Saturday August 28

Up at 7 AM to finish packing up and emptying the fridge.  Dropped off the key around 9:30 and headed North.  Took the same route recommended by the GPS and arrived home around 10:30; due to lunch, supper and potty breaks.  Not bad considering the calculation (via GPS) was 12:30 PM without stops.
David and Steph did all of the driving this time.  I was trying to prevent a migraine by sleeping most of the way up.
The dogs, of course, went nuts when we walked in the door.  Jumping and crying like it had been months instead of just seven days.  Oh well.  All in all it was a great trip and we chose a good week as this week Hurricane Earl is threatening the coast.

Friday August 27

Packing Day! 
Got up late (again), played around on the laptops for a bit then ate breakfast and headed to the beach.  In between I managed to get a bit of packing in.

David became bored and tired of waiting for Stephanie to go into the ocean.....

Ocean is a bit rougher today and quite windy on the beach.  Steph didn't last long in the water, especially since she was flipped on her board the other day and brush-burned her forehead.  She deserted David who was knocked down several times.

Watched as a beach neighbor fed the seagulls....

Headed in, David & Steph to the pool and me to the condo.  Finished (or at least as finished as we can get) packing, supper consisted  chicken salad and Bacardi. 

Going to do some last minute errands, load the car and hit the sack.  Hope to be on the road early tomorrow since we want to make the drive all in one day and the headlights on the van stink (so one does not want to do too much night driving - at least I don't).

Thursday August 27

Wow, hard to believe it it Thursday already and tomorrow we need to pack! 

Another lazy day of vacation.  Booked a tour that took us to an island in Georgetown where we could collect shells and see the Georgetown lighthousw. 

Headed down to Georgetown with a few detours to Pawley's Island and a beach that required the GPS to find our way back to the main road.  After parking and checking in with the "boat lady" we headed  back to the street for some Edy's ice cream.  Delicious!

Took a nice relaxing boat ride to the island and then we were off on  a trek to the other side of the island for shells.  It seems that in the years since we have been here someone else has decided that taking boat trips to gather shells is a lucrative business and they were there first so the good shells were gone.

Our guide said follow me and our entire group of 37 did.  We passed some pretty scenery and of course I had to take out my little point and shoot and attempt to capture some of it.  Steph was off hunting shells andDavid was keeping his eyes on both of us.  (Not always an easy task with one in front of him piccing up shells and one behind him taking pics).

We didn't think far enough ahead to wear swimsuits for this adventure, just water shoes and of course the good shells were in the water.  So Steph decided what the heck, and went in.  Just like the old days when the three kids would go in the ocean on the first night we were there and get wet whether in swimsuits or not.

I was supposed to keep an eye on the waves for her, but got caught up in my photography and she got a bit wet.  opps....mom's in trouble.  Unfortunately she did not find any conch horns despite her "bath".

As we were preparing for departure, the captain of our vessel asked her if she found one and she said noooo. So he headed back to the stash they keep on board to show folks and gave her one.  Little brown-noser.....LOL.

Our guide also took a group picture of us, but that is on Steph's camera and she hasn't shared it with me yet.

Back to the condo to change into dry clothing and off to Yamoto Japanese steakhouse at Broadway At the Beach.  Fantastic meal as always!  and a good show too.  Looking forward to the Disney version of the show in December.

Before we left the condo we finally saw some pelicans in the ocean - AND I had my camera nearby so I was able to cpture the "Kodak moment"!

Stopped at one of the beach shops on the way home then bed.   For some reason we are always tired.  I suspect that it has a lot to do with the heat.  It has been in the upper 80's to low 90's the entire time.  The good news is we were not hindered by rain and there was no hurricane to chase us this time.

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Wednesday August 25

Yay, the elevator is fixed....again.   That's a good thing considering we are leaving in 3 days and it would be very useful in transportation of lugage etc. to the car.

Linda & Steph were off to the beach for a few hours this morning, while David hid indoors and worked on emails for work.

When we returned it was a lunch of left over pizza and chicken salad and of course Bacardi's!

After much hemming and hawing it was decided to return to the beach where they could go in the ocean a bit before leaving for supper.  It was actually late enough in the day that we did not feel the need to hide under the umbrella's as much.

Headed to River City Cafe in Murrell's Inlet.  I now need to specify location because there is more than one.  In fact, there is one right down the street from the condo, but owing to tradition we went to the original place.

Strangely enough we all decided to have the same thing off the menu - a grilled onion cheeseburger and fries.  Boy was that good!   must say it was not as much fun eating peanuts as it has been in the past.  I wonder why????  0:-)

Next stop was a game of mini golf.  We went to Inlet Adventure.  They had a cute course and it was close by.  As usual, David won and I was last.  No big deal, I was enjoying taking photos of the place and the duckies that inhabit it.

Tuesday August 24

David & Steph slept in this morning, too much time in the sun and water yesterday.  In the end we decided that today we would skip  the beach and give the sun burnt folks a day off and do some shopping at the outlet stores and mini-golfing afterwards.

Unfortunately the elevator was again out of service, so David called and reported it as we left.  Did not find a lot, we had hoped to find some clothng for David and perhaps a dress for the cruise for me.  Not much luck. 

Decided to stop at Barefoot Landing for supper ate at a place called Fire Island.  All the food had a bit of a "kick" to it.  I had scallops wrapped in bacon and it was pretty good.

