Home Again

1st night sunset thru airport window.

1st morning sunrise

And while it's my favorite place to be, we had a grand time being away!  We left last Friday morning and flew into Myrtle Beach, spent the night at a hotel there, puttered around on Saturday until check-in time and then--we were at the beach! It's another of our favorite places.  We're back at home and in some ways it seems we never left, the week just absolutely flew by!

Coldest drink I've ever had.

Turtles in alligator pond.

The weather was iffy.  I say it wasn't that great, but The Husband says it was fine.  It was definitely a mix - the one constant being the clouds.  They were sometimes white and fluffly,more often dark and threatening, sometimes showering (or pelting) us with rain but always always there.  We aren't accustomed to the heavy rains they have back east, but went prepared with our rain slickers just in case.

Sunday p.m. view of the beach

Killing time 'till the beach

As is our tradition we headed off to church on Sunday in the little Shallotte ward and turned into the parking lot with a laugh.  It wasn't the first time we'd ended up at an empty church building.  Yep, Stake Conference, 40 minutes away, we'd never have made it.  So back to the house and the deck and the sunshine / rain and we whiled away the day with our books and beach watching.  The next few days we alternated between the beach, the deck, the inside of the house when it got to hot and then back again to the beach and the deck.  We managed a bit of a sunburn in spite of the beach umbrellas, but at this point, it's mostly a visual reminder of our time in the sun.

Seagulls waiting for the sun

Turtles in the alligator pond.

They were so fun to watch having fun

Horseshoe crab.

The picture of those 7 chairs lined up and the ladies standing there?  I'd watched them all week, don't know if those women are all related or just friends or what, but wherever there was one there was at least three, they were together all the time, and seemed to just be having a delightful time being there. You could tell they were just all wonderful together.  This shot was taken because I heard some oohs and aahs from them.  I looked up from my book and out in the ocean was a pod of dolphins. Jumping up to leave perfect arcs in the air before hitting the ocean again.  There must have been 25 or more of them strung out all along the beach.  Yes, it was breathtaking.

Me and the seagulls

Fishing off the sandbar

Found them!

Under Sunset Pier

Sand Sculpture, never did find out what it ended up being.

Morning walk in the rain.

The Husband rousting the seagulls

We ate great food - fish, fish and more fish.  Peaches and more peaches.  BBQ and more BBQ.  And of course ice cream at the Calabash Creamery, and more of the same.  I never got my fill of hushpuppies, but that means we'll have to go back.  We dozed and napped, on the couch and on the beach.

The moon set at sunrise.

And we walked.  In the past I've done my morning walks solo.  This year, The Husband walked the sunrise with me most mornings.  Sometimes for a couple hours.  One morning we even set the alarm for a bit before lowest tide (still mostly dark) and headed for the west end of the island - on our ongoing quest for unbroken sand dollars.  And we found them!  5 in one morning, though one of them perished before it even made it to the bag - I knew it was very fragile and thin when I plucked it off the sand.

We texted and kept in touch with the kids at home.  What a luxury to have this little vacation knowing that everything at home was being taken care of:  plants watered, garden tended, mail retrieved.

Myrtle Beach airport

And we're home, I've piles of laundry that'll wait until it isn't the Sabbath, we've been to church, I've got a roast in the slow cooker and I'm almost ready to face our life's routine again.  I know it's true what they say:  home is where your heart is.  And my heart is always with The Husband.  But it always feels the bestest to me when The Husband, my heart and our house are all in close proximity.

Last Sunset

I'm so grateful for the abundance and generosity that allows us to take an occasional vacation from the regular, to renew and rejuvenate our spirits.  I'm so grateful for cellphones that keep us in touch, that take pictures for memories.  For airplanes that transport us to other beautiful spots in the world. For unbroken sand dollars as mementos.  For sunrise and sunset meanders along the beach, fresh fish and ice cream.  And for my own comfy bed.  And for hug greetings from friends and loved ones.

Life feels good for the moment, and I like that feeling, am grateful for it.