Monthly Archives: March 2013

Today is the day we head back home as Spring Break 2013 winds down and comes to an end.  The weather here is overcast and 49 degrees, but they are predicting rain here today.  We have to make the trip 631 mile trip to Granville from North Myrtle Beach in one day.  We packed up our luggage and as we were ready to leave the condo, Stephanie got sick.  She unexpectedly vomited, but luckily was able to make it to the bathroom in time.

We didn’t have much choice, but to try to make her comfortable for the trip back and checked out of the resort at 9:00 am.  We were on the road shortly thereafter and heading north.  Within the first 50 miles she got sick 4 more times.  We made sure she stayed hydrated and had to press on.  Luckily she fell asleep and although nauseous for most of the rest of the trip, she was a real trooper and held in there.  We assume she ate something last night that didn’t didn’t agree with her and she had a bad case of food poisoning.

There was an accident shortly after we got on I-77 and after sitting still for a long time, we were able to figure out we weren’t far from an exit and found an alternate route on some back roads.  We followed a couple of other cars that drove on the shoulder to the exit, which was only a couple hundred yards by the time Nikki and I were able to come up with a game plan.  After getting off the highway, we drove some twisty mountain roads for about 20 minutes before getting back on I-77 about 10 miles down the road and beyond the accident with traffic flowing heavy, but smooth.  Stephanie was asleep for that part of the trip and it was probably a good thing even though it had already been a couple of hours since she last got sick.

The big climb in Virginia on I-77 just before traffic stopped

We stopped to grab a bite to eat at some fast food and fill up the car with gas.  Stephanie stayed in the car while we went inside, so she wouldn’t have to smell the food while we ate.

The rest of the trip was uneventful and Stephanie seems to be much better now.  The last hour, she was alert and chipping in on the conversation.

It was decided that overall this was a nice trip.  Even though the weather was a lot cooler than expected and poor Stephanie has a miserable trip back, everyone said they would like to visit North Myrtle Beach again and the odds should now be in our favor to have some decent weather.

Another clear sunny day with the temperature at 33 when we woke up.  It’s supposed to be the warmest day yet with temps reaching 60 degrees with light winds around 6 MPH, which would also make today the least windy day since we have been here as well.  The tide is in again this morning, but there is some room on the beach to walk.

Nikki made another great breakfast consisting of bacon and eggs to get everyone energized this morning.  After everyone ate we headed out to the beach for our daily walk/run on the beach.

Ryan, Stephanie and Jonny doing their daily run on the beach

The kids all headed back down to sun and hit the game room, while Nikki and I took some chairs down to the beach and just sat for a while on the beach observing everything around us.

We all stopped back at the Condo to grab a bite to eat and then the Kids went to the hot tubs and Nikki and I went for another walk on the beach.  I don’t think it ever got close to 60 like they said it would and it was more windy than they said it was going to be as well. The high was only 56 and the wind was in the mid teens again.

Stephanie, Ryan and Jonny walked down to Main Street a few blocks away with Sean, another kid from Granville who is staying here.  The girls got henna tattoos, they originally wanted to get airbrushed tattoos here at the resort, but were unable to get them done because they were waiting on a part for the airbrush gun.

Ryan and Stephanie get hanna tattoos

We decided we were going to eat dinner at the Texas Roadhouse.  The nearest one was in Myrtle Beach, so we packed up the car and drive the 16 miles to just past Broadway At The Beach where we found the Texas Roadhouse Grille.  As we sat down we decided it wasn’t the same restaurant as the Texas Roadhouse in Newark, OH.  We were all too hungry to care at this point and the Texas Roadhouse Grille turned out to be an excellent place to eat.

This morning it was cooler out again with the temp at 34 degrees and sunny.  The high today is supposed to be upper 50’s and sunny with light winds.  The tide is high this morning, so the beach isn’t good for walking or running again early this morning.

