Myrtle Beach (Part 2)

Wednesday – We started out the morning joining some others on the beach doing something new… catching sand fleas!  I had no idea what these things were, and, to be honest, they kinda freaked me out.  BUT I was really intrigued by them.  I have no idea their purpose or what they eat or even where they live.  They swam around in the tide pools and then buried themselves in the sand when we would get close.  Some caught them with their hands; others used shovels or the like to get ‘em.

Madison was the bravest, willing to fish them out with her bare hands.

I eventually held one in my hands and let it tickle my palms.  We hung out for most of the day with our normal lunch break. 

Then, we got ready to go out to see the Pirates Dinner Show.  We had been years ago, but the girls wanted to go again. 

We got tickets last minute and ended up in a good/bad seat – right on the floor, but kinda tucked back with an somewhat limited view. 

What we really liked that the actors would sometimes interact with us.

And we could see their stunts up close.

    

And we watched as Salty the Seal misbehaved…. and was offered treats to do the right thing – just like when Pepper misbehaves!

It was a good night.

I almost forgot!  You always walk through the gift shop as you leave.  When we went three years ago, we got a great picture of Madison trying on some of the costume gear.  She obliged and tried on similar gear – and gave us the “pirate pose”!  Hilarious!

    

So…. Thursday came, and I had booked a virtual scavenger hunt.  I thought it could be fun to trek around Myrtle, solve clues, and do fun games/challenges.  It wasn’t any of those things… even the fun was hard to come by.  It was the biggest waste of time and money, but live and learn. What it was was a Canva of 9 slides of places or things to do or try.  There were no clues, no puzzles, nothing to get the next clue; just some slides with info on it.  We made the most of it on a really hot day.  Anyway, here are things we did. 

Have some fun in a souvenir shop…

    

Photobomb a picture and enjoy fancy drinks

    

How we felt…

    

The octopus made out of recycled ocean trash

A hotel named after Ellie with a fun flair…

    

Then we just explored and had lunch…

      

We came back to enjoy the beach.

         

That evening, we took our kites out to the windy beach.  The girls don’t remember ever flying a kite on their own, so it was a good activity.  Had I had a chair, I would have just sat and held my kite in the sky.

         

We took our family picture that night too.

         

Friday, we made sure to enjoy the beach.  We ended the night at Boardwalk on the Beach enjoying some shopping and a meal at Flying Fish.  Pictures three years apart. Time keeps ticking…

    

The girls tried (cooked) oysters for the first time.  They did not fall in love with them, but neither have I. 

    

Saturday, I went out to the beach for a short farewell moment. 

   

Then, we packed up, cleaned up, and headed out by 11am.  Just when everyone else goes out on the road.  We stopped at Bucc-ee’s for lunch and gas.  I have never seen something so crazy, and we have been to Bucc-ee’s before.  The line for the bathroom snaked around multiple aisles.  It moved quickly because they have 25 very clean bathrooms for just the women!  Then, we grabbed some sandwiches, Beaver nuggets, and some drinks and took off.

Our trek was pretty good until it wasn’t. And then we creeped and crawled our way to Princeton where we had supper and stayed the night.  We ate pizza at a fun little restaurant.

    

Got home on Sunday.  Mom and dad had the dog at their house.  I was very thankful they offered to keep him until we had a minute to unpack and settle.  When they brought him home, they stayed and we had share our picture night.  It is always fun to relieve our vacation. 

Thanks for a memorable time, Myrtle Beach. 

Myrtle Beach (Part 1)

We were only here a week, but I have a lot of pictures so I split it into two parts.  It’s been a crazy year – lots of decisions, lots of changes, lots of things.  It was, frankly, a little exhausting.  I suggested we just stay home and not take a vacation.  Jeremy, in much wisdom, said, nope, I need to get away.  So, we decided on a simple, week long vacation in Myrtle.  There weren’t many decisions to make – basically just which Air BnB or VRBO. Once that was decided, we just waited for the date to arrive.  And, finally, after the whiplash speed of May, the end of school, and the packing of all the things, it was time to leave.

Last year, we challenged the girls to plan the vacation.  This year, they took over the “fun” surprises for the trip.  Since they were little, I have had tiny surprises and things to help the trip move along – anything from reading a book aloud to candy to play a game to gas station treat.  I tried to get some things when I was out one day, but I decided there wasn’t much to get for older kids or things they didn’t already have.  They said they had ideas, so I did take them shopping and gave them a little money to see what they would do with it. 

