Back Down to Sea Level
We can't express enough how much we have truly loved living in the mountains, but we were past due for getting our saltwater fix. We were so excited to get our asses in the sand and lips coated with salt. Yes, a warm beach vacation!
Before launching to St. Croix, in the Virgin Islands, we made a 5 day stop to stay with our North Myrtle Beach family, the Eckleys. They have created a little paradise in their cozy, quiet home a stone's throw from the ICW and minutes from the NC Beaches.
North Myrtle Beach is a nice distance from the boardwalk, Ferris wheel, and craziness of the tourist destination of the main beaches in Myrtle. We enjoy the quiet residential beaches which allow for miles and miles of beach walking.
We spent the day on Brian and Darla's beach cruisers, bopping around town. It was in the 60's and breezy so no swimming just yet.
We were happy to be out and about on FLAT land with easy biking. Our lungs are accustomed to 8,000 + ft elevation and we felt like rock stars when exercising at sea level.
Upon our late-night arrival, Emma left us a very nice welcome basket complete with a sea-shell-shaped towel when we checked into the Eckley Inn after a midnight flight from Ouray, Colorado.
We are lucky enough to have the Smitty quarters upstairs so we can keep out of their hair while we are there.
While Brian and Darla worked during the week, we spent time hanging with Emma and Clyde who were on spring break. Not a real Aunt and Uncle to Emma. (but kind of by choice). As for Clyde we have a hot and cold relationship with him....... and he is always on spring break!
Early and cool spring was in the air in South Carolina, we so enjoyed the sun, Darla, Brian, and Emma. A quick walk or bike down the block to the Inter Coastal Waterway with Darla to watch the boats go by on a Sunday morning was one of my favorite moments on the trip.
We were not made aware that the price at the Eckley Inn increased dramatically this season. Emma implemented a Swear Jar in the household. The Smitties, if you don't know swear like sailors (even tho we are not sailors quite yet). We didn't get a straight answer, but we speculate the jar actually may have been put in place for Moma Darla.
We said f - - - it and put in a large donation on the first day to cover all our upcoming swears for the entire week.
The Eckley's have a newly renovated backyard patio complete with a gas fireplace, TV, outdoor cooking space, and a trampoline for entertainment which we all took full advantage of. In the cool mornings, however, we sat in the driveway in the direct sun, in beach chairs (like good rednecks) We called it morning neighborhood watch.
We spent a Saturday morning at Thistle, Brian's swanky golf club where he is a PGA Professional. We didn't have our clubs but he hooked us up with sticks so we all dinked around on the golf range and ordered lunch in the clubhouse and charged it to Brain. Yeah, he is somebody around there and we got to be his people for the day.
Endless games of Pegs, Brain, and Darla's cooking, and time hanging together were
our favorite parts of our pre-virgin island vacation.
Friends. It is what makes the world a happy place. Darla has been my friend since our teens, and one that has remained an important part of my life. Seeing her get married and have a family that we too get to enjoy is just a perk of being friends. We never take for granted the time we get to spend with our Eckley family. I did suck at getting photos during our trip this time. Sorry, Darla--again I realized we didn't even snap one of us!
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