Myrtle Beach Vacation!!

One week and 8 states later we are home after a very successful, wonderful, and relaxing vacation in Myrtle Beach, SC. This post will mostly be pictures as I don't have the time or energy to write about every detail of our trip, plus I'm sure you're not as interested in hearing about all that. We picked Myrtle Beach for our first vacation together and an early anniversary celebration because 1.) I wanted a beach 2.) We could stop in Norfolk to see Jon and Ally 3.) It's a golfer's paradise and 4.) I have always dreamed of going to the Carolinas (probably because I've read/seen so many Nicholas Sparks book/movies) :P It was an experience filled with great memories, a lot of firsts, some unmet expectations but a bunch of exceeded expectations :) Overall, we had a blast and are excited for more trips to new destinations together.

Day 1

We started the drive on Wednesday 5/29 around 3pm. Zach picked me up at the auto shop where I left my car to be worked on while we were away. The plan was to stop in Charleston, WV at a motel for the night and then make our way to Norfolk, VA on Thursday. It was a 6 hour drive to Charleston and I think we made it in a little less. We didn't stop for any food (which I was very adamant on, much to Zach's dismay) because I had packed up our whole refrigerator in a cooler with fruits and veggies, meat and cheese etc. so we wouldn't have to spend money on the drive. On all of our travels, God was good and kept us safe and out of harm's way with smooth driving and no major mishaps.

On our way!

Day 2

Went to a restaurant called First Watch for breakfast in downtown Charleston and then started the 6 hour drive to Norfolk. West Virginia was a beautiful state to drive through but the roads winded a lot through the mountains which was kinda scary at times. It was all good until we hit rush hour and car accident traffic in Virginia which kept us from getting to Jon and Ally's place when we hoped. We still made it around 6:30pm and were able to enjoy a really nice evening chatting with them and touring the Naval base where both of them work. I stupidly didn't take any pictures of us with them but I got some good ones of the ships, including the one that Jon will be spending 9 months on starting this summer. Zach and I were so thankful that we got to spend even just an evening with them before Jon's deployment and see them in their own home. It was such a blessing and we can't wait to visit them again!

Day 3
The day got off to a very early start as we said goodbye to Jon at 5:30 as he headed to work and then goodbye to Ally at 7. Our drive to Myrtle Beach began and once we got there we bought some groceries at the Piggly Wiggly (dumbest name ever!) and found Zach a cheap pair of sunglasses at one of the hundreds of surf shops in Myrtle Beach. My first thoughts when we arrived there was that everything seemed "cartoonish." All of the colors of the shops and buildings were bright and kinda corny and the names of places like "Piggly Wiggly" or "Mr Fish Restaurant" or "Daddio's Ice Cream" seemed cheesy. There were thousands of people walking the main strand and you wouldn't believe how many stores were selling the exact same things like T-shirts, sunglasses, airbrush tattoos, beach towels, and scooter rentals. It was definitely a tourist trap and a money pit but we were prepared and didn't fall prey to their tricky ways :) The resort with our condo was a little further away from all the action and when we got to the 20th floor and dumped our stuff in the studio condo we knew we were going to have a great time despite all the weirdos down the street.
Once we got settled we headed to the beach for a bit for some sun and then went back to the room to make Cajun Chicken Pasta, which Zach had been really excited to try. He had this grand vision of how it was going to turn out and was not following the recipe I found (and I HAVE to follow a recipe the first time) so I kicked back on the couch while he whipped up our dinner. At least I offered to boil the noodles ;) All of the smells were coming together nicely when all of a sudden while the noodles were boiling and the veggies were sauteeing, the stove popped and the entire range stopped working. Now, this is a REALLY old range we're talking about here, probably from the 70's, so I wasn't super surprised but Zach was really disappointed as the meal wasn't finished and was probably not going to turn out the way he wanted. We ended up turning it into a casserole and put it in the semi-hot oven until I googled the problem and found a solution. I played with the circuit breakers (I think that's what it is) for a bit until this red square went away and then the oven started heating up again! Yay! It turned out to be delicious and Zach is already dreaming of when we can make it again. He said of all the meals he ate while on this vacation, that pasta was his favorite ;)