Isle Of Palms Magazine April 2018

18 www.IsleOfPalmsMagazine.com | www.ILoveIOP.com | www.IOPmag.com Mike and Toni Sieriej and Family The Sieriej family has been enjoying their summer stint on the Isle of Palms for about 20 years – when the now grown daughters were just teenagers and the island was a very different place. Now, more than two decades later, the family continues to look forward to their traditional vacation, typically either the first or the second week of August, as a welcome reprieve from the reality of life. “We’ve now been staying at the same house for about eight or nine years,” said Mike Sieriej. At home in Cincinnati during the last gasp of winter, it was clear that Mike and his wife, Toni, were more than happy to talk about the beach. “We go with our two daughters, Natalie and KD, as well as their husbands and our four grandchildren, so there are 10 of us total. The babies have all grown up going to that house.” Traditions run rampant with the Sieriej clan during their week-long beach stay. On the first day, grandkids Thomas and Piper, 6 and 5 years old, respectively, hold hands and jump into the swimming pool at the house, screaming “THIS IS VACATION!” Cooking special meals together is another high point of the week, with the daughters’ husbands focusing on their individual specialties of breakfast feasts and grilling out. “I also make time to walk on the beach and catch up with each of my daughters,” Toni added. Though the whole family lives pretty close together, both Mike and Toni agreed the togetherness of the beach excursion is a different kind of camaraderie compared to simply being at home. “We bought a new minivan recently, and, when the grandkids saw it, they got excited and said ‘This minivan is for vacation!’” Mike recalled with a laugh. “They always look forward to it.” “We live near our daughters, but this is special,” Toni agreed. Linda Smith and Family Linda Smith’s family has deep roots on the Isle of Palms. Her parents bought a home on Cameron Boulevard in the early 1950s, and, even though they moved to Mount Pleasant about a decade later, the island was never far from their hearts. In the 1980s, Linda started vacationing on the island again with her mother, husband and children. “The beach is still a wide, beautiful family beach,” she said. “We have so many memories and a deep connection to IOP.” Traditions for the Smith family these days include renting a home over the week of Independence Day and decorating for the occasion. Other family members, from cousins to brothers, come over for the fun and the local seafood feast. After the party is over, Linda and crew like to put together puzzles on the kitchen table, facing the glorious view of the ocean. “We have come back for years now to the same home,” she said. “We started in a smaller rental, but the family has grown, and we moved to a larger home perfect for all of us!” Linda feels that it is important for her own family to understand what it was like to grow up on the Isle of Palms – to hear the stories in the actual setting. “It is important for our children and grandchildren to hear wonderful stories from their great-grandmother, grandmother and mother about living there, spending all day on the beach, taking a nap on stacked floats, learning about the creatures of the sea,” she said. “We’re hoping they love it as much as we do!” [ Feature ]