a cool summer vacation

Do you remember when people used to go on trips and come back with a ton of slides they'd force you to watch?  For those of you not as old as me...remember when people used to go on trips and come back with a ton of digital photos they'd force you to scroll through?  

Well, this is sort of that.  If it's not your thing, you're not nosey, or you're not me in 10 years, feel free to close the window and go do something else.

For the rest of us, here's a quick recap of the family vacation to the beach...

I'm pretty sure we've finally broken the planet.  Our beach trip is always the first week of June and this is the first time we've ever been actually cold on the trip.  I'm not talking about cool breezy beach nights.  I'm talking about wearing a hoodie during the day and running the heater in the car.  The weather was crazy.  

We drove to the coast mostly in rain and the temperatures dropped as we drove.  We arrived a little early and were lucky enough to have our room ready for check in.  Violet and I walked right out to the beach and we were greeted with the beginnings of a Nor'easter.  The gale force wind was whipping the sand down the beach and it was hard to tell if it was raining or of the wind was blowing the ocean mist.  Either way, it was not a day for being outside.  

More rain the next morning meant a rainy and windy run through huge puddles and hard longshore winds, but it also meant we had time to go out for breakfast.  We tried a new place and I highly recommend "The King" with peanut butter, banana and bacon.  So good.

I couldn't stay inside on vacation so when the rain let up in the afternoon, I ventured out and was greeted by one of our fox friends.  The foxes have dens in the sand all along this stretch of beach and one of the perks of staying in this building is being able to watch them from the balconies.  This guy was chilling at the edge of the dunes waiting for an opportunity to steal some food.  He saw me.

...and then he came toward me.

...like, really close to me.  At one point, I had to step back away from him.  When wild animals approach humans, it's rarely a good thing.  This guy wasn't foaming at the mouth and attacking people, he was just a little too comfortable with people who have apparently been feeding him.  I get it, it's cool to see the fox and if you know he's out looking for food, it's probably tempting to toss him some or to see how close he'll get to you for a photo, but I also know how bad this is for the fox and his little fox family.  There were two smaller foxes who were much more timid who stayed far away from humans and ran at the slightest sound.  

I know he probably only approached me because he wanted food but, as a friend pointed out, I was raised by wolves, so maybe he just smelled a relative and felt comfortable.  He did seem to seek me out every time I went out in the afternoons and evenings.  We all kept our distance and discouraged him from getting close to people.  

So yeah, the weather was weird.  This guy was not having it either.  He looked angry and cold.

Another perk of this building is the sunset views over the marsh.  When the rain stopped, the kids and I tried to make it outside for the sunsets.

Cross Country training always begins while we're on vacation.  Violet took a month off after track and now it was time to get back to it.  She ran with me and we got a few miles together during the week.

I usually come back pretty tired from vacation.  People always ask why.  I tend to move a lot of sand with a little shovel during our week on the beach.  I know I don't have to do this, but how could I not?  There's so much sand just sitting there and no one is really doing anything with it.  I made a giant pelican on the first good beach day.

And I made a fox for the next one.  I felt it was appropriate.

Blue had a list of things we needed to do and he was a good sport about having his photo taken.  Here's Blue and Violet surfing at Broadway.

Blue and I normally go to one of his favorite restaurants at Broadway and often the ladies go to a different one.  While we were eating, the balloon lady offered to make him a sea turtle bracelet which he immediately gave to me.  I was proud to wear it.  I walked around looking for a good opportunity to give it to a child but I never found an opportunity where it wouldn't seem creepy.  In the meantime, the family was jealous of my swag.

They're trying yet another approach to that one part of Broadway that never seems to take off.  I couldn't care less, but this was a nice view.  They had ridiculous music and a weird rainbow structure that bled foam out all over kids.  I can't imagine anyone thinking that was a good idea, but there were suds-covered kids all over the place.  

One of my new favorite things is checking all the photo booth machines for stray photos strips.  I accidentally found two last year and this year I was more intentional about it.  We found these two in one night.  Jackpot!

Breakfast out has its benefits, but my favorite beach breakfast is balcony coffee and a banana.

Seriously, the first half of the week was much cooler than we are used to at the beach.  By mid-week, the afternoons got in the 70s but the breeze still made that feel cool.  On the warmest day, Violet and I got out in the kayak to explore.  We had no plan other than paddling around the inlet.

But we had all day and after we paddled for a couple of miles, we realized it was probably possible to paddle all the way out to the end of the peninsula.  We normally walk there several times during the week, but because of some bad storms last year and some heavy beach erosion, we were not able to walk there this year without a big swim.  So we kept paddling.  I should say that I kept paddling since my first mate didn't really want to paddle.  We beached the boat and then did some exploring on foot.

