From South Carolina to Dalton MA

These pictures are not in order so the story they tell is confused. The one at the bottom is of the party the friends through in Myrtle Beach before we left. It was down home fun. We left on cloud nine. We are now in Dalton...and it's freezing. We've had a flat tire, had our windscreen fluid freeze (it took Gary hours with a blow dryer to fix it) and discovered that nothing we bought in Myrtle Beach was designed for these temps!

Our next hurtle is getting over th border with all our stuff. Technically we are only allowed $750 worth of stuff each (including anything we bought in Nicaragua which there are no receipts available for) even though we have been out of the country for almost a year. Despite the fact, most of it is bought to replace what we lost. We'll see. We are also nervous to get the paperwork for getting the Pilot over the border done. Any dealings with the border is nerve racking even when you think you have all your i's dotted.

We are eager to leave the States and be in Canada. We didn't realized before that there was such a big difference in the two cultures.

Wednesday is the big day........

Ripley's Aquarium

Today we took Nikki as promised to Ripley's aquarium, which was lovely but after Sea World it was hard to impress us.

It's amazing how things of the ocean can look so human....in a sort of sick distorted way!

The walkway through the shark tank was actually very impressive. With peaceful music playing and the walkway slowly moving you along through "the sharks" you could almost believe you were underwater. Just without the danger :0

Jellyfish are always stunning, for mindless creatures. So peaceful to watch....unless you were their prey!

We saw a REALLY ugly Siamese Fish while we were there. It should have had a warning posted. We may have nightmares.

We continue to enjoy the beach....as often as possible walking it. It really does impress us how it is constantly changing, never the same view from one day to the next.

A Picture Update

Tonight Gary made Sushi for the first time. California Rolls. They were REALLY great. We can`t wait to try some more.

The cold air has finally moved on and today it was Spring like. We took full advantage of it with a walk on the beach!

No better place to stroll....and no better person to stroll with.

Coffee on the Balcony started the day.

Service with Marcus who was born with a heart defect and has already had three surgeries....one more to go. He`s a darling.

Our `Chuggalugg` otherwise known as `The Beast`. She hasn`t let us down so far.

For the first time in my life I made the ultimate sacrifice and woke up at 6.30 so that we could watch the sun come up....it took forever......but was ultimately well worth it!

As the horizion lit on fire with the promise of the sun to come, Gary`s breath was caught on film as he waited in eager anticipation...it still took at least another half an hour for it to actually appear.

We had friends over in our tiny condo for a fierce competition of Wii which we bought for family day.

Feeding the Seagulls!

A New Day, A New Year......

Gary caught this incredible sunrise on the camera. Sometimes a little lost in digital format, it is still possible to see the incredible beauty it offered.

Last night, New Years Eve, we were treated to some fireworks outside of the Resort on the beach. Normally we'd have been at the meeting but I have developed a painful ear infection and so we stayed in. The fireworks were not provided by the Resort, just some people staying here. It was fun to stand on the balcony in the semi circle of 17 floors of balconies with their occupants also mostly out, watching these people struggle in the light rain to set off the fireworks. They were no where near as spectacular as what we saw from our Hotel in Orlando from Disney World most nights, but were much more exciting as the crowd on the balconies yelled out their words of encouragement and then gave their awws of appreciation.

We woke up this morning to a funny sight, toilet paper all over the pool area. Yesterday we noticed that they management had put plastic covers over the pools which we thought was weird. Now we understand the rationale! Perhaps it is tradition, one we are unfamiliar with as Canadians! Throw toilet paper off your balconies at midnight to ring in the new year....I felt bad for the workers trying to scrape the mushy piles of it off the deck and out of the lazy river. Something must have happened to one of the hot tubs too as they have emptied it! Gross.

The temperatures here in South Carolina are below normal so we are very grateful for the winter clothes we were able to pick up last week at amazing post Christmas sales! I have to admit, I missed the feeling of a warm winter coat to snuggle into on a chilly day. We are not missing the snow though! Okay, that is not completely true, having the cold without the snow is like having french fries and malt vinegar without the salt......just missing something. A little bit of snow is just so very beautiful.

We are heading out to take a walk on the beach. We haven't made it for the last 5 days or so.....need to enjoy it while we are here, but we do miss home.

Pics of Myrtle Beach

December 25th.....a large storm system hits bringing us rain and pounding surf. Elsewhere in the US it brought blizzards and ice. We'll take the rain......but we missed our walk on the beach, not much else to do on Christmas Day when you don't know anyone. Good job Myth Busters was on all day!


My peaceful stroll on the beach yesterday was good for the soul.



Awe inspiring, the ocean. Constantly shifting and changing shape & personality. It's one view you just never tire of.



On the lazy river.

Myrtle Beach SC

We made it. Home for the next 6 weeks or so.

The condo is all and more that it promised to be. The view of the beach and ocean is stunning. We face East and the Murphy bed in the Living Room that Gary & I are choosing to sleep on faces the window so this morning was spectacular. Even with the balcony door shut you can hear the pounding surf. And the bathtub.....heaven, the biggest one I have ever soaked in.

Myrtle Beach looks great. A big enough city to offer the best of shopping, but much more laid back than Florida. The people are very "southern" and quite friendly. We hit Wal Mart as soon as we arrived to fill our cupboards and managed to find a warm outfit for us all for walking the beach. We woke up this morning and sat on the balcony with our coffee. It was chilly, but pleasantly so.

We then hit the beach for a stroll. Lots of shells & coral to be found. Back at the condo, Nikki settled into her room to watch Dirty Jobs, a show she has really missed over the last year, while Gary and I hit the gym which is just down the hall from our condo. We are now doing a little laundry before we take Nikki down to the pool. There is an indoor lazy river as well as a hot tub and swimming pool inside. The outdoor pools are obviously a little too cold for this time of the year but we noticed last night that the two outdoor hot tubs were full, even late at night so we intend to try them out one night.

It's not quite home, but it will be a nice place to hide out for a month to avoid some of the worst of winter.