Like Old Times

The past five days were spent vacationing with Jim and Debbie, and in route to (and from) The Links Golf & Racquet Club in Myrtle Beach, SC.  Our visit felt the same way that it does every time we get together, like old times. 


I love that when we get together with Jim and Debbie, we just pick up where we left off after our last visit.  It is wonderful that we can easily reconnect after a period of time, as if no time has passed.

 
Wednesday  11/6 - I was at the ranch at 5:30 to do a quick job of the chores.  I put the four horses on the front pasture because Dorado was going to be gone for the day, and I wanted Rico to be able to see his neighboring horses. 

Back home before 7am, we finished packing up the SUV and were on the road by 7:30.  Leaving Fairfield Glade, I noticed the new sign at the corner of Westchester and Chestnut Hill, no longer contained 'Wildwood Stables.'  Wow, that didn't take them long to change. 





Our drive took nine hours and included three stops.  Lunch was at Subway. 

It was dark when we arrived at The Links Golf & Racquet Club in North Myrtle Beach.





Libations were enjoyed as we unwound, got settled in, and chatted with Jim and Debbie. 

We had dinner at the Calabash Seafood Buffet.  There was plenty of non-seafood eatable stuff and I ended up overeating.

We played a card game called Play Nine until late for me.  It was 10:30 by the time I climbed into bed.

Thursday 11/7 - We were all up early planning to golf at a 7:15 tee-time, but it was drizzling and it was predicted (at a 90% chance) to rain mid morning.  So we opted to wait and play Friday.  Betty sent this photo of both 'the boys' together in the small shed.  She said Dorado had a sleepover.  LOL  I really enjoy Betty, it's just like old times when we were both at Wildwood, and rode together.


I can't get the photo to move up into this space and am not going to waste anymore time trying!

We spent the morning playing bridge and then went to burn off some energy at the gym and pool and sit in the hot tub and sun.  It was overcast, but actually quite nice out.  Some cornhole was also played while out at poolside.

This stupid Blogger program is not cooperating, and giving me fits!

After showers, naps, and kibitzing we went to Barefoot Marina for a paddlewheel (Barefoot Queen Riverboat) dinner cruise down the Intracoastal Waterway. 

These two are such a lovely couple and so fun to vacation with.

It was overcast, and a tad damp from the rain (which had stopped) but a lovely evening for a boat ride.



Blogger is doing it again! 😠

They sat us for dinner as we boarded the boat and we started our meal once the vessel got underway. 










The food was not fantastic, but we enjoyed the meal and the entertainer who serenaded us, karaoke style and he also told stories, with fascinating facts of the Waterway’s rich history. 




We went out on deck to look at the scenery and watch the sun set.  Our MC pointed out several ritzy homes owned by famous people. 



Behind Jim and Debbie in this photo, you can see an example of one of many stunning million-dollar homes that lined the coast. 









For some reason, no sunset photos were taken.  I might have been in the dinning area, dancing with a few other girls. 

We were done and home from the cruise and in our pajamas by 7:00.  Some more cutthroat bridge was played until almost 11pm.  I did not enjoy myself because of the horrible hands I was getting.  I couldn't even help Joe.  This is an example of one of my hands. 
 

Friday 11/8 - We were up and out the door before seven to golf at a nearby course.  Heavy dew was still on the grass when we got started.  I did not play every hole and only usually hit four shots per hole, and still managed to wear myself out before we were done with 18.  But I had a great time being out with Jim, Debbie and Joe. 









It was a beautiful day and I was enjoying the weather, the sunshine and blue skies. I also saw a ton of wildlife out on the course. 

There were many very unusual looking squirrels. 
They all had white noses or faces. 








And also varying amounts of black on them. 

I was concerned that the big hawk seen in the photo below, had an injured wing because it was hopping around.

But after observing it for a while, I decided it was just picking up leftovers from whatever it had been eating when we had ridden up in our golf cart and interrupted it. 