We left on Friday afternoon.  Trekked in our new van to Princeton, West Virginia.  On the way, we stopped a few surprise places.  The road we were on had a number of waterfalls.  We stopped at one for a diversion – and it was great.  Just a short walk off the road to this hidden gem.

         

We also stopped at New River Gorge Bridge.  We took a trail at the park to get a good view of the bridge.  I loved the sign at the top of the trail:

And the view at the bottom:

Jeremy also found a tasty bbq spot for us to enjoy.

    

The next morning after our hotel breakfast, we knocked out two worksites for Jeremy.  Normally, we don’t mix work and vacation, but it worked out this time. This added a little time to our day, but it was okay. 

When we got to the condo, we took our luggage in.  Then, we went to the grocery store to pick up food for the week.  After that, we headed out to the beach for the first views! 

We are always thankful for condos directly on the beach so it is easy to come and go between our home and the beach.  Our condo is the three story one in the middle.

Sunday, we headed to the beach for the day.  We found our spot, tested the waters, tried out the boogie boards, set up umbrellas, and enjoyed the day.

That night, Jeremy found a free concert that we decided to check out.  It was a Christian musician, Tasha Layton.  I didn’t recognize her name, but I did recognize some sones as she started singing.  They even got to meet her after the concert!  It was a good way to end the day.

    

On Monday, the girls decided they wanted to go for a run on the beach.  So, we did.  But it was hot and sunny at 8am.  So, we made it about 3/4 mile down the beach and then headed back.  Madison ran ahead just to see if she could.  Ellie and I did a little walking and a little running. 

    

After breakfast, we headed back to the beach.  I got a water volleyball at Aldi before we left.  It was fun to pass that around in some of the tide pools to stay cool. 

   

The girls and I spent a lot of time out in the water.  I found the rhythm of catching waves on my boogie board.  Ellie enjoyed jumping the waves and riding them a short distance.  Madison thought she couldn’t catch a wave, but she persisted.  by the end of the week, she had figured it out. Jeremy split his time between the umbrella and the water.

    

We got cleaned up in the afternoon to go enjoy a place we had seen on our way into town – The Crazy Mason.  It is a ice cream shop that specializes on over-the-top milkshakes served in mason jars. 

We took some time deciding what we wanted to indulge in, deciding to share two rather than each get one.  Ellie and I worked through Dashin through the Dough: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream, chocolate frosting, Cookie Crisp® cereal, Whipped Topping, Chocolate Chips, Chocolate Sauce, Edible Cookie Dough Cookie Sandwich.

    

Madison and Jeremy spooned their way through Sweet Cheesus: Strawberry Cheesecake ice cream in a strawberry-swirled jar with a vanilla buttercream rim rolled in crushed cones. Topped with a slice of cheesecake, fresh strawberries, graham cracker crumbs, and finished with strawberry sauce and whipped icing.

   

It was a lot, but we all enjoyed the experience.

We stopped at a souvenir shop on the way back that happened to be next to a Krispy Kreme.  Ellie and I snuck over to use their facilities and watched the donuts being dropped in the oil.  Jeremy snuck over himself and grabbed some “hot now” donuts… because we hadn’t quite hit the max sugar intake for the day!

 

Tuesday, June 24, our 19th anniversary.  We are on family vacation most years during our anniversary, which really isn’t an awful way to spend it.  The girls usually remember and make us a card or something nice.  This year, they prepared breakfast for us AND gave us some cards. 

I needed a sun break.  After soaking it in the past days, I was feeling a little pushed to my limit (sunscreen only works so well).  So, I hung out under the shade of our condo’s poolside “cabana” and read my book.  The girls stuck to the pool this morning.  Jeremy soaked up some more sun and then joined the girls in the pool.

    

We had made a reservation to play at Top Golf, something we had done last time we were in Myrtle Beach and enjoyed.  We were on the ground floor which was a little different experience.  We all had fun – Madison won the first game… which I am sure she will want me to mention!

              

We headed to Margaritaville for dinner.  The girls were not too old to enjoy the balloon lady on stilts.  Ellie requested a turtle bracelet, and Madison went with the classic dog.

   

We took a few 19th anniversary pictures when we got home. 

    

…second half of the week to come….