the vacation we didn't ask for

G informed us a couple of weeks ago she was going to the beach over Christmas break.  At first we all thought she was ditching us and taking a solo vacation.  She's a nurse and the last couple of years have been as tough as you might have heard.  Soon we realized we were invited but the room was mixed.  The trip would likely be the very first days of Blue and Violet's school vacation and they tend to be home-bodies, especially on the first few days of being able to sleep late.  I felt like I had been away a lot and had recently spent a few days at the coast and I still had some Christmas shopping to do.  Violet said she didn't really want to go.  When Blue found out I might go, he decided he'd go.  I mentioned taking the kayak and Violet was back in.  It was decided and we all started to adjust our expectations for a quick, relaxing trip before the family events started.

While that was the plan, that's not at all what happened.  The Sunday before Christmas I got up very early to run in the dark so we could pack up and leave for the beach pretty early.  I had my coffee and headed upstairs to finish packing.  G greeted me with a serious face and said that Blue woke up feeling terrible, probably had a fever, and she didn't know when they'd be ready to go.  He had been running a little low on energy the last couple of days but I figured it was just exam week catching up to a teenager who stays up too late.  After a little see-sawing on what we should do, it was decided that Violet and I would go ahead and start driving and when Blue felt better that afternoon or the next morning, the others would join us.  

Before we even saw the water, Blue had an urgent care visit, a negative COVID test, and a positive flu test.  G was also pretty sure she had a fever.  Now things were complicated.  We had driven 4 hours and now it seemed the other half of our group would not be joining us.  We could drive back home, but that would put us in the same house as the germs.  We were told that they were fine and that we should just stay and enjoy the beach.  I wondered if this was one of those traps.  You know, if you really cared you'd come take care of us...one of those.  I asked Violet what she thought and before the question was finished she was adamant that she did not want to be near the germs.  We were staying.

The beach is great in the winter.  At least our beach is great.  It's often cold and very windy on the sand.  This keeps the beaches vacant and it's so beautiful, even on cloudy days.  Violet and I opted for a quick walk on the beach after eating lunch at our favorite spot.

This was also an opportunity for Violet.  We were unchaperoned and I was making the decisions.  I'm always up for adventures and I'm a silly person.  Sensing this, Violet asked to do all the things she knew I'd say yes to.  We went to all the crappy tourist stores.

And we bought all the candy.  All the candy.  We also made time each night to watch some sort of Christmas movie together.

I went for my run each morning and that first morning was pretty dang cold.  Running on the beach is so different from what I'm used to and on that first cold morning I forgot to monitor my breathing.  Breathing cold air directly into my lungs wasn't smart and I started coughing as soon as I stopped running.  The cough would linger.

This was intended to be a quick trip with only one full day for adventuring.  We headed out after my run and got a bagel breakfast, grabbed some dollar store gloves for Violet and drove to the boat ramp at Murrell's Inlet.  One interesting note here, because it was going to be such a quick trip, we didn't really worry about being cold.  We brought a couple of hoodies but when I was packing I asked if we needed to bring coats and I was told (by an anonymous person) that it wouldn't be that cold.  I knew better so it take the blame.  Now we were standing by the boat on a cloudy morning.  The air temperature was 39 degrees.  The water was 58 degrees.  

A guy drove up in a pickup truck as we were carrying the kayak to the water.  He leaned out his window and said, "Y'all must really want to kayak to be going out today.  Better wear those life jackets and be careful out there.  You know they just found that guy down by mama's house dead."  Exactly what you want to hear when you're the only responsible adult and you're putting your daughter in a boat questioning your choices.  For perspective, I'm certain people died in car crashes that morning as well, but neither us nor the kind man questioned our decision to go ahead and drive that day.  

And adventures are fun!  Violet was wrapped up in a blanket she found in my truck.  A young couple put a jet ski in the water as we were putting in and they were also wrapped up in a blanket.  They only stayed out about 20 minutes.  Wimps.  We were out for 2 hours.

I love pelicans and this kayak trip was a pelican treat.  There were so many and we got so close to them.  This one group was hanging on the oyster shells and we positioned our kayak so the wind would push us right by them.  

As we got too close for their comfort, they all stormed into the air and water just a few feet from us.  We heard splashing and wings cutting the air.  There was also a little bit of screaming from Violet who was certain she was going to get pooped on.

It was a very cool moment.  Pelicans are great.  Then we continued paddling around.  The wind was strong so we stayed closer to the marsh grass and avoided the open water.  

