostly) come to terms with the fact that not every one of my plans is going to come to fruition. However, in our last few days of summer I would like to finish up a few of the trails we've haven't walked on, mostly so on my map of highlighted trails there are no half-highlighted trails or gaps in already highlighted lines. I know. It's ridiculous. Just know that I know it's ridiculous.

Anyway, today on the Alleghany Trail we had a pretty good time. This is a trail that connects the Middle Crabtree Creek Trail to the North Hills Trail. Nathan and I had actually walked on a little bit of this trail when we were on the North Hills Trail earlier in the summer, so we picked up where we had left off (at least that's how I have chosen to highlight it on my map) and planned to walked south to where Middle Crabtree Creek Trail begins. Sadly, we never actually made it to the start of Middle Crabtree Creek, and I have no idea how close or how far we were. The trail itself was pretty cool with lots of different elements (it was mostly paved, but also included some sidewalks along some residential streets, and a muddy stretch of path along the creek where I got a little worried that we may have gotten lost). But, the day was overcast and rainy, and so after walking for an hour I knew we needed to turn around and go back. The walk back was actually quicker, but it felt twice as long. I think we ended up walking more than 5 miles total. I knew we had walked too far though, when there at the end even I was getting disappointed when we would come around a bend in the trail, only to discover that we were not back at the car yet and still had more to walk. When Noah started comparing it to the Neuse River Trail that we had walked with their Dad I knew I was in trouble! But, we did persevere, and an early lunch at McDonald's seemed to take away some of the kid's discomfort at having to walk so far and so long on this humid, rainy day. I like to think that they would agree, that a long, humid day on the greenways is better than a day at school! I'm really going to miss it when school starts. But, a few less meals and smoothies from McDonald's will probably do us all some good!

Nathan: The Alleghany Trail was very long. We got there at 9:00 am and then walked down into the trail. It was along a river. The trail was in a neighborhood and the houses on the trail were huge. Almost every house had a trampoline. One house had a playset that was grown over with plants and trees and was all rotten and tilted up. That trail took a dip and led us along a giant rock. I wanted to climb it but it was covered with slugs. Then we went up to a highway and walked for 15 minutes along that. Then we turned around and walked back and went into the trail again. Next thing I knew, I found a bamboo walking stick! I took that back with us. When we got to the car I was glad.

Noah: Today we walked on a greenway. There was a river. The river had little fish. We saw a cool red frog. We also saw a tiny frog. We found a bamboo stick. There was a tree stump with baby centipedes on it. We went on a bridge and saw two spiders. We walked a little ways back and saw in a backyard was a cool playset that looked like a pirate ship. We saw a puppy. We walked back. I had a great time on the greenway.

Other Summer Fun: The Three Bachelors

Mom went to the mountains with her book club this weekend, so the JB's were on their own. I left Kevin strict instructions -- the boys must journal about their weekend adventures! I knew it might be a little difficult to get them to actually sit down and do it, but Kevin came through, just like I knew he would! He had planned lots of fun activities for them to do, and then when he had them sit down to write in their journal he had listed all the activities out on the white board, to help prompt them (Fishing. McDonalds. Pool with friends. Playing outside. Sleepover. Playing video games. Baseball practice. Ice Cream.). Here's what they choose to write about . . . .

Nathan: When my mom went to the mountains me, Noah, and my Dad were left home to have fun. Me and Noah left home and went to get Rachael. Then we decided to get my friend Jeffrey. We were over at his house and we put a tarp over the back of his dad's work truck so it looked like an army troop transport truck. We also rolled down the windows of his truck and got inside and "drove" around and played on it and in the truck. Also we eventually brought out some little chihuahuas and put them in the truck. But some little girls came and took them so we went to get my dog. Her name is Olive. I took here with us to play manhunt and play with us by the truck.

We also went back in the bushes and played manhunt from 12:00 pm to 9:00 pm. And at 9:00 pm me and Noah called by dad and asked if Jeffrey could sleep over at our house and he said "YES"! So we booked over to our house. We played Animal Crossing for a little bit. Then we tried to go to sleep but we kept talking . Then we couldn't get comfortable so we told my Dad, so he let us play video games until he went to bed which was at 12:39 am. So after that we fell asleep. The end.