Decided against golfing and headed back to condo to enjoy a bit of the beach at night:

Monday August 23

Headed back down to the beach this morning.  As in previous excursions, Linda once again hid under the beach umbrella's with the hope of not being burnt like her hubby is.

David & Steph hit the water almost immediately then returned to the beach to read and David worked on "crafting an email" for work.  'Course as one can see his chair has also "bitten the dust".  Guess we won't be taking this one back home.

LUNCHTIME!  MORE BACARDI!!!! Tried a peach mix today.  Really good!

Back to the beach....does anyone see a pattern here???? 

Up in the morning, then out onto the beach, then lunch,then back to the beach and out (or in) for supper....then bed????

This time both Steph and David burnt in the sun.  It is quite warm and sunny here.  I understand it is cool and rainy at home.

After we rinsed in the pool and came in David & Steph got out the chicken for the grill.  While they were  grilling, just like always, someone came out to talk to them and decided they would like to try grilling their chicken using the remainder of our charcoal.  Needless to say they did not have enough charlcoal (at least they did not appear to have enough - chicken seemed to be plenty raw when we last looked).

Great supper.  Lots of chicken left over for salads the remainder of the week.

David and I were (once again) chauffered, this time to Broadway At the Beach.  They have expanded quite a bit since our last trip down!  Steph forgot her camera and "swipped" mine to take photos.  Unfortunately I only had the point and shoot so the pics are not as good as they could be.

Got our typical pound of salt water taffy and fudge (after enduring a "show" provided by the fudge folks.....

Sunday August 22

Got up mid-morning and dressed for the beach.  As usual Steph & I loaded up with sunscreen before leaving the condo.    Davy waited until he went onto the beach and then put sunscreen on.  Watched at some folks went para-sailing above the ocean.

David accompanied Steph into the ocean.  Not only was she in a hurry to get to the beach yesterday, she couldn't wait to get into the ocean.  She went in without David who eventually joined her....twice.  She was enjoying a few rides on her boogie board.  Spent the morning at the beach then headed to the condo pool for a bit of  R&R before lunch.  After lunch and frozen daquari's we headed back to the beach and ocean. 

As we were closing up for the day, we noticed some kids at the pool who were jumping off of a short roof (near the pool). into the pool.  We stopped by the pool for a brief dip, watched as the hoodlums took a wooden owl up to their jumping board and jumping in with it.  (I have decided that it must be the Deibert's who are :"cop-magnets").   Till we arrived at the room and looked over the balcony railing we saw the local police had corralled them (there were 4) and were talking to them..  Turns out that the young 'uns were not even from this condo; the cops escorted them off the property and followed them as they walked down the street to presumably their hotel.
While getting ready for our evening adventures I was looking out the balcony door and saw a dolphin swimming.  Turns out there were four of them, but I was not fast enough to retrieve my camera and get a photo. 

De\cided to eat out this evening (since we did not have enough chicken marinated) and headed to Murrell's Inlet to try out Bovine's,where we had a very good meal.  Unfortunately I had to have David cut my meat because my wrist is still acting up.  While we were eating we heard a rather loud crack and all of a sudden we had two waitors running over and closing the garage type doors - guess they were expecting rain (which we got).  Had a nice storm while we ate, but till we left it had stopped (temporarily).

After a quick stop to pick up more chicken we headed home for the night.  No drinks, folks were tired from sitting on the beach all day or in the water....
As a side note, guess who burnt his shoulders and upper back while in the water?????

Visiting Myrtle Beach

Saturday August 21


Up at 6 AM and eventually we headed to the “Waffle House” for breakfast.

Linda began the driving. We tried a new route, no high speed driving, and it was acutally fun to drive. After a while Steph decided we need to move faster and took over the wheel.

Arrived at Dunes Realty at 4 PM. Steph & David checked in and were out in record time. Steph hopped back behind the wheel and down Ocean Boulevard we went to Surfwatch I. After unloading luggage, coolers, etc. and taking time for a quick peak at the beach, we decided that it was time for supper, so we got back in the car and headed back to US 17 to the Pizza Hut used in previous visits; visiting the Bi-Lo after supper for groceries.. We made certain that the groceries included chicken and Italian dressing...need I say more? Yum.. After opening the bag to soak the chicken we discovered that we needed another bag and put it on the grocery list for tomorrow.

Headed back to the condo, loaded all of our groceries onto the cart and headed back to our room. After unpacking groceries and luggage, David made Pina Colada's and we sat on the balcony sipping our drinks and listening to the ocean. Ending our first evening at the beach.

Friday, August 20

What a way to start vacation. Steph worked until 3 PM and David made a trip to the dentist for a tooth/gum that ached.

The dentist cleaned up the tooth and sent David on his merry way with a perscription in hand just in case.

So he gets home eventually and we start packing him for the trip. (good thing I decided to pack on Thursday). We also had mow lawn, deliver cucumber and tomatoes to the neighbors and pack the car on our “TO DO” list – before Steph came home from work.

Guess what. Didn't happen. We were working on loading the car when Steph walks in the door. She decided that she would mow the lawn while we loaded. She beat us donel.

In the end, it was about 5 PM when we left for our overnight stop in Staunton, VA. Steph took the wheel and off !

Arrived at the Microtel around 11 PM and immediately prepared for bed as we were planning an early morning departure.