Day 1, Leave

Austin had about five hours of leave on Family Day, but it had to be spent on the base. First thing we had to do was eat! We knew that all the eating places would be crowded, so we bought some KFC the night before and had a picnic on the grounds.

Dude hadn't had a Dorito in three months! And you should have seen him with the Double-Stuff Oreos! And Angela had made some buckeyes, which is some kind of peanut butter filling covered in chocolate. Austin loves her buckeyes. He had lost 20 pounds and didn't want to put it back on, and though he controlled himself pretty well, the temptation was great.

Talking to his Mema and Grandpap, Pam's parents who couldn't come on the trip:


Then we went to the post exchange to do some shopping at really good prices. Just about everyone got t-shirts and souvenirs, and Austin got a couple of things he needed for his uniforms. Pam got enough things for her car as to leave no doubt to anyone (particularly state troopers) that her son is a Marine.

We went to the Parris Island Museum where there are some cool exhibits on the history of Parris Island proper as well as Marine history.



He wanted us to see the Protestant Chapel, which had some beautiful stained glass windows. This is a memorial bell that is outside the chapel.


It's amazing how fast the time can go, and then he had to report back to the Parade Deck at 3:00 for to practice drill for the next day's graduation. They were all told in no uncertain terms not to be late, so we had him back at 2:30, and he said goodbye by 2:45. He said it was like a tease to be able to be with everyone and then have to leave but he had one more night in the barracks.