Piper's Blog
Just One More Person's Thoughts Cluttering Up the NetMyrtle Beach Adventures Club
Ben and I thought it would be a good idea to try to capture all of our vacations in journal form like we did for the Hocking Hills Chronicles. Our summer adventure started on 6/24 and today is 6/27 so I am a little behind but will quickly catch up.
The Players:Â Steve Henke and Gina Berila (*now engaged!*), Andy and Nicole, Dusty and Sammy, Yost, Ben and me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~6/24~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Friday was a big day. I had an ultrasound (*I’ve been having some tummy troubles*), then went to work, then went home to finish packing, and THEN went to the rendevous location of Steve’s house. After Yost, Andy and Nicole, and Gina arrived we loaded up Tonka and Andy’s car and were on our way. Dusty and Sammy weren’t with us yet because they left before us to go to a family reunion in Tennesee and would catch up with us later this trip. Our first stop was a Cracker Barrel and I thought it was a great first meal to our trip. Afterward, I took some Dramamine and was pretty much out of it for the rest of the night. We stopped in Virginia at about 2:30 AM at a Best Western to recharge for the next leg of the trip.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~6/25~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Day 2 of traveling. We all managed to be up and about in a good time and were back on the road with McDonald’s in hand by about 10:00 AM! The scenery was goreous and we tried to take pictures of the mountains but it was a little tricky in a moving vehicle. One of the MOST excited things was traveling past billboards showcasing yummy peaches, peach ice cream, and peach cobbler! I wanted to go so bad but Ben said maybe on the way back. I’m a litlle worried that we won’t make it though because our GPS was acting strange when we got to the Carolinas so I’m not sure we can refind the peach stand. 
 Anywho, when we were only about an hour away from Myrtle beach we stopped at ANOTHER McDonalds for a snack. Needless to say we declared no more McDonals for a little while LOL. Sadly, traffic getting into the beach area was AWFUL and it extended our journey by about 2 hours. Yuck.
We arrived at the main office for the rental house and they promptly gave us the keys and directions. The house was easy to find and is nestled at the end of a private drive. The inside looks like it is from an HGTV episode! Fantastic country cottage with some modern touches. Ben and I got the master bedroom (*which we thought was fitting because we were the only married couple here 
*) After we unloaded the vehicles, Ben and I went to my parents Holiday Inn hotel to eat and get our 2011 family reunion t-shirts. They were so happy to see us!
The familly reunion was in Myrtle Beach State Park and it was amazing that it was right in the middle of everything but felt so secluded and quiet.
-Talk about gma
-Talk about boardwalk, beach, pier
-Talk about cousin (Hans, Roger, Jade, Mary)
-Talk about first night on the closed in porch drinking wine and talking with Ben, Gina, Steve, Yost stayed up to 2:00
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~6/26~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-Successsful yummy breakfast followed by a trip to the beach
-At beach for 3 to 4 hours. Perfect day. Talked with the girls and read
-Got cleaned up to go to late lunch at Sticky Fingers REALLY YUMMY
-Went to Cold Stone Creamery for dessert the cake batter really does tast like cake. Love it!
-Piggly Wiggly adventure for wine, Sunday night snacks, and breakfast fixins
-Watched the Guild sesaon 1 and 2
-Dusty and Sammy arrived
-Went to beach at dusk
-Finished Guild 2 and started Blazing Saddles
-bed
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~6/27~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All caught up and will write about the day after it is over!
-went to local beach shop. bought awesome hat and pirate necklace
-went back to the house and dressed for the beach!
-jumped in the waves for a while and then sat under my fortress
-went back to the house before everyone to get cleaned up and start a midday lunch/snack of pizza bites and spinach dip
-gina and i went to the store while the men went to get meat and liquor. they met up with us at the store
-had amazing burgers and hot dogs for dinner
-the girls watched wedding daze and the boys played cards
-i think guild 3 was watched
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~6/28~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-i woke up to drive ben yost adn steve to golf
-went back to bed
-got cleaned up and gina and i went to explore myrtle beach proper. went to the gay dolphin and landshark
-picked up the boys and went to get liquor (*finally bought that nuvo pink stuff that looks like perfume*)
-went to Badd Kitty for a laugh adn gina and i got sleazy little tank tops
-went to buy steak
-returned to the house to start the bbq chicken for dinner
-watched the guild 4
-gina cleaned kitchen and I tried to make side dishes of rice and carrots
-had piperitas and that nuvo stuff which made for a fun Uno game
-watched a little of Jim Gaffigan before everyone got sleepy and went to bed
(*It is now October 13 and I haven’t finished this entry and I’m mad at myself for letting so much time pass that I forgot more details but i will finish up what i DO remember.*)
6/29
I DO remember that Wednesday was a big day. Â We went to Ripley’s Aquarium and I loved it. Â They had a really neat exhibit about sharks and I touched a horseshoe crab! Â Unfortunately Nicole wasn’t feeling too great so Dusty, Sammy, Andy, and she went back to the house.
