Myrtle Beach, SC & Fort Fisher, Kure Beach, NC

May 28th, 2014

Today we headed to Myrtle Beach State Park, where we will be staying for two nights.  We arrived and the camp host checked us in.  He was very nice but made sure to tell us not to go on the trails unless we liked snakes!!!  There are a lot of Copperhead snakes around at the moment apparently!!!
We got set up and went for a short walk through the campground, although we made sure to stay on the roadways.

We saw hares, squirrels and this  Red Cardinal. Look closely on the picnic table!!

Because of the trees we can't get a satellite signal so we watched some programs we had recorded and some local channels as we relaxed for the evening.

Freddy the frog appeared tonight and so he is still with us, yay!!

May 29th, 2014

We didn't have a good night last night as I had a nightmare which seemed very real. I dreamt there was a snake/lizard in the bed.  I saw it's face peering out at me from under the pillow.  Now, as Bryan doesn't like snakes I was reluctant to shout for him and so just stared for a second before I called out his name and then I woke up. Of course he woke up as well but I still wasn't convinced it was just a dream and so we stripped all the bed carefully, looked under and in the pillows, all around the bed. Nothing, thankfully.  I still couldn't face getting back in the bed though so I said I would sleep in the living room and he came with me.  I decided I was being silly and bravely went back to bed but had to have the light on.  Felt like a small child again but could still see the image very vividly and didn't want to close my eyes.  Eventually though I did, although neither of us really got back to a peaceful sleep the rest of the night.  

Once we got up, we had breakfast and got ready and went for a walk down to the beach and pier here. They have a turtle conservation program here which is good but I didn't see any signs of nests.

Myrtle Beach

There were a lot of jellyfish

We went for a ride into Myrtle Beach. We counted over 15 crazy golf courses along the one main road!!  There were also a lot of fake lighthouses. It is a typical seaside resort and didn't really appeal to us.  The beaches are supposed to be some of the best around but I think we have been spoilt by the Florida beaches where we have found some deserted ones that are much nicer.  

Giant Crab Restaurant

We didn't try the Giant Crab as I hadn't looked at any reviews and we weren't really hungry at the time as we had just eaten at Olive Garden but it looked an interesting place.

When we got home our neighbor was packed up and ready to leave.  He told us he had got thunderstorm and tornado warnings on his radio and so was making sure he was ready to leave if he needed to.   We watch the weather pretty closely and had seen that thunderstorms and rain were forecast which is why we got back when we did. I looked again but couldn't see any sign of tornadoes so we just settled in for the night and relaxed.  We did get some rain, thunder (that was pretty loud) and lightening but it didn't get any closer than 4 or 5 miles from us, so we were ok.  Our neighbor stayed were he was as well.  I kept getting images of my nightmare and really wasn't looking forward to going to bed but eventually we went to bed and I slept without the light on!!  I'm sooo brave!!!

May 30th, 2014

We are on the road again today.  On our way out of the park I took these pictures of the park and pier.  It really is quite pretty but the snakes and my nightmare put us off a bit!!  It is also quite expensive at nearly $50/night.

We are headed to Fort Fisher Air Force Recreation Area at Kure Beach, North Carolina.  We were going to take Lily on the ferry across to the island but because the weather was a little stormy we decided to go the longer way around on the road. We crossed the state line.

Another state to add to our map, yippee!!!

I bought a cute frog on a spring at Myrtle Beach.  Well, I had to cheer myself up somehow after that nightmare.  I took a VIDEO of it on the way today.  We didn't leave it hanging there all trip as it would have driven us mad but it is so funny.

We drove along the beach front, it is a quaint little seaside town with colorful apartments and homes on the ocean and arrived at Fort Fisher.  It is a small recreation area and should be very relaxing, just what we need at the moment.

Here is a live Webcam of Kure Beach.

We got setup and relaxed for the rest of the day.

Freddy the frog appeared again tonight so he made the trip safely with us. :)  The snakes didn't get him. :)  We have been seeing him every night.

May 31st, 2014

We got up, had breakfast and I watched Andy Murray playing in the French Open.  He was playing Philip Kohlschreiber and what a match it was.  It lasted over 4 hours before it got too dark to continue and was stopped for the night at 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 7-7.  Andy was struggling at the end with cramp.  This is the first 5 set match he has played since his back surgery.  They will finish this tomorrow.

We went for a drive along the sea front and got our lottery tickets at the local supermarket at Carolina Beach just north of us, before returning home.

Later our neighbors told us that a swimmer had gone missing in the ocean at Carolina Beach, and the authorities were searching for him.  Apparently a lifeguard on the beach saw him disappear in the surf but couldn't rescue him and so the coastguard and rescuers were called.  We didn't go on the beach so don't know how rough the ocean was but this is so sad.

We relaxed again for the rest of the day.

So, the month of May has flown by and tomorrow sees the start of June.  Time doesn't slow down even when you are retired!!!!

Take Care everyone. 

Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum, Mt. Pleasant, SC

May 27th, 2014

We had tickets to go to Patriots Point today.  On our way we stopped at  Fort Moultrie on Sullivan Island to get our lighthouse passport stamped for the Sullivan Lighthouse we saw earlier.  We didn't look around Fort Moultrie as neither of us felt 100% and we knew we had a lot of walking to do at Patriots Point.

Fort Moultrie

We saw these two old churches close by.  They reminded me of the churches in England.

We arrived at Patriots Point.  The aircraft carrier USS Yorktown,  destroyer USS Laffey and submarine  USS Clamagore are on display here.  

We started the walk to the Yorktown and a couple of volunteers on a golf cart stopped and asked us if we would like a ride.  Yep, we sure would, thanks very much!!!  One of the volunteers then took us to the elevator to get aboard the Yorktown and up to the hanger deck.  Saved our legs and Bryan's knees a little bit. He was very helpful.  Here are some pictures taken on the Hanger Deck of USS Yorktown. 

Ryan is on the frigate named after him, USS McCluskey

                                                                         Pt-19

Bryan's Dad served on this carrier during his service.

We got the elevator up to the flight deck and took these pics. 

A-7 Corsair

                                  Memorial to F-4 Pilots who died while flying from US carriers

                                      F-4 Phantom. Bryan spent 1/2 his career working on these in the Air Force

                                     F-8 Crusader. Bryan's Dad worked on these while in the Navy

I sat down while Bryan looked at the planes

The bridge we had come across.  Doesn't feel as though you are this high when you are on it.

Bryan walking around

and taking a pictures

 Then we went up to the bridge. 

View from the bridge

Ammunition for the gun

Bryan taking command

From the outside on the bridge we got these pics.

USS Laffey

Planes on the flight deck below

 There were some sailing boats that were obviously people training to sail.  I took a VIDEO of them.

The ship and the planes weren't very well maintained and need a lot more work done on them.  Bryan was a little upset they weren't taken better care of as this is a memorial to those who served.

Looking at the gift shop and car park from the Yorktown.  You can also get a ferry to Fort Sumter from here.

We went back down and stopped in the cafe to get a drink before going to look around USS Laffey. 

This was the Captains Barge

QH-50_DASH

We took this picture of the USS Clamagore from the Laffey but we decided we wouldn't walk around the sub.

We walked back along the bridge to the ships and as we looked over the side we saw some small crabs in the water below.  

and took this looking back at the Yorktown. 

Then we looked around the Vietnam Support Base exhibit. 

We headed home after a long day out.  Patriots Point was a little disappointing to us as we have been to a few ships that have been opened to the public and this wasn't maintained as well as some.  There is always interesting information to learn though.

Take Care