~ On Turtles, Hurricanes and Family

Day 1

We left Raleigh, North Carolina on a Sunday and headed toward Myrtle Beach.

The skies looked ominous, and the forecast for the next week was not encouraging.

As we were leaving Raleigh, my sister (in the car in front of us) called me to ask if we would like to just stay at their house. I asked if they wanted to turn around and go home. That's when she clarified her question. "No, I mean do ya'll want to just stay at our house." I immediately knew she was pulling my leg. We sort of have bad luck on vacations. I decided not to let her sarcasm bother me, and we all pressed on.

It started raining about two hours from Myrtle Beach.

I'm not talking about the kind of rain that makes you want to snuggle in bed and listen to the pitter-patter of raindrops on the roof.

I'm talking about the kind of rain that makes you want to pull the car over except that you are afraid someone will plow into you.

When we got to the condo, it was still raining.

And it rained

and rained

and rained.

The kids played in the parking lot in the rain and made some wonderful discoveries. (It entertained them for days!)

My niece, Emily, and Ellis

Bennett

Aidan and my nephew, Christopher

Emily found the first turtle...

...and then they all became turtle hunters.

This is where you could find the kids while we adults were taking our siestas.

At bedtime on day 1, I lamented I had been in Myrtle Beach all day, and I still hadn't seen the beach.

Day 2

The rain continued.

Ken decided to take the kids to the beach in the rain to check it out while I put Bennett down for a nap. I mean, if you can play in the parking lot in the rain, you may as well play at the beach, right?

At the end of the 2nd day, I kept saying, "Mama's been in Myrtle Beach for over 24 hours, and I still haven't seen the beach."

Mama wasn't happy!

Day 3

We woke up to rain.

Surprise!

I walked around saying, "I've been at the beach for 36 hours and I still have not seen this beach!"

The forecast said it was supposed to be somewhat clear.

Somewhat clear really meant intermittent moments of calm. Otherwise, RAIN.

We went to the beach anyway.

And we had a blast!

After a long day of playing at the ocean, we decided to eat at this wonderful restaurant in Little River, SC.

We couldn't sit outside to watch the boats come in.

It was raining!

We did briefly get to enjoy the view.

But the food was great. My boys decided they love shrimp and red snapper.

Oh dear. Fish sticks will never be the same!

Day 4

Hurricane effect storms - need I say more!

We stayed away from the water and opted for a day of shopping at Barefoot Landing.

Day 5

We hit the beach again. It was overcast and drizzly, but we didn't let it stop us.

Although, when I first saw the white capped waves after the torrential storm the day before, I feared for the lives of my children.

Day 6

We let the dad's take the boys to the condo pool, and we women went shopping. We hit a few local boutiques and just enjoyed the day together.

I discovered a new favorite store -

PURPLEOLOGY!

Can you guess what they sell?

Absolutely anything purple!

Loved it!

(I'm wearing lots of purple this fall in honor of my favorite new store! It's amazing what you'll buy on vacation you'd never buy any other time!)

Day 7

SUNSHINE!

We knew it was coming, and we had one day to soak it all in.

And we did!

Surprisingly, I'm actually happy there was a hurricane off the coast that week. At least I could blame the bad weather on the hurricane. Although, I did think once or twice that we should have just stayed in Raleigh! All in all, it was still an awesome vaca!