The exploring was worthwhile.  We found a lot of sharks teeth and enjoyed the natural beauty around us.  It was so nice.  But the paddle back wasn't so nice.  Luckily, Violet decided she wanted to make it to shore before dark, so she started being a good helper with the other paddle.  With both of us going, we made it back in half the time.  

As we approached the boat ramp, we saw the pirate ship in action.  A wild group of young pirates passed us singing clean versions of pirate songs.  Then we noticed a small boat anchored in the middle of the channel.  The pirate ship turned back and we knew something was about to go down so we paddled closer.  The kids on the pirate ship started chanting and then an old pirate in costume stood up on the little boat with a sword.  Just as he did, the kids on one side of the boat hosed him down with water cannons.  The pirate ship turned and the kids on the other side got a turn with the water cannons.  The poor lone pirate was soaked and the kids sailed off singing pirate songs again.  And yes, that's my finger near the lens.  Sorry, I'm old.

Speaking of old, I've been frequenting the Grand Strand of South Carolina since my childhood in the late 1970s and the 1980s.  With my family or with my friend David's family, we've stayed all up and down the Dirty Myrtle area in everything from crappy one-room hotels from a B-grade movie, to really nice condominiums.  David and I have walked every mile of Ocean Boulevard as well as every mile of the beach.  Many of our nights were spent at the Pavillion or in the stretch my kids now refer to as "Crazy Town".  This is an area I know well.  

As we drove to a restaurant one afternoon, Blue asked if I knew that there was a tunnel under Ocean Boulevard.  I laughed and told him there wasn't.  He said that TikTok said there was and that there was even a song about it.  I was very skeptical but who can argue with TikTok?  Within seconds, Blue had the general location narrowed down and we were off on an adventure.  

We passed what looked like a stairwell by the road and I made a U-turn and the three of us hopped out.  There was no parking without a permit so G took the car and circled around.  It seems she had no interest in a dirty tunnel in this part of town.  

Down we went and dang if there wasn't a tunnel under Ocean Boulevard.  How many times had I walked by as a kid and not even noticed it?  Blue and Violet were thrilled.  Truly, it was just a dirty walking tunnel in a questionable part of town, but there was at least the attempt to make it cooler with an aquatic mural on the ceiling, working lights and a few cameras.  The three of us laughed our butts off.  This is not an adventure you could ever plan, but curiosity gifted us a fun time.  So Lana Del Rey is right.  There really is a tunnel under Ocean Boulevard.

After meeting up with the kids' former elementary principal for ice cream, we raced back to the upper balcony to try to catch the sunset.  We had to ditch the car again and run up the stairs to make it just in time.  

Curiosity provided another cool experience, even if it was a solo adventure this time.  On my first few miles running the next morning, I noticed the turtle people gathered in a group near our building.  When they appeared to be digging, I decided to go check it out.  It was not a new turtle nest, which I often see on my early runs on the lower part of the beach.  This time it was a nest relocation happening.  For reasons only the turtle people understand, some nests need to be relocated to give the little dudes the best chance for survival.  The lady in charge was very kind and offered lots of information to me and another nosey civilian.  She carefully dug a hole about shoulder deep and then allowed a newer member of the turtle squad to place the eggs in the hole.  Then they covered it with sand, placed a protective barrier over it and around it and their work was done.  Hopefully in a few months these guys will dig out and scurry to the water.

I think with the weather and the kayaking plans, I only made three sand sculptures.  This was the last one and it was a big one.  The teeth are about 12 inches long if that helps with scale.  It's a pirate.  

Friday was our last day but Violet and I wanted to make the most of our last day.  We had so much fun kayaking the first time, we decided to go again while Blue and G went out to the beach.  It was a beautiful morning and still not too hot.  

We got a little more brave this time and paddled across the bigger water to the big rock jetty.  Violet was a toddler on my shoulders the last time we walked to the end of it.  This time she carried someone with her...a hermit crab she found at the edge of the water.  We walked all the way out and watched schools of fish jumping out of the water.  After our jetty walk, we set the hermit crab free in his own backyard and then paddled back across to our sharks teeth hunting ground.

We had another good hunt and this time we remembered to bring snacks.  