The kids drug themselves out of bed around 9:30 and got ready and we headed to Ripley’s Aquarium located at Broadway At The Beach.  Ripley’s Aquarium was a good two and half hours of entertainment.  Everyone got to touch horseshoe crabs, lobsters and rays.  We barely got in the door and they had a huge circular aquarium full of different Cichlids.  We were able to see different varieties of fish, sharks, eels, lobsters, rays, sea snakes, sea dragons, jelly fish, an octopus and even the colorful poison dart frogs.

Cichlid tank at Ripley's Aquarium

Stephanie, Ryan, Nikki and Jonny looking at one of the aquariums

One of the many sharks at Ripley's Aquarium

Jonny, Stephanie and Ryan at the horseshoe crab petting area

Ryan touches a horseshoe crab while Jonny and Stephanie overlook

Nikki, Stephanie and Jonny pet the Bamboo sharks

A horseshoe crab has Stephanie while Jonny pets a lobster

Jellyfish tank at Ripley's Aquarium

Sea Dragon

Octopus trying to hide from the camera

Ryan, Stephanie and Jonny petting the rays

After we were done at the aquarium, we hit a couple of shops.  It looked like most of the shops we visited at Barefoot Landing were also at Broadway At The Beach, so we didn’t spend a lot of time shopping this afternoon.

When we got back to the Condo, everyone changed into running/waking attire and the kids went for a run, while Nikki and walked on the beach.  The tide was as far out as we have ever seen it on this trip and there were a lot more people out enjoying the warmer temperatures.  The beach was busy with kids playing, people walking and running and lots of sunbathers.  It was warm enough today on the beach that it was not necessary to wear a coat.

After their run the kids washed up the girls went to see if they could get a little more sun.  Shortly after that, but before dinner we took the kids down to the beach because we hadn’t really taken a lot of pictures of the kids on the beach.

Jonny, Stephanie and Ryan on the beach

Jonny and Stephanie

Stephanie, Jonny and Ryan

Ryan, Jonny and Stephanie playing around on the beach

Stephanie and Ryan

After pictures were taken Nikki and I went to the grocery store to get something for dinner. The kids went to the beach and within about 5 minutes we got a text from the kids that they were watching dolphins close to the beach.  As soon as we got back and put the buffalo wings in the stove, Nikki and I went down to the beach, but the dolphins were already gone.

We went a visited Mark Mykulyn and his family tonight.  I work with Mark at The Longaberger Company and we both are spending spring break at the same resort, Wyndham Ocean Boulevard, in North Myrtle Beach.  We met his Granddaughter, Emily, who is absolutely adorable and was full of smiles for Nikki.

Another cold morning with temps at 34 degrees when we woke up.  Light winds and clear skies are going to help the temps reach the mid 50’s today.  It was high tide early morning and all the beach that is available was soft sand, so we skipped the walk on the beach until later in the morning.  We finally went out around 10:00 and the tide was already heading back out.  Along with the western winds that were starting to pick up a bit to help push the tide further off the beach even quicker.  Nikki and I walked, while the kids did their required running for the day.  As soon as we got back the girls put their bathing suits on and headed over to Tower 4 to catch some rays.

Nikki went for a short walk on the beach by herself and she ended up saving another crab.  She’s spotted more crabs than anyone and getting to be an expert at finding them in the surf.  The girls went down to the Recreation Center to play some ping pong.  Jonny wasn’t feeling so well mid-day so he stayed back at the condo and took a nap.  It was definitely more sunny than it has been any previous day since we have been down here, but it is still cool temperatures for this time of year.

Jonny’s phone didn’t seem to recover from the hot tub dip it took yesterday, but we will keep it in rice for another day to see if that helps.  I did bring an extra phone down with me  in case something like this happened.

The weather ended up being better than expected today.  The temps only reached the mid 50’s but the wind really calmed down and it was actually comfortable out with just a sweatshirt.  No jacket required.