Noah: Yesterday we played at my friend's house. We played in the back of his pickup truck. We put his chihuahua in the pickup truck. The chihuahua was barking. We went and played hide and seek. We went back to my friend's house. We talked in the back of his pickup truck. We went inside and got a drink. We went back outside. We went to my house and got my dog and brought her to my friend's house. We played with my dog. We brought my dog back home. We went back and talked. My Dad called me home for dinner. I had fun playing with my friends.

On Saturday we got ice cream at Bruster's. I got vanilla with sprinkles. My Dad got peach flavored ice cream and my brother got cookies and cream flavored ice cream. I had to lick fast because it was melting. I licked all the sprinkles off. It was good. We drove home. I had fun getting ice cream.

Greenways: Buckeye Trail

I'm struggling writing about this trail today, and I don't know why. It was certainly hot, which definitely makes it harder to think. But it's been hot all summer, so I don't think that's it. The trail was beautiful (2.5 miles -- 5 round trip -- over boardwalks, across marshes, along paved paths meandering beside Crabtree Creek; tall, shady trees; birds chirping; dragon flys buzzing about), so that wasn't it either. I guess I've been a little distracted by the top news from the last few days, and I'm finding it hard to concentrate. I'm sure you've seen the story about the flight attendant who's become a "modern day folk hero" (?!?!?!), all because he got mad at work and walked off the job. Really? This is top news? Here's a news flash -- people walk off jobs ALL THE TIME. Just the other day we

were walking into Kohl's and there was a guy in the parking lot screaming, "I'm not going back in there!" He then sat down on the curb, took off his shoes, and threw them at the store. OK, it's not quite as dramatic as someone telling off a customer, stealing beer from his employer, activating the emergency exit and sliding off into the sunset, but it's still pretty much the same story. Except the "guy" we saw? He was about 3 1/2. And that story ended with his mother picking him up under her arm like a football, and carrying him to the car; not with his mother appearing on TV in a show of support for her son, justifying his bad behavior. ("Who can blame him for not wanting to go back into the store. And throwing his shoes? Those shoes probably deserved it. If I didn't want to into a store I would have probably thrown a lot more than my shoes. . . .")


To be fair, I've been out of the work force for about 4 months now, so maybe things have changed. But back in the day, when someone walked off a job, they weren't called a modern day folk hero -- they were called a quitter. Also back in the day? News Reporters didn't quote comments to other stories (made on the Internet by people who don't even use their real names) as part their own story and call it NEWS (thank you, MSNBC.com). I mean, really, when did someone's opinion of a story become relevant to the actual event itself? I just don't get it.

And the other thing I just don't get? I can't figure out who is the villain, and who we're supposed to be rooting for. Should we root for the flight attendant? Because he stood up to some rude person and publicly told her off, like we've all wanted to do but never did? Sure, we could root for him. Except he stole from his employer. And how many tax dollars are going to be wasted on pursuing this case? And what about all the people on that flight and other flights who were delayed or inconvenienced because of his selfishness? And what about all the f-bombs he dropped over the speaker (in front of kids) before he made his great escape? Is this really someone who's legal fund we want to contribute to?


OK -- so maybe we root for the passenger who was angry about having to check her bag at the last minute and so told off the flight attendant in anger. Hey, we've all got a air-travel horror story, right? Packed in like cattle, delays, lost bags, high ticket prices, bag fees . . . . That lady probably only said what all of us have thought at one time or another, so what's wrong with that? Except, none of those things are really the flight attendant's fault. And why should some lady's (and I use the term "lady" loosely) lack of self control be a cause for celebration?


Maybe this is JetBlue's fault, because big business is always a fun target, right? Worker satisfaction is at an all time low, and with all the cutbacks, lack of raises, layoffs, etc. everyone is just waiting for the day when the economy turns around so they can tell their boss to "take this job and shove it", and move on to greener pastures. Except, in this case, there hasn't been anything reported about JetBlue being a poor employer. But all the bloggers are active now, calling for JetBlue to hire the guy back, with the suggestion that this is JetBlue's opportunity to make it right. Riiight . . .


