South Carolina - Myrtle Beach

Our first stop on our South Carolina Vacation was Myrtle Beach.  It's the only one out of the four places we visited that I had been to before.  Hubby had never been.....in fact this was Hubby's very first plane ride!  He said he wasn't nervous..........

And he made it through with flying colors!   He said it was kind of like going up the hill of a roller coaster....only you keep going!

Our flight was extremely early in the morning, but we had enough time during our layover in Baltimore to get some breakfast at the Airport Diner.  

We landed in Charleston, got our rental car, and drove the couple of hours to Myrtle Beach.  We stayed at Hampton Inn right on the beach.....I couldn't have been happier with our accomodations!

The hotel included a couple of pools, a couple of hot tubs, and a couple of lazy rivers!

There was a tiny wooden bridge that took you right onto the beach.   I had a really wonderful time swimming in the ocean.....can't do that up here in May!

We found the boardwalk you could walk along for a quite a ways.

Hubby had never seen real palm trees....they were everywhere!

First night out we ate at the Sea Captain's House.....kind of pricey but the food was outstanding!

From our balcony every morning you could see pelicans flying in formation over the water.

We really loved our little balcony for coffee in the morning.

One of the places I'd visited years ago was the Myrtle Beach Aquarium.   It was the first place I ever saw a long tube you could walk through that had fish swimming all around you.   

One of the cute things they had was  you coud stand in a certain spot and it would snap your picture, then put your face in a jelly fish  photo!

Hubby doesn't usually like to touch the creatures, but the Horseshoe Crabs seemed safe enough.

This tank had a place underneath you could crawl into and stick your head up inside the tank.   It's supposed to be for kids but...............

They also had a glass bottom boat ride.  A little lame because it's inside the aquarium but kind of fun to see the fish right under your feet.

The second night we went and visited Barefoot Landing, where we ate outside on the deck at Joe's Crab Shack.....delicious seafood!

And Hubby bought me some cute earrings at the "Purplicious Store"!

Besides the Aquarium the other place I remembered was a mini-golf place called Mt Atlanticus.   It's huge, multi-level and I thought it would be fun for Hubby and I to check it out.

And it WAS fun!!

First thing the next morning we packed up and headed out for Hilton Head..........

Cape Cod with Friends

Along with our friends Rick and Kate and Pat and Bob, Hubby and I headed on an adventure to Cape Cod.   We made our first stop at The Skipper Chowder House in South Yarmouth where they offered a lovely brunch out on the patio.  The weather was spectacular....clear blue sky and about 70 degrees.

It being Father's Day and all, the guys decided they'd all love to take a ride in the company vehicle.

The focus of our trip was the Wydah Pirate Museum.  

 Our friend Pat is a singer/songwriter and she wrote an amazing song about young John King, who was an 11 year old boy who went down on the Wydah Pirate Ship off the coast of Cape Cod.   

While digging through the ruins, amongst other things was found a small black leather shoe.  That shoe caught Pat's interest and, through research, she found out about John King.

When we found out the Wydah Museum had opened on the Cape, along with the actual shoe, a road trip seemed in order.  The museum was beautifully done and very interesting.   At the end of the trip, we decided to go back and video Pat and Rick performing the song on the bench in front of the museum.  When Pat's husband Bob finishes developing the video, I will share it with you.

After seeing the Museum, we drove to the little cottage Pat found on Air B n B.   Since the whole idea for the trip was Pat's, she got to be our tour director.  And she did a phenomenal job!!!  The cottage had a lovely kitchen, three bedrooms and a comfy living room.

It also had a beautiful back yard and patio that we didn't get to spend nearly enough time in.

The cottage was only a ten minute walk to the beach.   It was a beautiful evening to stroll along with our feet in the water.

Pat and Bob found a nice spot to sit and rest.

 That evening we got to spend some time playing Traditional Trivial Pursuit  - boys against the girls.  The boys won...but only by a tiny bit!!

The next morning we made breakfast at the cottage, then took a walk through a nature preserve which ended out at a beach on the bay side of the Cape.  

Hubby and I picked up seashells, and Hubby found a whole Sand Dollar!  I consider that good luck!

And then...another highlight of the trip.....Lobster Rolls at the Sesuit Cafe!!    Hubby and I went rogue and got a seafood platter, but the others got what they said were the best Lobstah Rolls Evah!!

We sat at picnic tables by the water to eat, which is always such a favorite of mine.

To work off our lunch, we decided on some Mini Golf.  In keeping with our Pirate weekend, we went to the Pirate Cove.

Tag and I did not win, so.............

Pat won and got to wear the "Green Jacket"

That afternoon we spent some time on the patio practicing our songs, because our wonderful Travel Guide Pat had found us an open mic to attend!

Cooper and Kenneally, as well as Karen and Tag, performed three songs each O'Shea's Pub in Dennis, MA.

We went to bed much earlier the second night!!   After another great breakfast at the cottage, it was time to head home.

After taking some group shots at the cottage..............

and going back to the Wydah Museum to video "The Small Black Leather Shoe"..............

We went to Gelato Cafe Bertini's for the second time for some mouth-watering Gelato!