Our Island Adventure

     In May we went to Turks and Caicos for my cousin's wedding. Months earlier it was decided that my mother would not be able to go because of her health issues. She was really, really upset about having to miss it, so we decided to do a big family vacation at the beginning of October. The plan was to rent a cabin somewhere in the mountains in Tennesse. It was going to be my mom, my grandma, the three of us, my sister, her husband, and their two boys. Mom was really excited about it especially once I started showing her all the awesome cabins there were.
     After mom passed we knew we wouldn't be able to have the vacation without her - at least not right now. We want to eventually make it happen but this year was just too soon. So since we had the time off, Tyrone, Haleigh, and I decided to do a small family vaca somewhere not too far away. We chose to go to Chincoteague Island. Chincoteague is known for its wild horses that roam the island. We chose to stay in a pretty hotel that had a stable on its property. I never ended up getting the story behind the horses that were there but I am very sure they have some awesome stories. I loved that we were able to feed and love on them because I was not expecting to be able to get close to any of the horses. ALSO, I have previously been VERY allergic to horses. I am talking throat itchy and closing, eyes swollen shut, hives - allergic. I have always joked about the last thing I do in life will be riding a horse because at least I will go out doing something I have always wanted to do. However, when I went up (prepared with benadryl in my pocket and a drink in my hand) I had NO reactions at all. So I waited a few minutes then pet the horse. NOTHING. I was able to be around and pet the horses all week long without a trip to the hospital. I do not know how to stress how amazing this is!
     Anyway, I got off-topic, the hotel we stayed in was beautiful. The staff knew us by name and greeted us every morning when they saw us at breakfast. One day Haleigh left one of her stuffies at the table and they kept it safe until Tyrone and Haleigh went down for hot cocoa before bed. They said they knew she would be back down for hot cocoa so they kept her stuffy safe for her. It was just a very calm and nice atmosphere. We will 100% be staying there again. OH! Another awesome thing? Haleigh finally mastered riding a two-wheeler! She is so excited and cannot wait to be able to take her bike out for a ride here.

   

     It was a bittersweet vacation. I know my mom was smiling down on us though. She was proud of us for going, she was proud of Haleigh for learning to ride a bike, and most likely laughing hysterically at my horse situation.