We ended up having diner at The Cracker Barrel and everyone had a good meal and enjoyed looking through the gift shop.  We decided that everyone was going to go to bed early tonight, before midnight, get up early and either walk or run on the beach. Then we would clean up and head to Ripley’s Aquarium while it was still cold in the morning.  Then we can enjoy the afternoon which is supposed to be better than today.

When we got back from diner the kids went down to the recreation room and Nikki and I headed for a walk on the beach around dusk.  As it got dark we decided to head back to the resort and were lucky enough to catch a moonrise over the Atlantic Ocean. What an awesome way to end the night.

Moonrise over the Atlantic at North Myrtle Beach, SC

Moonrise and reflection over the Atlantic Ocean

We ended up watching The Expendables 2 before heading to bed.  It was just like the original.  Lots of action, lots of big action names.  And all the corny one liners that made all those guys famous being brought back in the script.

This morning we woke it and it was cold outside. The temp was 35 with winds around 17mph. It is sunny out though and should warm up to around 54 today. The kids stayed up until well after midnight watching our Redbox rental The Watch. So, they ended up sleeping in late this morning, while Nikki and I were both up shortly after 7:00 am.

Nikki and I ran to the store before the kids got out of bed to pick up a few supplies.  When we got back, Nikki made a wonderful breakfast of bacon and eggs for everyone.  We then went down to the beach and Nikki and I walked while the kids did their 45 minute run.  We all got distracted by all the things washed up on shore including sea urchins, starfish, crabs and birds.

Tiny crab Stephanie found on the beach

Jonny found a hermit crab. Too bad you can't really see him in this picture.

We saw some Godwits feeding in the surf this morning.

After the walk/run on the beach all three kids decided to head over to the tower 4 pool and catch some sun.  We found the Tower 4 pool to be more protected from the western winds that had been hitting us the last couple of days.  So far all three kids are getting along well and enjoying doing some things on their own as a group.

We didn’t realize that our camera bag didn’t have any extra batteries or a battery charger, so today we ended up going to a couple of stores before we ended up at RadioShack where we finally found a battery charger for our camera.  Now, we can continue to take pictures of the kids and scenery here in South Carolina to document our vacation.

Nikki and I got back to the condo to find Jonny’s phone disassembled and on some napkins.  As it turned out, he somehow dunked his phone in water, we are thinking a hot tub, but the details have yet to be shared with us.  This forced Nikki and I back to Kroger, where we just came from to return our Redbox selection and rent another.  Nikki bought some rice and sandwich bags to put the phone without it’s back and the battery unattached in a sandwich bag full of moisture sucking uncooked rice.  In about 24 hours we should know if that worked to save his phone or not.

We were going to take a walk on the beach, but decided last minute that we were going back to Barefoot Landing to look at the tigers and the kids and Nikki needed more fudge as they devoured the last one and a half pounds of fudge in 24 hours.  Evidently it’s needed to keep their activity levels up.  Anyway, we went and watched the tigers for a while and found out they had a gibbon there and tiger cubs as well.  We got 3 more pounds of fudge and the kids did a little more shopping.

One of the tigers at Barefoot Landing

More tigers at Barefoot Landing

This cute little guy was harassing the other tigers and stalking peoples dogs. He must be a handful to handle.

We got back around dusk and while Nikki is warming up some leftover chicken for dinner the kids ran downstairs to play some ping pong or hit the hot tub again before dinner.  We rented GI Joe from Redbox which was the planned entertainment for the evening, but everyone kept themselves busy enough to not need the movie for tonight.  Maybe we will keep it and watch it tomorrow instead.

Today started off mostly sunny which was a nice change from the drizzle or rain we have had had since we got here. You could actually see the horizon clearly for the first time. It is still cool, 45 at 8:00 am and windy.