Can you see why I'm a little distracted? It's just not clear to me. Who are we supposed to vilify? Who gets to be the hero? All these conflicting opinions . . . . And why are we letting other people's opinions answer these questions for us? I know, I know . . . . it's easier to do that as opposed to reviewing actual facts, using critical thinking, and drawing our own conclusions. I get it. I guess I'm just sick of hearing people blame other people for their own poor choices. Frankly, the fact that this bad behavior has now been legitimized and embraced by the web community makes me want to sit down on the curb and throw my shoes! But I guess this is just the world we live in. And so, in the spirit of "everyones opinion is as valuable and relevant as everyone else's opinion", here's my opinion. If we're going to look to Internet comments and web opinions to shape our ideas about what are acceptable ways to behave, I would humbly suggest this recent Facebook status update: Be kinder than necessary, because everyone you meet is fighting some sort of battle. If we could just follow this sage advice, perhaps we would find ourselves all getting along a little better, and there would be no reason to cuss people out, steal beer, and commit felony criminal mischief. I don't know, it's just a thought.


Mom's Note: Wow! I feel a little better having written that! Do you feel better for having read it? Today's journal assignment to the boys came with some extra instructions. Specifically, I asked them to include in their writing a combination of exclamatory, interrogative, and declarative sentences, with the goal to try to write more compound sentences than simple sentences. How did they do?





Noah: We went on a greenway. We saw a guy on a little motor bike and he scared me to death! We went on the boardwalk. There were two baby turtles and they were cute! When the turtles saw us they swam away. We also saw six frogs. It was really hot. After we left we got donuts. I had fun walking on the greenway.






Nathan: Today we went on a greenway and I got sweaty. It felt as though it was 500 miles. I wonder why it felt that long? While we were there we saw frogs! I was so happy about that and we saw beaver huts and herons! This trail was similar to the others but the lake was different. You knew there were beavers because of all the cut down tree stumps in the water. The only reason you knew the beavers did it was because of how the trees looked in the water. There were also turtles. Big turtles, small turtles, swimming turtles, and sitting turtles! We saw one turtle no bigger than a scotch tape dispenser, and one no bigger than a three-ring binder! During this greenway we had to cross the road! I got to press the button that lets you cross the road. On this greenway it was HOT! I sweated more than Godzilla next to the sun. I had a sweat ring down to my butt. When we were almost back I said, "I wish I had roller blades right now." After that we went to Kripsy Kreme.

Frogs! Herons!

Beaver Lodge!

I wonder why the mushroom grows in the tree? How did this leaf get in the spider web?

Greenways: House Creek Trail

Today we continued our "outdoor art appreciation week" by heading out to the North Carolina Museum of Art and walking the House Creek Trail (a one mile paved trail which connects the Reedy Creek trail to the Reedy Creek Pedestrian Bridge, but more on that later).

One of the things that makes The House Creek Trail so special is that when you come from the museum parking lot, around the first turn in the trail, you come out into this beautiful grassy field with huge pieces of art popping up out of the landscape. As you stroll the paved trail that cuts through the field you find yourself coming alongside various pieces of outdoor art, and it's pretty impressive! Following the trail you'll pass through a heavily wooded area that runs alongside Interstate 40 (Wade Avenue), although when you're on the trail you can hardly hear the traffic. You never forget you're close to the Museum of Art though, as the parts of the trail are painted in decorative patterns, and small billboard-like pictures and other pieces of art peek out though the trees to surprise you as you walk along. The trail comes out to a pedestrian bridge that crosses over I-440 where it meets Wade Avenue/I-40. The kids have seen that bridge forever, and we've driven under it hundreds of time. I told them our trail adventure today would "amaze and astound" them, and they were not disappointed to get the chance to walk across that bridge. If you live in Raleigh, you've got to take your kids on this trail. It will make your heart race, and it's the cheapest thrill in town! On the way back we took a detour on one of the other trails that cuts through the museum grounds (this one wood chips and gravel), continuing through the woods and then coming back into the grassy field on the other side.

Noah (left) and Nathan (right) peek through the fence while standing in the center of the 660 ft. long Reedy Creek Pedestrian Bridge, 55 ft. above the rushing traffic on Highway 440.