The rest of us went to a neat seafood restaurant called Pier 19 because it was on Pier 19. Â It was perfect! More local and authentic than a Red Lobster but not so fancy we were underdressed. Â Gina and I shared a bottle of wine. Â I had delicious stuffed flounder. Â After we ate we perused the attached gift shop and then went out on the pier. Â It was really windy but a beautiful night.
That night there were fireworks on the beach so after the seafood dinner we walked to an old school ice cream shoppe and then found a good spot on the beach. Â My favorite firework was a smilely face that accidentally was exploded upside down. Â 
6/30 -
I think this was the day that Gina and I went to get massages and mani/pedi’s at a local spa.  I had never had an hour long Swedish massage before and it was truly amazing.  I was so relaxed and my body felt great.  The masseuse was a really neat older woman who discovered she loved giving massages and making people feel better when she was around 40.  So, a little bit of a late bloomer but somewhat of an icon to me because it is never too late to find and do what you love.  I loved the color I picked for my nails it was OPI Ski Teal You Drop.  (*now I own a very similar color *)
While the women were getting pampered, Yost, Steve, and Ben went for a helicopter ride out over the ocean. Â They took some neat pictures!
Friday and Saturday were more quiet and relaxing. Â I think Ben and I went on our great watch hunting adventure. Â We wanted to go to a Fossil store but it has moved out of the shopping center we were checking so we made some calls and found another one in an up and coming neighborhood. Â We both bought watches and wear them almost everyday.
The trip home was long but I DID get to stop at a great peach stand for homemade peach ice cream. Â It was truly amazing!
On the way back there was quite a back up going into the tunnels of West Virginia. Â Dustin and Andy’s cars were stuck for hours in Virginia. Â The best quote of the trip was receiving a text from Dusty saying, “I’M GOING TO NUKE VIRGINIA!”
When we arrived in Cleveland there was a particularly bad lightning storm. Â I had never seen that much lightning at once NOR have it somewhat hang in the air for as long as it did. Â It was as if someone was breaking the sky and there were stress fractures.
(*Well that is all I can remember but if I ever think of something else I will add it.*)
The End.
Tags: Myrtle Beach, Vacation
Day 1 of Round 3
Today is the first day of Ben and my third year of marriage.  We had a two year anniversary bonanza this past weekend and had a really nice time.  We never do anything super fancy like dinner and candles so we had a quiet Saturday at home.  Actually the party started on Thursday 10/6.  Ben’s gift for me arrived and he was too excited to wait to give it to me so we exchanged gifts early.  He commissioned me a gorgeous 3 foot square paiting of the Gears of War logo.  He found an artist in California that had done a similar work of art for her boyfriend, an Assassian’s Creed fan.  It was such a surprise and truly stunning! We are currently figuring out how to frame and mount it though…
I bought him an Italian leather walled that had his initials embossed on the inside.  He seems to really like it and immediately switched all his stuff out of the old wallet.  My hope was that everytime he uses it he thinks of me a litle and smiles. (*Granted wedding rings do that too but it never hurts to have even more reminders that one is loved.*)
Friday, we went to Famous Dave’s for dinner.  We hadn’t gone in a while and the laid back comfort atmosphere was what we wanted.  Of course it was delicious and we went home stuffed!  Once we got home I put on comfy clothes so we could watch Star Wars 5.  When I emerged from the bedroom, Ben surprised me by turning our sleeper sofa into a bed so we would have a little nest to watch the movie. The downside though is that we both fell asleep and essentially had a campout in the living room. LOL.  It was a fun idea but we were both sore in the morning and probably won’t do it again.
Saturday was dedicated to playing a new game together, as we hadn’t played anything together in a long time. The game is called Magicka and it is super silly!  We were little wizards running around killing bad guys with spells.  I also worked on a playmat design for our COG store. (*more on that in a different post*)
Sunday I did laundry and played Gears of War 3.  All in all a great time!  I’m definitely excited by what the next years hold.
I love you Ben!
Tags: anniversary