Of course, we ate the snacks too soon and after all that paddling we were starving.  When we were ready to head back we noticed a bit of a dark cloud moving our way.  It got darker and larger as we paddled.  Our arms were just like cooked noodles at this point but we kept pushing as we could see the rain coming.  We rolled up, or floated up, at the boat ramp just as it started drizzling.  Luckily, we got the kayak loaded before the real rain started.  

We had talked about getting lobster rolls earlier in the week and never got around to it.  We started thinking about lobster rolls after our snacks disappeared and soon it was all we could think about.  We were very close to a place that sold them so we ordered two and eagerly awaited our meal.  When they came out, they looked and smelled wonderful.  I thought about taking a photo but they were gone so fast.  Best meal of the trip for me.  I may have eaten half of Violet's.

It poured rain while we ate and just as we left the restaurant, there was a break in the clouds.  Violet loves mini golf and since we were the only ones left in town, we decided to chance it with the weather and try to get a game in before hitting the road. We were having a lucky day and just as we sunk our shots on the 18th hole, it started raining again.  We made a quick stop at a bookstore to get coffee and a book for Violet before heading inland.  

It's not the weather I would have picked out for the week, but it turned out to be kind of perfect.  

 

vacation adventures

Vacation week seemed to run up on me quickly this year.  We had graduation, the next day I was off teaching a class, and after being back a week, I was packing the night before our family vacation started.  I realize I'm getting old and that the relativity of time is becoming more of a thing, but the week seems like it just started and at the same time the first day of vacation seems like it was months ago.  Here are some of the highlights...

We started our vacation a day early by driving to Charleston on Friday.  Taking two vehicles meant that Violet and I could stop in Columbia on the way down to see the M.C. Escher exhibit at the Columbia Museum of Art.  I've been wanting to see it and I knew it was going to close in early June.  We rolled up into a good parking spot right as I realized I used most of my car change on the parking meter a week earlier delivering artwork to Charleston.  Some kind soul had left 50 minutes on the meter near the museum and the handful of nickels I scrounged got us just enough time to see the exhibit and run to Starbucks for lunch.  

Violet didn't realize what artist we were seeing until we got inside.  Then she was very excited to see artwork she had only seen in school and on Youtube.

It was great for me too.  Escher's work blows my mind.  We marveled for over an hour and witnessed several viewers getting yelled at for getting too close.  I usually also go upstairs and see the permanent collection but we were officially on vacation, so we ditched and ate lunch at Starbucks.  While we were eating, the sunny day turned into a downpour, the first glimpse at what would be a weird weather week.  We made it to the car as the final minute ticked away and we were off to the coast.

A couple of hours later we were in Charleston.  We met up with Blue and G, found our hotel and made our way downtown to see the Piccolo Spoleto Juried Exhibit at City Gallery.  It was nice to see Esther and I was really happy to be exhibiting so close to my friend Kevin (Shark Boy in the background).  

After the gallery we walked along the waterfront and decided to eat at Fleet Landing.  It was our 27th anniversary.

We walked a little after dinner and then drove back to the hotel.  I happened to remember that we were somewhere near my friend Armir and he's been away from school for several months on orders.  I took a chance and texted him and we made plans to hang out after I took the kids to the pool.  Armir is climbing his way through the ranks of the Air Force reserves but it was cool to get to chat for a while with the OG "coffee with McAbee" guest.

The next morning I ran around a few streets and a parking lot and we drove back into downtown to walk around a bit.  On the way, Violet and I stopped for coffee at a Starbucks.  The lady in the SUV in front of us was a huge jerk to the guy taking her order.  Violet and I started looking for a piece of paper to make a nice note to give to the window person to make up for the jerk in front of us.  While searching the car, Violet finds two bathroom humor stickers she got from a Piggly Wiggly last October just as we pulled up to the window.  The nice lady leaned out to say hello to us and we were both cackling with laughter.  She looked curiously at us and Violet just held up one of the stickers.  It was a parody of a Pringles chips can that read "Dingle-berries" and instead of chips it had several little poop emojis.  The nice lady read the sticker and as it registered with her, she held back a laugh but couldn't stop the big smile spreading across her face.  We got our beverages, told the lady she was beautiful, and drove away.  Charleston is such a beautiful city.  We didn't find Bill Murray's house so we drove up the coast to find our beach house for the week. 

First stop was for a Crab Melt, of course.  The grocery store had our weeks worth of groceries ready to pick up and we spent the next hour or so getting moved in and unpacked.  We tried a new beach condo this year and it worked out well. 

I love staying close to the inlet.  As soon as we were settled, Violet and I took the walk to the jetty.  The wind was blowing so hard it sandblasted our legs.