Mom's note on Noah: Noah was kind of low energy today, and I don't know why. Perhaps he's a little out of sorts because he had his first mouth piece (a spreader to fix his cross bite) put in on Wednesday, and maybe it's sore. Maybe it's all the heat and high humidity we've been having. Or maybe he hasn't been getting enough sleep (our summer has been pretty much go to bed late and get up early). Whatever it is, he wasn't the high energy kid he normally is, so I was a little concerned about him, especially when he wanted me to carry him the last half mile back to the car. (OK, I was a little concerned for myself too. I mean, come on, the kid is 64 lbs. and it's like 95 degrees . . . ) Making the sacrifice, as moms will do, I did end up carrying him on my back, but only because it was so out of character for him to ask. I mean, this is a kid who spent 5, 12-plus hour days at Disney and was still skipping out of the park at 11pm on the last night. That's the magic of Disney I guess. And while the greenways have been fun, perhaps magic might be a stretch. And so, all this to say, Noah won't be journaling about this particular adventure. He was trying to negotiate to just write 8 adjectives, and frankly, at this point in the summer, I would have been happy with that. When I asked him to sit down to do his journaling he burst into tears, crying about how he'd had such a hard time at the pool today, and he just wanted to come home and and relax and play by himself. Yes, it's a hard knock life for an 8-year-old.

Nathan: Today we went on the House Creek Trail. It's by the museum. It had a lot of art on the side of the trail. There were giant loops that looked like clay, and also, there was this piece that looked like redish corn. We walked through the woods a little bit and then we came to the pedestrian bridge that was over the highway. We've wanted to do that all the time. Then we went back to the car and left to go to McDonald's to get a McFlurry, two apple pies, and two smoothies for us to share.

Nathan taking a break and catching a cool breeze as he sits inside Mike Cindric and Vincent Petrarca's really impressive Lowe's Park Pavilion.

Left: Noah posing on the painted trail. Right: Noah & Nathan in front of Martha Jackson-Jarvis' Crossroads/Trickster I. Noah called it "the giant corn".


Left: Noah & Nathan walk the trail toward Vollis Simpson's Wind Machine. Right: Ledelle Moe's Collapse I.

Nathan (left) and Noah (right) checking out Jim Gallucci's Whispering Bench. (They really work!)

Other Summer Fun: Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden

"How did I get here?" This is the question running through my mind as I'm driving west on highway 20 in South Carolina, my mom sitting beside me pouring over her TripTix travel planner, both of us pretending we're on The Amazing Race and headed for the next clue. I've actually been asking myself that question a lot lately, perhaps as part of some sort of mid-life (?!?) crisis. Mostly this question popped up when I started thinking about quitting my job, and then especially since April when I actually left my job of 9 years and decided to try my hand at stay-at-home wife and mother. I mean, who quits a good-paying (or any) job in this kind of economy, and who decides to stay home with her kids when her kids are 10 & 7? Really, how did I get here?

Answering that question falls outside of "Greenways & Other Summer Fun", but I can answer the question of how I got to South Carolina. We were on a quest to see Pearl. My mom's been talking about going to see Pearl for the past year. She'd read about him, and then seen a documentary about him and his life. Apparently, this documentary is so inspiring that even Dick, her husband, was willing (and excited!) to drive the 7 1/2 hours from Tallahassee, Florida to Bishopville, South Carolina. This from a man who does not like to drive long distances, and only makes the sacrifice to dive to see us once each year (at Christmas). I admit, I was curious. I wanted to see what Pearl was all about, and so the JB's and I decided to take a little road trip.

"Pearl" is Pearl Fryar, and he's the guy in the blue shirt in the picture (above), sitting in his John Deere Gator and talking to some visitors at his home in Bishopville, SC. Maybe you've seen his story in the documentary A Man Named Pearl (I haven't, but it's next up on my Nextflix que). Maybe you've seen him in his John Deere commercial (I haven't seen that either, although I understand it's the one Brett Favre is in). I knew Pearl was a man who had put a topiary garden in his yard and had gotten some attention from it, and apparently people come from all over the world to see his garden. That's about all I knew, and that's kind of what I was thinking we were going to see -- a garden. What an understatement!

In Bishopville we met a world-famous artist. A living, breathing, contemporary folk-art genius. Pearl Fryar is a topiary artist, and his living medium are the plants, bushes, and trees in the 3 acre yard that surrounds his house. He was sitting in his front yard when we drove up, almost like he was waiting for us to get there, and we were excited! He gave us a really warm welcome to his home, and after chatting with us for a bit he invited us to take our time and look around his yard, which serves as both his studio and gallery.

