Moving on...

...to part two of vacation!  We said good-bye to Myrtle Beach by watching the sunrise together (even Bruce!)...

...then we drove up to Maryland to visit one of Bruce's sisters and her family.  We not only got to enjoy time with extended family, we also got to take the kids to DC for their first time.  Monday we visited the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum and the front of the White House.

On Tuesday we were able to take two of Karyn's kids with us and we visited the Washington Monument, the WWII Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Wall, and the back of the White House.

 My kids in front of the NYS pillar in honor of my Grandpa Minota, who fought in WWII in the Atlantic theatre.

I love this picture of the girls!

We had a wonderful visit...the kids especially loved the time with their cousins. Thanks to Rick, Karyn, and crew for a great visit and for their gracious hospitality!

 

After two such fun-filled days, the kids were tired out...on the way from Maryland to New York, they sacked out!  Abigail just rested, but David was sound asleep...resting up on the way to more adventures!!!

Last day at Myrtle Beach

We made Saturday (our last day in Myrtle Beach) a day to enjoy the indoor and outdoor pools, hot tubs, lazy river, and the beach...

 

 

Sunset seen from our balcony

Saturday's Atlantic sunrise

I can take dozens of pictures of the ocean and the sunrise...but they never come close to the majesty of the real thing!!!

 

 

 

 

Today's was a chilly sunrise...the kids and I enjoyed it and then ran back to our place for some hot chocolate, warm blankets, and cartoons!

Friday's vacation fun

Yesterday we enjoyed another wonderful day!  We saw the sunrise (well, those of us who like mornings saw it!), had a slow-paced morning, then got ready and went miniature golfing.

David's hole-in-one...he had two of them, even with his dominant hand in a cast!

 This particular place had two courses, and you had to take a train up to the top of the "mountain" to start the second course.  The kids loved it -- here they are shouting in excitement as we came out of the cave!

 We came home, cleaned up, and headed to Murrell's Inlet for dinner.  We had an incredible dinner and then enjoyed a long walk along the waterfront.  There was an island across from the restaurant; the owners of the island put goats on the island every summer to keep the brush down.  There are also some peacocks and some wild birds joining in the fun.

 We walked this boardwalk out into marsh and enjoyed watching boats -- both working fishing boats and pleasure craft -- come in and out of Snug Harbor.  We also saw a lovely sunset.

Another lovely day of vacation!

Beach vacation

We are currently enjoying a family vacation in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina!  We arrived Wednesday night and Bruce had to make a work-related presentation Thursday, so the kids and I entertained ourselves.  We walked on the beach during sunrise time, although we saw nothing but clouds due to the remnants of TS Nicole.  The surf sure was impressive.  I am used to the ocean being blues and greens and grays, so it was neat to see it just in myriad shades of stormy gray.

We went back to our room to warm up...this is the stuff vacation is made of, isn't it?!

The weather stayed a bit cool all day, but it was pleasant enough, so we visited the pool and the kids really enjoyed the lazy river.  Abigail enjoyed the floating; David enjoyed adding his own energy to the fast current to see just how fast he could go!

 

After Bruce got back, we enjoyed a beach walk together.  Bruce and I held hands and strolled for a few minutes, then we carried flip flops and admired the kids' shells and hollered admonitions not to get too far into the water while wearing their hearing aids...and we shared laughs over parenting and enjoyed the precious time with our kids!

The kids and I headed back down to the beach for the sunrise this morning, and although still cloudy enough that we couldn't see the sun come up out of the water, it was still lovely!  We watched and talked about the God Who is powerful enough to create the ocean, set its boundaries, and then keep the ocean waves coming to shore, wave after wave after wave.  Something about being near the ocean always renews my awe at our great God!