We both jumped a little when we noticed this guy prowling on one of the docks.  He was plastic though, except for his tail, and he was apparently just to scare off unwanted pests, like us.

Safely back on land, we made a few stops on the way back to the room.  We got warm and then decided it was a perfect day for a polar plunge.  While Violet was prepared, I did not even bring trunks so we stopped to grab a cheap pair from a beach store.  I spotted a selection of Speedos which I still argue were economically priced but I was shouted down by Violet.  She picked me out a tie die pair of trunks instead.  There were a few bundled up beach walkers as we stripped down to our swimwear.  They all stopped to watch as we ran into the cold ocean water.  Violet wasn't going to get her hair wet but she tripped on the first wave and fell in.  I ran out farther and dunked myself.  The water didn't feel that bad and I didn't even have to run back out of the water.  I noticed a man videoing us before shaking his head and continuing his walk.  Super fun.

We had hot showers, but on our warmest clothes and headed to Margaritaville to eat.  We walked around all the Broadway at the Beach shops and grabbed some gifts.

The classic Myrtle Beach strip is very different from the days of my childhood.  The Pavilion is gone but there are still several poor quality merchants lighting up the area.  I've driven the family through there on busy summer nights but my kids have never walked around out there.  Violet and I drove through and while the stores were open, there were almost no people around.  We found a great parking spot and jumped out to let Violet experience the Gay Dolphin.

For me this is the last piece of old Myrtle Beach.  It's a giant gift shop, ocean front, and has some of the tackiest things you'll ever see for sale.  Violet got a stretchy poop for a couple of dollars and a fun story from the cashier.  Priceless adventure.

The next morning was cold and rainy.  My cough was worse and I kinda felt bad.  Of course I was worried I had the germs too, but after my run and a cup of coffee I decided it might have just been the cold air and a night of tossing and turning that had me feeling off.  We grabbed some waffled for breakfast and headed to the mall to finish our shopping.  We looked at guitars and ukuleles and dreamed a little before heading back to the room to rest.  I had a good nap and felt better.  

We were supposed to go home on this day but the report from home was that people were even sicker than before and that we should stay longer.  We wrapped our gifts and made a plan for a new adventure.

We drove a bit to a drive through light show and it was pretty cool.  Violet became the navigator and narrator, explaining when we were entering the candy cane forest, the Christmas village, cartoon-land, and Santa's lair.  We drove back to a candy store to grab sweets for the additional night and found a great BBQ place too.  We had so much fun it didn't even matter that it rained hard all day long.

Of course we did a photobooth.  I love those things. 

We both slept better.  The heavy clouds started to break up during my run.  The shrimp boats were out.

The first day I found a little Toy Story character washed up on shore.  On Wednesday I found this little ornament.  

We tried a little crepe restaurant Violet found and it was really good.  We packed up and moved out of our temporary retreat but we just weren't ready to go home yet.  The weather was perfect and we decided we had to walk on the beach before we left.  With full sun, the air warmed up nicely.  We walked back to the truck and decided we couldn't leave yet.  

We drove down to one of our favorite spots, parked and grabbed the blanket again.  This time the blanket was for sitting.  We shed our hoodies and sat on the beach soaking up some December sunshine.  We walked as far as we could but the tide was still high and we couldn't make it down to the point.  

So we took off our shoes and enjoyed the sand.  We walked, we sunned, we sat, and when we were bored with all of that, we talked about leaving.  

I couldn't resist making a little Santa head before we packed it in one last time.  We picked up lunch and grabbed some of the family's favorite foods to go before driving inland.  I told Violet I had one more adventure for us.

I exited the interstate in Bishopville, SC and in a couple of minutes we were parked outside of the legendary Pearl Fryar's topiary garden.  Violet had never visited and I wanted her to see it.  Pearl is in his 80s now and is no longer able to tend the garden.  Through a generous grant, the gardens have been refurbished and brought back to their glory with the help of Mike Gibson, a topiary artist from Ohio.  

And guess who was there working?  Violet and I got to meet Mike and talk with him for a bit.  Super nice guy, amazing artist.

Violet liked my favorite ones and decided to pose.  I love how these two touch.

It was late afternoon so my photos were not great but I highly recommend a visit anytime you're near Bishopville.  It's free to visit the garden but donations help keep things trimmed and clean.  

So that was the vacation we didn't ask for but we're glad we had.  We made the most of our time and had a great trip.  Luckily the sick ones were on the road to recovery when we arrived home.  Accidental adventures are great.