We found a dead shark in a tidal pool.  Yes, I poked him with a stick.  It was the first wildlife encounter for the week.

Our condo had the ocean on one side and the marsh on the other.  The daily sunsets were really good.

The foxes were also a good amenity.  Right in front our our balcony there were two fox dens dug into the dunes.  Two young foxes lounged and played there most of the week. A couple of times an older fox came by to check in.  

I made a few sand sculptures.  The first day was actually pretty chilly.  It was cloudy and there was a strong wind all day long.  I wore a hoodie out to the beach.  It kept the beach pretty empty so I was able to work in peace.

The sunsets just kept coming.  There was a little outdoor seating area with this view.  We sat outside and played games as the sun went down.

Ok, let me explain.  So we were outside playing a game when we started hearing the Mario video game song blasting from the street below.  We look down and see the Booze Pops truck go by.  The kids were telling me to run down and catch him but there was no way I could have made it and I knew he would eventually have to come back this way.  There's only one way out.  So we waited.  The longer we waited, the more they encouraged me.  It was probably an hour later that the three of us decided to go find the truck.  We walked down the street a few blocks before seeing the flashing lights and hearing the music again.  A big family had flagged him down and they were all ordering as we walked up.  The kids got ice cream and I tried a piña colada pop and got this priceless photo.  Don't be fooled, they were the ones encouraging this.  It was hilarious.

The next morning the foxes were very playful.

I was feeling playful too so I made a drag-i-corn.  It was pretty large but I made it quickly so Violet and I could go kayaking in the inlet.

Both the kids and I have kayaked in the inlet in previous years, but this year we took our kayak so we could go more than once and save some money.  We put in at a different location and paddled across a big area of open water in a strong wind.  Way out in the middle we saw something on the water and went towards it.  We realized it was a sea turtle just as it realized we were close to him.  He looked at us and ducked under the water.  He did a little flip, waved with his flippers, and was gone.  It was very cool.

Violet didn't bring a paddle.  That's a very smart way of getting me to do all the work.

Each morning started pretty early.  I know I was on vacation, but my body must have really wanted to see the sunrise because it woke me up close to 6:00 am each day.  Most days I snoozed at least a few more minutes, but there's just something magical about running on the beach with the sun rising beside you.  I cherish those early runs with the salt air in my lungs.

The sand sculptures were pretty cartoonish up to this point and with the quick one the day before, I decided it was time to actually try.  This one is a self portrait, abstracted a bit to fit the demands of the sand.  I started putting my IG handle in the sand and people started to notice.  It was fun to watch people go by later in the afternoon from the safety of my balcony.  They'd walk up, pull out their phones, and you could see them looking it up.  It was also cool to be out working early each morning before it warmed up.  I was often one of the only people out and by the time I finished, other people would venture out.  We had some neighbors who accidentally put their beach chairs out behind my sculptures.  After I went inside everyone thought they made them.  I encouraged them to take the credit!

We ended up in the parking lot of a western store.  You know, the kind with cowboy hats and boots.  We were trying to eat at a restaurant that turned out to be closed so while G found a new place to try, the kids and I went inside to goof around. I totally think I could pull off a cowboy hat but the kids gave it a hard no.

Also, my head is huge.  Almost none of the hats fit my giant head.

Blue and I wasted some time walking around Broadway At The Beach.  We grabbed the butt drawing from Monday and looked for a good place to hide it.  Blue was embarrassed of my ridiculousness and wanted to make sure I didn't put it somewhere people would see me.  We opted for this spot.  I never heard anything from it so I don't know where it ended up.  

I built the bald head just inside the high tide mark and I was shocked the next morning when I went out to run that it was still there.  Not only did the tide not touch it, no humans touched it either.  A dog scratched at the right cheek just a bit, but that was easy to fix.  I toyed with the idea of trashing it and using the sand to make something new, but then I decided to just add on.  I was in the mood for ice cream so I made a giant cone.  Then, at the request of a cool stranger, I turned the ice cream scoop into a skull.

Up to this point the temperatures had hovered around 70 degrees and the wind each day was ridiculous.  This made the water feel a bit icy.  I hate being cold so I kept the surfboard inside.  But now it was warmer and it was finally time to surf.  I finished the sculpture and grabbed the board.  It was so great.  I'm not a good surfer but I did manage to ride a few waves on the choppy seas.  Violet was a bit skiddish with the rough surf so she just posed for a photo.  

