Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real, The Gift of a Beach Vacation

I was given the gift of a couple days at the beach. It was a gift in many ways. First I got to spend time with my sister Maureen. The fact that she is well enough to enjoy her annual trip to Myrtle is really the best gift. I stayed with Tim and Patty and Maddie and Timmy. It was so gracious of them to make me welcome in their condo and transport me back and forth to the airport. To be able to spend so much time with the four of them was an unexpected gift. Tim is so much fun and made me laugh till I cried, Patty is so kind and generous and just being with the kids and getting to know them a little better was a treat!

 My flight to the beach was another gift, this time literally. I was to fly for free on standby but Colleen and Elle ending up buying my ticket so that I would not have to worry about when or possibly if I would get on a flight.  I had a stop in Newark and on the landing I had this view of the Statue of Liberty, a first for me and another gift.

Statue of Liberty

Within an hour of getting off the plane I was at the beach sipping a sweet tea and enjoying the beauty of God's creation and the wonderful company of Maureen and Larry, Ben, Larry's siblings Russ and Sharon and Tim, Patty, Timmy and Maddie. I was pleasantly surprised that the beach was not nearly as crowded as I remembered. Sitting in the sun, listening to the surf, watching the children play in the waves did my spirit a world of good! After the day at the beach we all went out to dinner at Sticky Fingers. I wish I had enough time to share all the fun stories of our time together but I'll just say it was lovely to be with a big group laughing over a delicious meal of barbecued ribs!

Each morning I went walking with Maureen, The first morning it was just she and I and we ended our walk on the beach. The second morning, Ben and Tim joined us and the third Tim and Sharon. Each morning we walked down towards the beach and walked through the campground and mobile home park which was shaded and had some nicely landscaped yards and decorated homes which was a treat to look at. One morning I walked down to the beach to see the sunrise before we walked. I was a bit tired, and I later joked that I didn't wake up until I got to the beach. It was a cloudy morning and I didn't expect much but it really was a beautiful sunrise. The week was such a nice mix of quiet time sitting on the beach, talking and sitting at water's edge with a group, walking the beach, dinner out, shopping at the outlet malls and a fun afternoon at Boardwalk at the Beach with the Theiss family.

Just me and the rising sun!

Under the Apache Pier

 This is the path to the beach from the condo. We have walked this path each time we have come to Myrtle. I believe this is the 3rd time, I am guessing 1995, 1997, and now 2016. In hindsight I would have done this trip every 4 years. Next year I am hoping my whole family and Granny and Papa will come along.

My flight home was to be Thursday afternoon but as I was packing up I checked my phone and there was a text saying my flight had been cancelled due to weather issues (I later learned they had some severe storms in Ohio). To make a long story short I had the gift of another day at the beach. Thank you God!

I forgot to mention that when I landed at Myrtle I got almost out of the airport and realized that I had taken off my sweater ( my favorite sweater) and wrapped it through he handles of my carry on bag and it was gone. We stopped in on Thursday to reschedule my flight for Friday and  I stoppped at the Information Desk and asked if it had been found but they said the only thing they found on Tuesday was a hoverboard (really?), Friday before I left I stopped and asked again. This time I asked them to check to see about Wens too. They said sorry there were a couple of things, water bottle, ladies jacket etc. but no sweater I asked the gentlemen if there was any chance the jacket might be a sweater. he said "well mam it says jacket" I asked if he would check as I really liked this sweater. When he returned to the phone a few minutes later he said "well mam this is not a jacket, it is a sweater, does the one you are looking for have blue, pink, and yellow flowers and green leaves on it?" I said "that's it!" and he replied " I'll bring it right down to you." My persistence paid off!

Just seconds after I took the Myrtle 2016 picture above, this happened. That's the thing about the beach and life for the matter. Try as you might you can't cling to the moment. The waves roll in, the vacation ends, the children grow up, but there are still memories to be made, good times to enjoy, Life to live! Every day is a gift! Thank you God!