Four Midwesterners survive Tropical Storm Ana

Back when we planned our vacation for Nicolas’ leave, we figured that a few days at Myrtle Beach with a nice pool would be a great way to wrap it up. 

We didn’t plan on the first named storm of the hurricane season joining us there!

Now, I must say, the National news was making a MUCH bigger deal out of the storm than the local weather forecasters were . . . to them it was just going to be “some rain, some wind”, nothing to really worry about.  So, even with the bullseye directly on Myrtle Beach, we made our move. 

We packed up Thursday afternoon so that we could get an early start on Friday and hopefully be set up before any rain moved in.  We arrived at Pirateland Campground around noon, and pulled onto our site just as a downpour hit us!  Two minutes later, it was over and we proceeded to get set up.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was still pretty windy and stormy-looking, so we took Casey for a quick walk down to the beach before it rained again.

There wasn’t much going on at the beach!

It started to rain again, so we had some lunch and took a quick run to the store.  By the time we got back, the rain was gone and the sun had come out!

 

One more quick walk for the doggie, and then we headed to the pool . . . we figured we might as well take advantage of it while we could!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The swimming area at Pirateland is beautiful – with a huge pool, lazy river, and a kiddie splash area.  There were a few kids in the splash area, but nobody was braving the chilly water of the pool or lazy river.

We did, though!

With the sun low in the late afternoon sky, and a pretty good breeze, it was chilly floating on the water, but we had fun!

The boys tried out single tubes, then double tubes,

and then stacked double tubes!

When we finally needed to warm up a little, we headed over to the indoor pool and hot tub!  Overall, not a bad day at all!

Saturday was predicted to be more of the same – periods of rain alternating with periods of sun – as the tropical storm was getting closer, but still offshore. 

The surf was definitely getting rougher, though!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were hoping it wouldn’t get too bad, since we were pretty close to the beach!    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We took a walk along the beach,

and spotted a few jellyfish washed up on the sand.

We also watched groups of pelicans as they flew in formation over the waves . . . it was pretty cool!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was really neat to watch, and we were amazed at how low they flew – even with the surf as rough as it was!

Walking back along the beach, we saw another group of pelicans flying over the waves!    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s hard to believe that such large birds can be so graceful!

After our walk on the beach, we took a drive through downtown Myrtle Beach.  It’s looking a little rundown, and is really just made up of bars, restaurants, mini golf and giant beachwear shops.  We didn’t see anything that made us want to stop and look around, so we just went back to the campground and over to the pool again.

Most of the afternoon was pretty nice, and after a couple hours at the pool we decided to go out for pizza (I didn’t feel like cooking!).  We went to a little pizza place in surfside beach, and it was really good . . . and much nicer than Myrtle Beach!

By the time we got back to the campground, it was almost time for sunset . . .     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By the time we went to sleep Saturday night, the rain had arrived and the wind had picked up quite a bit . . . we learned that Tropical Storm Ana made landfall just north of Myrtle Beach sometime during the night. 

We slept right through it!

It was raining pretty hard Sunday morning, so other than going out for mass, we stayed in all day.  I did manage to get down to the beach between rain showers to get a few pictures!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We watched movies all day, and I got Mother’s Day presents from Nicolas,

and Bryce.

 

 

It was a nice day, even if we couldn’t get outside!

Later, after dinner, the rain finally stopped and the sun started to peak out between the clouds.  We went out for a walk, and were treated to a rainbow over the ocean!    

The remaining clouds made the sky look really dramatic!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The sunset was pretty spectacular, too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, that was it . . . we survived the first named storm of the 2015 Hurricane season, and our first tropical storm ever!  It wasn’t so bad!

Monday morning dawned beautifully – with a crystal-clear blue sky!

Figures – it was time for us to end our vacation and get Nicolas back to the base so he could start work on Tuesday!  Oh well, it was a nice day to pack up and drive!

We had a great vacation, and we were so glad we could give Nicolas some “family-time” with lots of rest, relaxation and fun!