Since 1983 he's worked in his yard to create a topiary garden that is unlike anything I have ever seen in my life. I know, you're probably thinking, "Topiary is pretty and everything, but really, how special could it be?" It almost defies description. He's completely untrained, and had never seen or read about topiary before he started. And yet, walking through his yard, you see a total body of work where each piece of topiary is unique, and yet all flow together to create a lush landscape that's visually stunning.

You can go online and read his life story, or rent his documentary from Netflix. Next time you're on 95 heading through South Carolina (and I'm convinced everyone will be at one time or another) I would encourage you to take a little detour over to Bishopville and see his work for yourself. You will not be disappointed!

What impresses me the most is that he didn't even start doing this until he was in his early 40's! When he bought his first home and finally had the means and the time to devote his attention to something where he would be able to express his creativity, that's when he started. He worked his whole career for one employer, and when he finished his 12-hour workdays at the can manufacturing plant he would come home and work in his yard, where his heart was, sometimes until 1 am. Now that he's retired he spends a lot of time working with kids, because he believes that everyone has the power of creativity and originality within them, and that kids especially need to be given opportunities to find out what's within them. About topiary he says, "There's the right way, there's the wrong way, and there's my way," and when you look around at his work, you know he's right.

Everything you see in his garden is something he's designed and created on his own, from his own vision. Some of his sculptures took more than seven years to be fully developed. His patience and vision is difficult to comprehend, and when you look at his yard and think about the fact that he doesn't fertilize, doesn't water, and that many of his plants came from "throwaway plants" from local nurseries, you might think, "How did he get here?"

But I'm pretty sure Pearl's not wasting his time thinking about how he got here, and maybe that's part of the lesson. I read recently that the essential question isn't "How did I get here?", but rather, "Where am I going?" I think, up until this point, I've studiously avoided trying to answer that seemingly impossible question because, frankly, it's a lot more fun to look back and analyze, and re-analyze . . . . and easier too. And it sure doesn't take much creativity or originally.

Meeting Pearl and seeing his work makes me want to try to find an answer to that question -"where am I going?"-- and maybe even find the creativity and originality within me. Meeting Pearl gives me hope that it's not too late to try.

"Gardening books will tell you that some of these things in my garden can't be done, but I had never read them when I got started. Not knowing ahead of time that something is supposed to be impossible often makes it possible to achieve. I didn't have any limitations because I really didn't know anything about horticulture. I just figured I could do whatever I wanted with any plant I had."

Pearl Fryar

Nathan: We went to Bishopville, South Carolina and saw Pearl Fryar and his garden. This trip was a surprise because all me and Noah knew was we were going to a hotel. We were also surprised to see our Grandma Carol and Grandpa Dick and Joey. Pearl Fryar has a 3 acre topiary garden where he cuts bushes and trees to look like different shapes, using hedge clippers and a cherry picker. He has so many shapes and there are so many sizes you couldn't imagine. He even cut his address into the bushes in front of his house. We never saw any giraffes or turtles or any other animals. No, he was different and he sculpted different things. The lines in his plants were perfect.

It is really nice of him to allow people from all over the world to come to his house and walk around his yard. I met Pearl Fryar and he is very nice. He sits outside and talks to people and shares his ideas about his artwork. He's even inspired some of his neighbors to do topiary bushes in their yards. Mr. Fryar also likes to have art made out of metal ("junk art") in his garden. He also has plants that spell out P.E.A.C.E., L.O.V.E., and G.O.O.D.W.I.L.L in his yard. It was really hot when we were there, but I felt a presence of majestic beauty in all of Fryar's work.

Noah: We went to an artist's house and his name was Pearl Fryar. He makes bushes and trees into shapes. He carved his address in the grass. He cut shapes in his bushes. He had a lot of bird houses. He was also growing watermelon and peppers. One of my favorite things was meeting him. He was really nice. He had a lot of things to say, like, "I decided to put my energy into something I could control." He was a good man. He is on the John Deere commercial. He is fun to be with. I felt good about going to his house.

(MOM'S NOTE: Pearl Fryar did not actually say this to us when we met him. This is a quote of his that I put in their journal notebooks to help inspire them when writing about our trip to see Pearl. I thought it was funny that Noah chose to include it in his journaling. I hope he remembers it and what it means as he goes through life and has to choose where to put his energy.)

Some of Nathan's 97 pictures . . . they don't do it justice.

All smiles after spending time with Pearl are Grandma Carol, Grandpa Dick, Nathan, and Noah.