Our view of the ocean from the balcony

Nikki and I took a short walk on the beach this morning.  The cold wind is the only reason it was shortened.  Nikki took the camera and took some wonderful pictures in the morning sun.

Surf in the morning

View looking south towards Myrtle Beach

Seagull checking out what washed up on the beach

Evidently 50 degrees is warm enough to do some sun bathing according to Stephanie and Ryan as they heading out to find a place that has sunshine, but no wind.  They didn’t last very long and both of them said they were very cold.  Meanwhile, Nikki and I took a walk and found out that one of the other towers at our resort has the pool located in a spot that protects it from the wind.  Maybe the girls will try the Tower 4 pool later in the week if it’s still windy.  We also found a place that rents beach bikes.  We might have to try that out later in the week.

We then headed out to Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle Beach.  Barefoot Landing is loaded with entertainment and shopping.  We window shopped and went into several of the over 100 stores.  We all got to meet a puppy, but Nikki is the only one who got puppy breath kisses.  We also saw some turtles on the 27 acre lake that is the heart of Barefoot Landing.  Afterwards, we stopped to get a bite to eat before heading back to the condo.

Stephanie and Nikki get some puppy love

Turtles at Barefoot Landing

Later in the evening, the kids hit the hot tub again and Nikki and I took a sunset stroll on the beach.  During our walk we saved a little crab that was being drug out of the surf by a sea gull.  We walked up to get a closer look and the sea gull dropped the crab, so we took some pictures of our new friend and then carefully placed her back into the surf as it was heading out.  Hopefully she wasn’t washed back up on shore again.

Little crab we saved from the sea gulls.

Our grateful little friend

The kids went down to the workout center and all hopped on ellipticals and treadmills for 45 minutes as requested by their Track and Field coaches.  They came back took showers and at 11:00 they wanted to start to watch the movie we rented from Redbox called The Watch.  Nikki and I went to bed and they were relatively quiet the rest of the night with some occasional laughing being heard from the condo’s living room.

This morning is was raining, so we planned on exploring a bit from the car and catching a matinee. We found some places the kids and adults could agree on coming back to visit when they were open.

We saw the movie “Identity Thief” with Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy at a theater not far from where we were staying. It was an enjoyable way to stay dry indoors while the storm passed.

We then took an hour walk on the beach, but the breeze coming off the ocean was still pretty cool, so we didn’t go any farther than the cold children wanted. We enjoyed beach combing and the kids tried warming up in one of the outdoor hot tubs to remove the blueish tint from their skin.  The wind picked up even more and they decided to come back to the room and use the jucuzzi in the master bathroom to complete the thawing process.

Stephanie, Ryan and Jonny on the beach

We ended up renting a movie from Redbox when we went to pick up some more supplies at Kroger up the road.  We let the kids pick the movie and they picked “Abraham Lincoln Vampire Slayer”.  I personally didn’t have high hopes for the movie, but it ended up being much better than I expected with an actual plot instead of your typical gore flick.  It was well worth the $1.30 rental for 100 minutes of entertainment.

The trip down to North Myrtle Beach was for the most part uneventful. AAA Trip Tix took us on some back roads starting about 100 miles out from North Myrtle Beach. We only got “lost” once and that was because there was a turn were supposed to make and evidentally there were two Palmeto Roads within about 5 miles of each other. Luckily we didn’t have to back track and didn’t really loose any time as we kept heading in the right direction after we realized “our road shouldn’t end here!” We quickly found the real Palmeto Road and didn’t miss a beat.

We found our Resort, Wyndham Ocean Boulevard, were able to stock the cupboards with some breakfast food and snacks after we went to the grocery store and hit the Lucky Pizza shop for some pizza near the Krogers grocery store.  Our condo has a view of the ocean and several outdoor pools, hot tubs, lazy rivers, indoor pools and game room.

The kids hit the hot tubs and sauna at the resort before we all called it a night shortly after 11:00pm.  After 10 hours in the car they really needed to burn off some energy.