myrtle beach

I spent last week at Myrtle Beach with a group from church and what a relaxing time I had! Since we went in the fall instead of during the summer, everything was much less crowded than it normally would be - which I found very enjoyable. Kind of strange, seeing those tacky beach giftshops looking like they are part of a ghost-town, but I didn't mind! And being able to slip into a hot tub or the lazy river without being run over by a million kids - I got used to that pretty quickly.

I have so many beautiful pictures that I can hardly decide which ones to put up here. Our hotel was wonderful and our room had a fabulous view of the ocean. As much as I love to sleep in, I couldn't stay in bed and miss one of those beautiful sunrises. What an amazing thing to watch as the colors in the sky transform before my eyes up to the moment when dawn cracks and the sun peaks over the horizon (or through the fog, as it did one morning).

The first day began with this sun welcoming us to a new day in South Carolina:
Afterwards we enjoyed a day of shopping and finished off the evening with a delicious seafood buffet, where I stuffed myself with all sorts of good food - including quite a few crab legs. Then we ventured over to a show, The Grand Cirque - where we were fascinated by people who can do UNBELIEVABLE things with their bodies. I had a hard time believing those contortionists were real people - I still wonder if they had surgery to remove the tendons and joints so they could move like that. Wow.
Day 2 had another great sunrise - this one a little hazier than the previous, but still nice. Again, followed up by a good breakfast, great shopping (outlet mall day- my favorite!), and another show! This time we went to the Dixie Stampede Christmas show. What seemed like about 10,000 calories were put down in front of me, with no utensils to assist with this feast. Roll up the sleeves and dig in!

Thursday also began with, you guessed it, a nice sunrise followed by breakfast, shopping, more food, and another show! We are creatures of habit, aren't we? Our third and final show was the Carolina Opry's Christmas Show. It was the perfect way to end the trip and get us all in the holiday spirit!

All in all, I must say we had an excellent trip. Good food, good shopping, good company, good weather, good shows... what more could we ask for???