Oh and yes, there was some Birdy juice (Fireball) drank, after Joe's first birdy and even when Joe didn’t get a birdie.  LOL

We finished on the golf course in 3½ hours.  Home for an early lunch, we then spent the rest of the afternoon sitting around the pool.  The sunshine was wonderful.  I think we each also took a little nap even. 

We drove out to the coast and hit Myrtle Beach for a walk as the sun got lower in the sky. 





Debbie took all of these wonderful beach shots because I had left my phone in the truck.





The sun was warm, the surf cold, and the wind just right. 

Unfortunately, with Deb being the photographer, she wasn't in any of the photos. 
















The 'boys'.
















Goodbye Myrtle Beach. 














After getting the sand off our shoes and feet, we clambered back in the truck.

It had gotten dark and was time for dinner, so we went to Outback Steakhouse.  We all enjoyed a tasty meal. 

And then if that wasn’t enough food, we decided to stop in for ice cream at Mermaid Dream Ice Cream. 


It was a fun place with a putt-putt coarse that looked challenging and fun.  But we opted to just eat ice cream. 

 

 

Oh my did I really overdo it then, when I ordered this one (large) scoop on a large double chocolate waffle cone.  It was so good.  I ate the whole thing.

It was pretty late by the time we got home.  We had had a big busy day, and none of us were really motivated to get a bridge game started up.  It was nice just to lounge around and chat.  Actually, I hit the hay earlier than the rest and read for just a tad bit before falling asleep.

Saturday 11/9 - we had nowhere to be at any certain time so had a leisurely morning.
Patty sent this photo of Maggie, lounging with her donkey head toy, one of her favorites. 

Patty also sent this photo.  It was overcast and dreary out at the ranch.

Eventually we headed for Calabash, to do some art and antique shopping.  We ended up in some thrift stores waiting for some art shops to open, and I was actually the only one to make a purchase all morning.  All of $5 worth of a few little trinkets. 





I had wanted to go to Lakewood Camping Resort located on a section of Myrtle Beach where they were doing the 43rd annual American Heart Association Beach Ride.  Betty had done this several years ago and wants me to join her next year.  So I wanted to check it out, and see a bunch of pretty horses on the beach. 

 

 

Unfortunately, the grounds were closed to the public due to 'the inherent dangers of being around horses.'  So I had to drop that idea.

We ended up back at the condo for a late lunch and more pool time.  I was too full to workout at the gym, but did swim some laps after a nap in the sun. 

 


Sitting on the swing just outside our condo.

We had decided to order out food from Domino's Pizza and got salads and pizza, eating dinner in our loungers.

Then we struck up some more bridge, playing three rubbers.  We paired up with each of the three others of us.  I'm not sure who the winner was, but Jim was (without a doubt) the looser.  He just couldn't get any cards ALL NIGHT long.  I felt bad for him.

 




I had some decent hands, a few really good ones, and some that weren't worth looking at.  This was one of my worst hands and one of my best.  I did my packing of bags whenever I was the 'dummy.'

Sunday 11/10 - Jim and Debbie were already gone by the time Joe and I got up at 6:30.  I only had one cup of tea because we spent little time sitting around and were on the road by 7am.  For some reason, Joe's GPS took us a different route home, driving through Hot Springs, NC. 

I took this photo out the window.  We saw lots of damage and debris still, six weeks after this town was hit. 

I was not happy riding on the winding, hilly roads the stupid GPS had selected for us, and was so glad to get to TN. 

Even in TN we were still in the mountains and along a once flooded river, as seen in this last photo. 

It had been over an eight hour car ride with only two quick stops at a gas station and rest area.  I was so glad to be home, safe and relatively sound.  Although that kind of driving leaves me on edge and stresses me out.  It was only 3pm, but I was done for the day. 

Well, I did unpack and do two loads of laundry and also ran to the grocery for items we were out of. 

Joe had to meet an overnighter at the ranch and got home at 8:30, just as I was turning out the lights.