Family reunions are relaxing breaks from the mundane and carry on for generations.
Patrick’s family reunion in South Carolina
Patrick, a resident at Gabriel Homes, attended a family reunion in June in South Carolina with over 30 relatives from across the country. Reunions started for the family in the 1990s, hosted by Patrick’s grandparents, and have been held every several years since.
All Hands on Deck
Different family groups planned parts of the week-long itinerary, which included activities like watching the minor league team Charleston RiverDogs and holding a wine tasting.
“We started planning for South Carolina in the fall,” said Todd, Patrick’s dad. “Our email thread and Google surveys were critical for pulling this thing off.”
Beach Games Galore
Each of the families had rentals right by the beach. With perfect weather nearly every day, many from Patrick’s family enjoyed the sand and sea breeze each morning. Patrick spent most of his time on the coast playing one of his favorite sports, bocce.
“You roll balls and try to get them as close as possible to a smaller target ball in bocce,” Patrick said. “Hitting the target ball is easy when I play. The family got jealous that I kept beating them!”
Those who liked competing also got together on the local golf course during the latter half of the trip.
A stellar putter, Patrick helped golfers stay below par with his signature Pat Putts. Patrick took pride in golfing with his family since he got a putter last Christmas.
The highlight of the trip was when the family held trivia night. Everyone who attended secretly shared one fun fact about themselves. Everyone had to match each name with the correct factoid and try to get as many correct as possible.
Champion of Champions
The highest scorer matched nine names and facts correctly, but nobody matched Patrick’s factoid. He flexed his muscles as he revealed he was a gold medal powerlifter.
“Everyone was cheering for Patrick when we learned he was a weightlifting champion. All the answers were funny and unique, and we loved hearing the longer stories behind the brief facts.”