Tuesday, Jan 30, 2018. Day 6 of our snowbird vacation.

This was a "don't do much" day. 

I walked on the beach in morning, and then soaked in the hot tub. This combination did wonders for my back. Angie & I have come to the conclusion that we skip shag lessons this year and that I focus on continuing my recovery from spine surgery with walks, exercises, water aerobics and the hot tub. That sounds practical but I wish we could work on our shag dancing techniques - next year!

Angie ran some errands in the morning. After lunch in our room, we drove around Myrtle Beach and located some places we want to visit during our trip. We did discover that the closest K&W closed this past Sunday.  

K&W was a favorite when our kids were growing up - they always found something they liked there, and the food was like home-cooked and inexpensive. 

Angie cooked a nice dinner. We watched a little of Clemson/North Carolina basketball. I tried to stay up for Trump's state of the union but didn't make it.

Monday, Jan 29, 2018. Day 5 of our snowbird vacation.

Melba spent the night with us. The next morning we went downstairs for breakfast. 

Melba wanted to see "old Myrtle Beach" so later that morning we took a ride. We showed her the Market Common (where the airfield used to be). We also checked out the Myrtle Beach Culinary Institute, where Angie & I have reservations for late February.

We stopped at Steak & Shake for lunch (there's one at the southern end of Myrtle Beach), Melba insisted on paying the bill.

We drove through old Myrtle Beach, and then visited with Melba at our hotel room, and she shoved off around 3:00 PM. I even had time for a nap!

That night we went to the hotel next door (Long Bay) for a "Snow Bird" dinner at Martin's restaurant. It was great, and we saw some friends we made last year. We'll be doing some stuff with them. 

It seems like all we did yesterday was eat!. (Not that there's anything wrong with that) Ang & I hope to get back to our regular exercise routines tomorrow.

PS We also stopped by the Myrtle Beach senior center and discovered that there won't be any shag lessons this year. So if we want lessons, they'll have to be at Fat Harold's. I'm still unsure how my back will hold up for the shag - I guess we just need to try it.  

Sunday, Jan 28, 2018. Day 4 of our snowbird vacation.

We met our good friend Melba at Broadway at the Beach, and she treated us to lunch at Paula Deen's. Melba was our Maid of Honor some 40 years ago in Raleigh, NC. Steve D & I used to call her "Melba Toast".

Melba is the kind of person who, if you don't see her for a couple of years, she picks up right where you left off.

It was pouring most of the day, so we went back to our hotel, got into our most comfortable clothes, and just talked. We ordered a pizza from the Mariner next door for dinner. Melba stayed over in our spare room.

It was a good day.

  

Saturday, Jan 27, 2018. Day 3 of our snowbird vacation.

It was another pretty day. I got out early and walked on the beach.

After breakfast, we headed down to Murrell's Inlet for the Marshwalk. All the restaurants had small samples of their various menu items for $4 and $5. A lot of the restaurants had bands, The crowds were down a bit because the weather is cooler than last year. It was still pretty neat!

That night we headed to North Myrtle Beach for the National Shag Competition. What we call dancing the shag and what these people do are two different things. They start pretty young in SC!

Today Melba (our maid of honor) is going to visit us for an overnight. 

Friday, Jan 26, 2018. Day 2 of our snowbird vacation.

Yesterday was mostly dedicated to getting stocked up for a 5 week stay.

We went "out" to breakfast downstairs in the hotel because we had no food. None of the usual ladies that worked there for all those years were there. One had retired, and two were out on medical leave. They were replaced by some other nice folks - I guess you get nice from working there!

We first went to Dollar Tree and bought whatever we could - $50 spent there buys you a boatload of staples. We then stopped by Walmart to pick up a few things that Dollar Store doesn't have. Just like home, there are a few things that you can get a whole lot cheaper than in a grocery store. Finally we stopped by Food Lion and still spent a bundle there. But from here on out, our  store visits will be a whole lot cheaper.

We went back to our room to have lunch and relax. That night we went to Carrabus and had appetizers for dinner. We will go out some, but do some cooking as well.

Then it was back to our room, and we made it an early night. The fun starts tomorrow.

Thursday, Jan 25, 2018. Day 1 of our snowbird vacation.

It's nice to wake up on the beach.  This is how we will start our Myrtle Beach snow bird experience for 2018. Even though it looks inviting, it's 34 degrees this morning so the beach walk will have to wait until it warms up (it's supposed to be 60 later on).

Yesterday we took a later flight down to Charleston at 10:00 AM. Rob was nice enough to take us to the airport.

Our first stop was Baltimore. On the flight down we sat next to John Troiano, a mason from Pittsfield (the reason I know his last name is that I asked for his card - you never know when one of my Adams friends will need some brick work done). He was very nice and talking to him made the short flight seem even shorter.

During our layover in Baltimore this lady from Canada sat close to us in the lobby. She started railing against how Canada is full of liberal nut jobs. She was originally from Texas. I wanted to ask her why she lived in Canada when Texas would suit her so much better. I held my tongue.

During our flight to Charleston we sat next to a young woman named Diane who was on her way to interview for a medical residency in Charleston. She was smart and very nice - we told her that she will make a great doctor.

By the time we got our rental car, it started getting dark. We got to the southern part of Myrtle Beach and stopped at K&W for a late dinner (for us). By the time we got to the hotel, it was nearly 8:00 PM. We unpacked our suitcases and then went to bed around 11:00 PM.

We have to run out for supplies today so it will be probably be another day before the vacation portion of our visit  kicks in.