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! 

Summer travels come to an end

 

We left Indiana at the end of the holiday weekend, and made our way once again back to our home state of Michigan.  This time we’re settled into a site at Camp Lord Willing Campground for the next 2 months.

We’re on site 23, at the end of “Country Club Row”, and since it’s in the corner, it’s not considered waterfront, so it’s at a lower rate . . . we’re not sure of the logic behind that, since it’s a big site and it’s still right on the canal.

The site next to us is empty right now, but even with somebody there, the sites are still pretty roomy, especially with all the space we have between us and the canal.

 

Many of the same people that were here last year are still here, and the campground is still in good shape.  We have solid electric, but our Verizon signal seems a little weak . . . we don’t remember it being an issue last year.  The campground is in the process of revamping their WIFI, which should hopefully be completed in the next few days.  That should help out some, I hope!  They have a decent laundry room, but we’re close enough to my Mom’s house that I’ve been doing all of our laundry there.

 

We got everything set up and had an early dinner, then took a drive to Calder Dairy, just a few miles down the road, for an ice dream cone.

On the way in the drive, we saw cows and horses grazing in the field.

We arrived at the store and got our ice cream cones.

We walked around the yard while we ate our cones, and then wandered over to the Education Center, where there was a group of cows waiting to be milked.         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While the cows wait to be allowed into the milking barn, they can even get a massage!    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We walked past the cows waiting to get into the barn,

and the boys made sure to keep their distance so they wouldn’t get slobbered on!

When the barn doors opened, the cows would all try to push their way past the others and into the barn.

 

Once inside, the cows would quickly make their way to then end of the hallway and try to get into a milking station.  They would try to push and shove their way in . . . not very patient cows!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’ve been to a couple of very large diary farm operations before, but this was an up-close look at a smaller operation . . . we were glad we ate our ice cream first!!

 

We’re now back to a “normal”, non-travel-mode life for awhile . . . I’m going in to the office 2 days/week, and working from the RV the rest of the time, Bryce has started back to school (still homeschooling), and Tom and Nick are taking care of some maintenance items on the RV.  With Nick no longer in school, he has more free time.  He’s been spending much of it preparing for bootcamp, but he’ll also have some time to help my Mom and Tom’s Dad do the fall cleanup around their houses.

We’ve got a lot to get in order in the next 2 months, especially for Nicolas, and then we need to figure out our plan for the upcoming winter . . . that’s Tom’s job!

I’ll probably be blogging a little less, but I do have a couple of summary posts I want to do of our 2nd year of fulltiming, and we’re hoping to check out some local attractions that we haven’t been to in awhile . . . so I’ll still be here!