North Myrtle Beach June 2012

"My soul is full of longing
For the secret of the sea,
And the heart of the great ocean
Sends a thrilling pulse through me."
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

A few weeks ago, David and I took a 4 night trip to North Myrtle Beach, SC.  We were very excited about this trip because it was to be our last trip together before JoJo joins us and thus was pretty much our "babymoon."  We couldn't wait to get away together!  We left at 5:30am on a Wednesday morning, but managed to get a quick picture of my 20 week belly bump (I'm 22 1/2 weeks now as I write this) before we left our house (the early AM time explains why I look so sleepy).

 

 Then we set our for our trip!  Some of you may remember from past beach-trip blog posts that we ALWAYS stop for breakfast at Shoney's in Rockingham, NC on our way down.  This is definitely a major tradition of ours, and for some reason I always choose to take a picture of David next to the sign to document the occasion...

 We made one brief wrong turn on our way down, which our GPS quickly fixed for us, EXCEPT that it took us down this dirt path in order to do so!  It was crazy and very funny, so I had to take a picture.  Who knew that our GPS even knew that this road was here?

When we got there on Wednesday, our room wasn't quite ready for check-in yet, so we went shopping at Tanger Outlets.  But while we were there, I looked down and noticed that my left foot /ankle was HUGE!!!  For the first time in this pregnancy, I had some swelling and it was big time!  It had David worried, so we went back to the hotel and sat in the air-conditioned lobby for a while as we waited on a call-back from the triage nurse at our OB's office.  Luckily, she called back and confirmed that it was just normal pregnancy swelling and was aggravated by the car trip.  So with no more worries, we checked into our room, ate dinner (at Carolina Roadhouse - our favorite), and sat out on our balcony that evening so we could take some pictures...

The next morning we woke up and the weather was beautiful!  We prepared to hit the beach - me in my maternity bathing suit and David in his super-cool Carolina sandals that I bought him some time ago.  We had a great day in the ocean (Yes, I LOVE ocean swimming and was not about to let being pregnant keep me out.  I was just very careful and turned my back to the waves to protect Joseph), and were able to beat the heat by sitting under our umbrella and draping a towel over our heads (okay, so it was just me that did the towel thing)...

That night we ate at TBonz at Barefoot Landing, where we got seated at a table right on the water at the intercoastal waterway - I love that!  Then we got our pictures taken by the crazy mirrors, did some walking and shopping (even bought Joseph a John Deere onesie from the Farm Toy Company store) and finished up the night by going to the OD Pavilion amusement park next to our hotel.  I couldn't ride anything of course since I was pregnant, but it was still fun to watch. 

The next day, Friday, we had another great beach/pool day!  We played in the ocean for a while, but the yellow flag (rough surf) was out, and after a little while I was afraid it was too much for Joseph.  David agreed with me, so we headed to the lazy river.  I wasn't sure I'd even be able to get my pregnant self out of the float, but I had fun!

That afternoon/evening we drove up to Calabash, NC to do a little shopping and spend some time at the inlet, which is always so pretty.  Got some great pictures there!

Then we came back to Myrtle and ate dinner at King's Famous Pizza on Highway 17.  We had never been there before, but we were hungry and it was very good.

Our last day, Saturday, we tried to live it up and get as much beach time as we could since we knew we'd be leaving the next morning.  Luckily, the weather stayed really nice for us!

On our way back the next day, we made frequent stops (at least once an hour) to walk around and try to keep my feet from swelling too much.  When we stopped in Fair Bluff, NC, we discovered the walking trails and bridges at the Lumber River State Park!  It was amazing and so beautiful!  We decided that this little treasure has to be a regular "on-the-way-home" stop from now on!!!

All in all, it was a wonderful trip!  I can't remember when I have cherished time with my husband quite so much, especially knowing it would be our last "alone" trip before having kids.  God is so good in the opportunities He provides us!  And of course, I can't end this blog without a 21 week picture (don't worry, 22 and 23 week pics coming soon!)