It's been a while, so this will be a (sort of) quick catch-up. We continued south from Maryland, with stops at Virginia Beach, VA; Emerald Isle, NC; Wilmington, NC; and Myrtle Beach, SC, where we are currently..
Nothing too exciting or dramatic has happened during the past few weeks, thankfully. Virginia Beach was REALLY lovely -- much nicer than either of us had anticipated. Our quick stop in Emerald Isle revealed a fantastic beach, but the WIND was incredible there. And our Wilmington stop was for a visit with Mat. Great historic town, and we had a good time hanging out with Mat and his new lady friend Sally Jo for the day.
At our next stop, Myrtle Beach, the first five days were really nice, with temps in the mid/upper70s and sunny. Gawh-juss. We enjoyed the phenomenal beach, other than some pesky flies that swarmed us, depending on the wind direction. But a few days after our birthdays, the cold snap hit, and we woke to temperatures in the 40s (or high 30s) and daytime highs of only high 50s, low 60s. Bummer. Doesn't look much better for the week ahead, unfortunately.
We are not really complaining, though, considering how the Northeast got whacked with that Nor'easter and snow before November. SNOW?? In October? What the heck is with the weather?
Photos from our stops:
 |
| Virginia Beach's Cape Henry lighthouse -- the first lighthouse authorized by the U.S. government, in 1792. When it was built, it was more than 500 yards from shore. Today, it is only 250 yards from the shore. |
 |
| The new Cape Henry light. |
 |
| The boardwalk, Virginia Beach. |
 |
| A beautiful day at Virginia Beach. |
 |
| Buddy enjoys lunch from a beachfront restaurant. He had souvlaki. |
 |
| Emerald Isle, North Carolina -- wow, both the wind and the surf were UP. |
 |
| Emerald Isle, nearly deserted. |
 |
| In the historic waterfront district of Wilmington, NC -- Mat, Sally Jo, and Beau. |
Myrtle Beach, a Year Later
We loved Myrtle Beach last year. This time around, though, we were going to stay at another RV place, for a comparison. But when we arrived in town, we realized the new place was 20 miles from the center of the action and from where we wanted to be.
Luckily, the place we stayed last year had availability and we were able to book there instead. It's fine, but we have a sneaking suspicion that the other place -- that we canceled -- might be a lot nicer. We are going to check it out later this week.
 |
| An oddity in Murrell's Inlet, about 20 miles from Myrtle Beach. I am sure it is a very lovely establishment, aren't you? |
 |
| The spectacular Myrtle Beach. |
 |
| Brrrr.... |
 |
| A nice waterfront bar on the Myrtle Beach boardwalk. -- which is a really lovely public space. The boardwalk seems almost new, and the shorefront buildings are all rehabbed and kept up. Very impressive. |
We met up with Mat and Sally Joe again in Myrtle Beach. They decided to
come down for the weekend. Our sightseeing with them included the
Ripley's Aquarium, a small but very impressive attraction.
 |
| Mat and Beau at Ripley's Aquarium, Myrtle Beach. |
 |
| A disgusting Moray eel -- another oddity of sorts. |
 |
| I think this is a sawfish, a type of shark. |
 |
| We all loved the aquarium's tunnels underneath/through the tanks, where the fish swim all around you and over you. A smaller version of what you find at the Atlantis hotel in the Bahamas. So cool. |
I am sure you are all waiting anxiously for the next summary.
Tanks, Panky
