Not that I actually went anywhere, but we were without internet for much of the weekend and blogging on my iPhone is about my least favorite thing in the world. However, all is well now as our connection is faster than ever and I talked down our monthly bill through the cunning use of whining. Huzzah!
It ended up being a splendiferous weekend, though it was certainly touch and go there for a couple of days. While I was so thrilled that Colby was supposed to be home for two weeks between his spate of trips, the Air Force was doing everything in its power to ruin things. First, they were going to send him on a five day trip over the weekend. We were bummed about that, but as soon as we'd accepted it, the schedulers realized that they'd made an error on the length of the trip and Colby wouldn't get back from it in time to leave on his next trip. So yay! We had our weekend back! Then we got the call that Colby would have to stay on base starting on Friday through the weekend until Wednesday. Much anger and frustration was called forth, the schedulers must have realized they needed to find another pilot to abuse before they lost their go-to guy. And with that, we decided to run off to Myrtle Beach for the day before they changed their minds again.
Myrtle Beach was... interesting. We entered the town through a street ornamented wih such entertainment options as The Pink Pussycat (formerly The Bunny Ranch), an assortment of adult oriented shops, and various other "Girls! Girls! Girls!" themed storefronts. So we were a little leary from the get go, then driving down the main drag we got the feeling that everything needed to be hosed down with chlorine and given a fresh coat of paint. I've heard that the area a bit north from the main street along the beach is nicer, but we were surrounded by a sea of airbrush t-shirt stalls, Ripley's Believe it or Not, and a surprising variety of pancake houses... and the actual sea. It was a fun day trip, but we were very happy to return to our own less spring break geared beaches.
On Saturday, we spent the morning with our pal, the Comcast guy, working on repairing our internet, then headed over to a friend's house for her 2-year-old's birthday party. It included pizza, a butter yellow cake with chocolate frosting and watching little kids whaling on a pinata, a few of my favorite things. Sunday we laid low and saved up our energy for 4th of July excitement, and Monday we scooted over to Sullivan's Island for a beach day with some friends.
We ate at Dunleavy's Pub, which had a wide selection of seafood, pub food, and "American fare" like hot dogs, hamburgers, and grilled cheese. It was definitely a candidate for a return visit in the future. Once I'd tucked away a chili cheese slaw dog and a couple of hard ciders, we headed down to the beach. I loved that there was a deep tide pool that we could swim around in and cross to reach a sandbar that led to the open ocean on the other side. I deluded myself into feeling much safer in the tide pool because only really small sharks could be swimming around in there looking for feet to chew on. Once we were thoroughly baked, we came back home where we curled up for some Twilight Zone action and watched the amazing fireworks show put on by our neighbors.
It was really the perfect weekend with a very carefully balanced amount of fun and excitement and chilling at home, and I am so, so, so grateful that Colby was able to be home to enjoy it with me. I hope all of you Yanks had an amazing holiday weekend, and for the rest of you I hope your 4th of July was just as swell as any other Monday!
Sounds like an awesome weekend--I want to go to that beach!!
Posted by: Brittany | July 05, 2011 at 05:14 PM
It sounds like you had a so much fun. I don't know about Myrtle beach...hmmmm, maybe I'll stay away from there if I ever visit South Carolina. I think I'm little too old (wow) for Spring Break beaches!!!
Posted by: Solange | July 05, 2011 at 05:32 PM
I went to Myrtle Beach back in college and the highlight of the trip was going to the emergency room because I felt like I was getting strep throat and this was back before walk-in clinics existed.
Posted by: Jenn | July 06, 2011 at 01:14 AM
Well, come on then!!
Posted by: Angela Noelle | July 07, 2011 at 05:51 PM
There are tons of other beautiful beaches though! You know, if you ever find yourself in the area ;)
Posted by: Angela Noelle | July 07, 2011 at 05:52 PM
Oh my gosh, that made me laugh! Poor Myrtle Beach... not getting much love in these parts, heh!
Posted by: Angela Noelle | July 07, 2011 at 05:52 PM