The first day I went out to sculpt I was greeted by a lady within 5 minutes of starting to shovel sand.  She said she and her family were from Nebraska and this was their first trip to a beach.  She was excited that I was going to make something and she asked if they could watch.  The watching was from their ocean front deck so it wasn't weird.  The kids in the family said some nice things through the week and eventually they tried their hand at making stuff.  

This crab was pretty creative with the use of shells for eyes.

Just down the beach there was a cool shark head sticking up with teeth and some seaweed in its mouth.  Also creative.  Another lady who spoke to me asked if I noticed the other sculptures popping up around me.  That was pretty cool.  

The grandmother from the Nebraska family told me at the end of the week that the sculptures had been the highlight of their week.  That was a very kind thing to say.  A couple of nice ladies took photos with me and if you know me, you can imagine just how awkward I felt and looked in those photos.  They had connections to Lander and Greenwood and they said some very nice things.

The high tide kissed the ice cream cone, but did not destroy it.  That meant it was time to add on again.  What goes great with ice cream?  Bananas of course!  I cut the self portrait in half and peeled the skin off to reveal the skull.  Then I added an angry banana.  Keeping it weird in 2021!

Look at that fist!d  These sculptures were all very big.  My sculpture muscles are still a little sore from all this work.  I need a vacation from my vacations sometimes.  

Another cool thing...Blue and Violet's former elementary school principal now lives at the beach.  Every time we go she sends a message asking to meet us for ice cream.  The kids both love her and we all love ice cream.  She's so great.  She's been a loving mentor for so many kids and she seems to have no idea just how much of an impact she's had on thousands of lives.  Before we left she handed us some passes for putt putt and the kids were thrilled.  We checked the forecast and grabbed our hoodies and then I schooled the kids in mini golf.  Blue's getting better and he had a real shot at taking me down.  Maybe next time.

The putt putt place had a dog.  He was old, fluffy, and possibly blind.  He was also very friendly.  We love petting dogs.

Friday when I woke up at 6:00 am I heard several cracks of thunder.  Not what you want to hear when you're about to run a mile and a half down the beach.  I checked the radar and waited a few minutes to get a break in the rain.  I don't mind getting wet but I do object to being struck by lightning.  When I got my chance, I headed out.  As I started toward the beach I heard more thunder and decided to play it safe by sticking close to the building.  I ran on the sidewalk but didn't venture too far away.  Of course by the time I was done running the rain stopped and the skies started to brighten.  Violet and I took this as a sign that we needed to kayak again.

We went to the same spot we put in earlier in the week and found it was nothing but pluff mud at low tide.  We drove around a little and found another public landing and we were back out for adventures.  We paddled to Goat Island and said hello to several baby goats.

The goats are cool and they seem happy isolated from humans and other animals on their little island.

We stalked a couple of pelicans because, come on, pelicans are some of the coolest birds.  They're so awkward looking but also so graceful all at once.  I love pelicans.

We found this guy slipping around the oyster shells at the water's edge.  He was pretty shy.  He kept his door closed until we put him back.

This guy wasn't quite as shy.  He was scooting along the dock area and he got used to crawling around on Violet's hands pretty quickly.  Don't worry, we put him back too.

We paddled all the way across the inlet to see if we could get closer to the UFO house.  This place was across the street from us and I've seen it most of my life.  I'm really intrigued by it and I want to go inside.  No one seemed to be living there but every time I tried to talk the kids into trespassing they talked me out of it.  Since the tide was low, this was the closest we could get from the water.  If you know anyone who can get me inside legally, feel free to contact me.

Last fall Blue got a Lard Lad donut from the Simpson's Kwik E Mart at Broadway.  He raved about how good it was and planned to get one when we visited a few nights earlier.  Apparently lots of people enjoy them because they were sold out by the time we got there.  Since it was National Doughnut Day on Friday, Violet and I tossed the kayak on top of my car and drove to try to get Blue a donut.  I'm a doughnut snob and I don't mind telling you.  Doughnuts in their purest form are from Krispy Kreme and they're spelled "doughnuts".  These other deep fried dough-things with a hole in them are simply lesser specimens and spelled accordingly "donuts".  When i grabbed one for Blue, I also grabbed a pink iced with sprinkles for me to try.  (It's still bread right?) I will admit that it was pretty dang good...for a donut.

So the weather was a little un-summer-like, there were lots of cool animal encounters, it was a good sculpture week, a good art viewing week, a great food week, and a great family week.  Now we all have to turn our attention back to life in the summer.  G is back to the work schedule.  I have a lot of art things planned.  The kids said they had a lot to do this week and I asked them what they had to do.  They both replied "resting".

Here's to resting.  I hope you get a vacation or some rest this summer.