Myrtle Beach--The sad trip home (Day 9)

It was a fun trip.

But all good things come to an end.

As early as we hit the airport last time,

we trudged up there again.

However,

we did get to sit in the cockpit again.

AND we got our wings!!!

They are pinned proudly on my bulletin board.

Maybe I'll be a pilot...

Thanks Myrtle Beach!

We miss you already Keims!

Myrtle Beach--After the storm (Day 8)

The Keims headed home this morning.

We were sad to see them go.

Since we were "stuck" in Myrtle Beach one more day,

we decided to make the best of it,

We headed back to the beach and the Boardwalk.

Everyone else had the same idea.

Didn't look much different.

Except that there were seashells EVERYWHERE!!!

Me and Mom, on the pier

Greetings from the beach!

Wes has had all the fun he can take on vacation...

After a fun lunch of pizza and gyros on the boardwalk,

we headed back for the obligatory afternoon nap.

For dinner, we decided to head back to Murrel's Inlet to check out Flo's.

It was GREAT!

It was this fun cajan restaurant with delicious food and a great deck.

We sat overlooking the inlet.

Pretty, huh?

We walked around a bit,

checking out the scenery and the tiny crabs.

 Then,

even though it was bedtime,

it was the last day of vacation.

So Mom and Dad took me to play miniature golf for the first time

(Myrtle Beach is the mini golf capital with over 50 courses!)

Wes, as I said before, had had all the vacation he could take.

He slept in Dad's arms through the first 17 holes.

I, on the other hand, got right to work.

It was this really cool course that wound up a hill and ended over 100 feet in the air

under a huge fire pit.

This is fun!

I make this look easy!

Wes woke up for the 18th hole.

He helped Dad shot the 19th (the ball return).

It started out as a close game.

I actually beat Mom on one hole.

But then I got a little haywire and my Par 2 or 3 became 8 or 9.

Oh well.  It was fun all the same.

Myrtle Beach--Come on Irene! (Day 7)

The dreaded day had come...

The day they predicted Hurricane Irene would impact Myrtle Beach.

We just had to get out there to see what this was all about...

The sea looked ominous.

(Note the "No Swimming" flag--duh!)

We had to get closer all the same.

 It was really windy and sprinkled a few times,

but we had a great time all the same!

Nothing like an early morning run to start your day off right!

Even better--how about a race?!?!

GO!!!

Kaitlyn wins but a few steps...

Then a few high flying throws into the wind to cap off the morning.

Well, since swimming was obviously out,

we headed to the South Carolina Children's Museum for some fun.

Mom, I think your forecast is wrong.

Where are you driving?

Ahoy, matey!

Dr. Keim, paging Dr. Kylie Keim

Are these really dinosaur bones?

 The bubble forms all the way around us!!!

Always wear your life jacket!

No crabs stow away on my ship!

Some great artwork!

King of the hill

Super-sized light-bright

While we were at the museum,

the airline called.

Our flight tomorrow was cancelled,

the airport was closed.

Hmm.  Things were getting serious.

So as us kids napped,

and the waves got ever larger

(10-12 feet at times)

and the wind began to howl

(it shook our little house on its stilts!)

and finally the water started to come off the beach and onto our street and driveway

our folks decided it was time to pack up and move inland.

But Irene still didn't dampen our fun!

We rented a little 2 bedroom suite,

watched a movie,

ate a few snacks,

and still lived up our last night together in Myrtle Beach.

What was the hurricane like?

Inland about 1-2 miles,

you'd never know it was more than a thunderstorm.

Myrtle Beach--Kiddie Pool and the approaching hurricane... (Day 6)

The neighborhood we stayed in (Ocean Lakes)

had a really fun-looking pool.

We decided to try it out today.

We all crammed into the golf cart again

(we really love this thing!)...

And hit the water!

Cohen and I had some swimming races

And Dad and Wes checked out the waterfall

While we napped,

all the parents had their daily Happy Hour.

Doesn't this look like a commercial?

Then we headed to Murrell's Inlet,

a cute little city south of Myrtle Beach.

for some delish seafood.

Cute, right?

We had all been ignoring

the impending Hurricane Irene.

It was suppose to hit Myrtle Beach tomorrow (Friday night).

But we probably couldn't ignore it much longer.

The Moms and Dads decided if they were going to take a nighttime beach walk,

this may be the last chance.

 You can't see it, but the ocean is roaring behind them.

It was a great night.

Come on, Irene...

Myrtle Beach--CRABBIN' (Day 5)

Looks like a beautiful day to catch some blue crab!

This looks like a good place to stop

Jack's got the net and Kylie's got the cooler

How's this going to work?

We tie chicken parts to strings?

And the crabs just grab them, huh?

I don't know about this...

Is there anything on there yet?

Holy cow!!!

CRABS!!!

Guess they really like chicken!

All this crabbin' makes us hungry...

And thirsty!

 Back to work...

 Me and the crabs, making friends

This one doesn't look very friendly

We caught about 50 of them.

Unfortunately, only 4 were big enough to keep.

They were still tasty,

and we had a lot of fun all the same!

After nap,

we played some games (that's Farkle in Kylie's lap)

And had Happy Hour

Dug a HUGE hole

 Ran in the waves

And played with Mom

We grilled some TASTY burgers for dinner,

complete with tater tots

("Tater" is my new nickname...)

And had some general silliness...

Wes is under the glass table.

What's funny is we have the same picture of me when we went to Florida when I was 9 months old:

Another great day.

What will we do tomorrow???