Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Myrtle Beach Vacation-Part 1: An Unusual Beginning

Hello There! I've been away from this blog for 6 months so I thought it might be time to get back to it. 

I can't think of any better subject to start with than sharing my experience from last week. My wife and I went on vacation. 

We enjoyed our time in Destin, Florida last year, so much, that we decided to go back to the beach for our 2018 vacation. 

We were trying to decide whether to go to Gulf Shores, AL, one of the beaches on the east side of the Florida peninsula, or Myrtle Beach, SC. We asked our friends on Facebook for some help with our decision.  

When my cousin, Roger, contacted me to tell me that he could get us a good deal on a hotel room at a resort in Myrtle Beach; we settled on going there. 

(BTW, a big "Thank You" to Roger. I'm not going to give the details. Let me just say that he helped us get a great deal at a very nice resort; saving us quite a bit of $$)

With my cousin's help, we booked our room in early March. The next two months were so busy for us that we really didn't do very much planning. That's really out of character for us, especially me. 

However, we did plan on making our trip a little more relaxing by stopping for the night in the Smoky Mountains area on our way there. 

While we do find ourselves in Pigeon Forge, TN quite often, (September of 18 was the last time) this quick visit, on the way to a farther destination, would be a first for us. 

On the way down the Parkway I snapped this shot of our my favorite attraction facade in the area. 

For this one-night stop, we were doing something we hadn't in several years; spending a night in a hotel room. We usually rent a condo. Our choice of hotel was a Best Western on the Parkway just down the road from our favorite condo complex. 

Our trip was going well up until the moment we discovered that we had left something very important at home. In a bit of miscommunication, while packing the car, we missed it. Without it, getting the restful type of sleep needed during the week would not be possible.  

A mode of panic took over for a few minutes as we scrambled for ideas on how to take care of our problem. We tried to find a way to rent a unit from a Myrtle Beach area pharmacy. But after about half an hour of searching the internet, and making several unanswered phone calls, it became clear that it wasn't going to work out. 

There was only one other alternative. I would find someone back at home to go to our house, get what we needed, and then bring it to us. 

But I couldn't ask them to drive all the way to Pigeon Forge. We would have to backtrack and meet them halfway. 

I called my son, Michael. He agreed to help us out. We would meet the next morning at 10 o'clock in Crossville, TN. 

With the "save" of our vacation set up, we decided to go out and have some fun in Pigeon Forge. 

We went to "The Alamo" restaurant for dinner. It's a place we've wanted to go for a while. Our first dining experience would be a good one. Paula had, what she said was, the best filet mignon she's ever had.

Next, it was off to one of our favorite spots in Pigeon Forge "The Island". 

Even though it was pretty crowded, we still managed to get to some of our favorite  activities. We browsed through some of the shops, played the "Harpoon Lagoon" video game in the arcade, and snacked on some soft pretzel mini-dogs. 

Of course, all of this was done in the shadow of "The Wheel". 

We needed to get an early start in order to meet Michael in the morning. We headed back to the hotel rather early in order to get as much rest as we could. 

That's where I'll leave you for the first of this series about our 2018 vacation. The next chapter I'll share our long day on the road getting to Myrtle Beach. 

As usual, I was excited about going on vacation; but the first day of this one turned out to have a bit of additional excitement for me. 

The day ended in a way I never expected at when it started. For me, the wonder of those types of days are what keeps life interesting. 

Of course, I am talking about those that turn out in a good way. The days ending in unexpected "bad" ways, I would rather do without. 

While we would be back tracking the next day and would be on the road for twice as long as originally planned; overall the results would be good. At the end of our second day away, I would find myself on the threshold of a new adventure with the Love of My Life.  

I'll be sharing the details of that adventure in this series. 

Thanks for coming back to my blog. I plan on getting back to posting again on a regular basis. Hopefully, I can carry through with that plan. Catch you next time.   







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