A good day for a bike ride and a swim

Since it was Saturday, we all slept in a little (if you can call 8:30 sleeping in!!) and after a leisurely breakfast of sausage patties and french toast, the boys decided they wanted to try riding bikes along the beach.  I was skeptical . . . but we decided to give it a shot!

We walked the bikes down to the hard-packed wet sand near the water, and took off toward Myrtle Beach!

 

 

 

Riding on the sand actually wasn’t as difficult as I thought it was going to be . . . as long as we stayed on the wet sand, but not too close to the water!  We had to watch out for big waves, and be ready to swerve out of the way! 

 

 

 

Before long, we had arrived at the Myrtle Beach State Park fishing pier. 

It was a busy day on the pier, with lots of fishermen . . . but we didn’t see anybody reel in anything big! 

From the pier, we rode along the boardwalk into the campground and through several of the loops.  It reminded us a lot of MI State Park, with dirt sites, lots of trees and narrow roads.  They do have water on their sites, though, and some with sewer, too.  We saw a few long sites that could probably fit on, but navigating the roads and getting backed in would probably be challenging!

We stopped in at the Ranger Station to pick up a map and ask about the bike path into town.  The Ranger said that the bikepath is really just a sidewalk along King’s Highway, and that we might have more fun riding the nature trails in the campground.  She assured us that bikes were allowed, and that the paths would be an easy ride with hard-packed ground.

We decided to take her recommendation, and road along the Yaupon Trail which wound through the woods and back down to the beach.  Obviously, not everybody’s idea of an “easy ride” is the same!

The trail was narrow, with hairpin turns around trees, and with tree roots crossing the path everywhere!  It was definitely an adventure, and the boys loved it!  We made it back to the beach with no mishaps, too!

It was getting closer to high tide, and we had less beach to ride on, so we decided to head back to Pirateland, rather than going any further towards Myrtle Beach.  The ride back was a little more difficult, stopped for a break to checkout the water and cool off.

Back at the campground, the boys decided it was warm enough for a swim in the outdoor pool!  Tom and I weren’t quite up to it, but we went over there with them.  Bryce decided it would be best to just jump right in, so he did . . .

YOW!!  That was cold, he said!!! 

They decided to try the Lazy River instead . . . maybe it would be a little warmer . . .

Nope, not any warmer!  They managed to float all the way around without getting too numb!!

It was pretty nice to have this giant pool all to themselves – I guess they were the only crazy people in the campground!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, maybe the fountain in the kiddie pool will be a little warmer . . .

NOT! 

This picture reminds me of things they would do when they were little – they always got a kick out of pouring water on each other, or seeing who could stand in the cold sprinkler longer.  Bryce won this challenge – he stayed in the fountain after Nick gave up and proclaimed he was going to the indoor heated pool!

There’s an indoor heated pool, you ask . . . oh yeah, but I told you they were crazy!  Over at the indoor pool, they opted to sit in the hot tub and get warmed up!

Oh yeah, that’s better!

And he’s still goofy! 

We had a great day in the warmth and sunshine . . . and still have a couple more nice days to look forward to!