Headin' Home

So, after a wonderful week in Myrtle Beach, it was time to face the idea of driving home :(  We broke the drive up into two days again, so Saturday night we stopped in Herndon, Virginia again (we were so impressed with the hotel on the way down, we decided to stay there again).

We arrived and checked into the hotel just before dinner time, and then decided to take advantage of the hotels free shuttle to go out for dinner.  We decided to go to nearby Reston Town Center, and we were pleasantly surprised with what we found!  The only way I can think to describe it is to say it's like a very upscale/classy version of The Byward Market, in Ottawa.  It was a really unique combination of office/business buildings and upscale shopping and restaurants. 

These next pictures will give you an idea of how 'upscale' this place was...while we were there, there was some type of fundraising dinner going on and it was sponsored by Jaguar.  We joked about sneaking past the ropes for a bite to eat, but, I'm pretty sure we would have stood out - after all, we weren't wearing ball gowns or tuxedos!

Now, this isn't exactly upscale or classy, but, we also got to eat at a Chipotle while we were there.  I've been hearing a lot about this restaurant lately - first, from Bubba Watson on Twitter, and then from a guy we were chatting with around the pool at Barefoot - so I was excited to have a chance to try it.  And, it was DELICIOUS!  I'll say it's like a Subway, except with Mexican food - instead of picking your toppings for a sub, you pick toppings for a burrito, bowl or taco. 

Marilyn and I eating our bowls...

I wasn't thrilled to be at the end of our vacation, so it was nice to have one extra night of sight seeing and trying new things!

Myrtle Beach - The BEACH

Curt and I have been to Myrtle Beach twice before, but, we have never actually been to the BEACH!?!?  Sounds crazy, right?  Let me explain...our last two trips were over Christmas and New Years, so it wasn't really beach weather.  Those two trips were golf trips as well, so we were only thinking about golf weather, not beach weather.  But, when we booked this trip, I knew I had to at least go to the beach - and, maybe even go in the ocean.

Our week was flying by, suddenly it was Friday morning and not only had we not been to the beach, but I hadn't even seen the ocean!  Luckily, our tee time wasn't until the afternoon, so we had time to head two blocks over to the beach.

It was beautiful!  It wasn't very busy when we first arrived, but people were obviously just making their way out for the day because it was quite a bit busier by the time we left.

 We went straight for the water and were shocked at how WARM it was.  For five days we'd been swimming in the hotel pool, which we found a little chilly, when we could have been over in the ocean...oops.  At this point, we planned on taking a little walk and checking out some of the beach side resorts.  And, let me tell you, there were some pretty nice places!

Unfortunately, this picture was a set-up, we didn't really have time to lounge and enjoy the beach, we only had about an hour there.  But, here's Curt briefly enjoying the complimentary beach chairs that the city of North Myrtle Beach provides.

Once we got to the beach, I think Curt and I both regretted not looking into going surfing again (we tried it back in December, when we were in San Diego).  The waves wouldn't have been great, but it would have been good enough to try again.  We tried body surfing instead!

About the catch a wave :)  It's a toss up, I'm not sure if I was worse at surfing or body surfing!

Curt diving into a wave!

After a little body surfing, Curt had an idea - he wanted us to sit side by side on the ground, and he was going to try to take our picture as a wave came up behind us.  And if that sounds easy to you, think again!  It was all about timing, and we didn't exactly get the timing down.

A little early on this one...

And a little late on this one!

I was also really bad at holding a normal smile...as soon as that wave hit, this is what we got....every time!  Ha!  My mom summed it up perfectly when she saw these pictures, Curt and I are a 'pair of goofs'!

Looking at these pictures today makes me sure of one thing, I could live on the ocean!  Curt and I now have great memories of surfing in the Pacific Ocean and goofing around in the Atlantic Ocean...we are blessed!

Myrtle Beach - The Golf

This was definitely a GOLF vacation - I played four rounds of golf, and the guys plays five rounds!

We got a great deal on a package of four rounds at 'The Cats Golf Courses at Ocean Ridge' - these courses are actually in Sunset Beach, North Carolina, about a half hour drive from North Myrtle Beach. 

Our first round was at Tiger's Eye, and, I have to say, I played really well!  Usually, a good game for me is being consistent with at least one part of the game...but, on this particular day, my driver, woods and irons were all going really well.  I really struggle around the green (as in, I CAN'T hit a wedge!), and that was evident during this round.  My putting was OK - the greens had just been aerated so it's hard to judge.

Curt played the Blue/Amur tees at 6628 yards, Dad and Gord played the White/Bengal tees at 6120 yards and I played the Red/Tigress tees at 4502 yards...so, I had quite an advantage over the men!  I think I made the best of the situation too.  I ended up shooting a 98, so I was pretty happy to be under 100 for the first round of the week!

A view of the clubhouse from the ninth fairway.

The guys...

Dad, Curt and Gord

My tee shot on the 11th hole, a par three...I made par! :)

Our second round was at Lion's Paw, and I had a pretty average round.  I continued to play well until I got to the green, and then chipping and putting were a struggle. 

Surprisingly, I only took ten pictures during the round?!?!

And, five of them were of this guy...

I think this was probably the best gator siting we've had on a golf course!  He (or she?) was basking in the sun and didn't seem to be at all bothered by me taking pictures...it made it tempting to get close, but I'm a big chicken, so I kept a safe distance and used zoom.

Our third round was at Panther's Run and this is when the wheels started to fall off.  Things were pretty inconsistent during this round; I'd hit one great shot and then a bunch of bad shots, and it continued like this for eighteen holes.  So frustrating!  Honestly though, I think we all found this round frustrating at times.

A full group shot...

Gord, Curt, Me and Dad

And, our fourth round was at Leopard's Chase - unfortunately, it was HORRIBLE!  We had decided to play a skins game during the round, and I managed to win a few holes, but don't ask me how?!?!  I did get a stroke on every hole, that obviously helped a lot!  Gord hadn't been playing well all week (I beat him in the first three rounds), but he played well this round and won four or five skins...so, it was good to see him enjoy himself a little more.

Leopard's Chase was a TOUGH course!  I still got a good advantage with the forward tees, but it wasn't enough this time.  As we played the tenth hole, a twosome caught up to us so we let them play through...as they passed us on the cart path, the lady told us that 'it is a back nine from hell'...and she wasn't kidding!

The tough, but very picturesque 18th hole.  I actually managed to bogey this par 4...after 18 holes I finally managed to hit two consecutive shots and hit the green in regulation. 

www.big-cats.com

 Dad and Curt, deep in conversation about club selection. 

Curt likes to buy a yardage book at each course we play, both as a souvenir and to use during the round.  On the days when these two rode together, they had detailed discussion about yardage and what club to use...they're good, so they're allowed to do stuff like that. 

So, despite having a few rough rounds, I really enjoyed our golf this week.  I loved getting to play with my dad, and actually playing well - I'm usually horrible when I play with him!  Another good thing about playing with my dad, seeing him get frustrated explained exactly why I act the way I do when I'm playing poorly...we're very much alike in that department! :)  I enjoyed the whole foursome, obviously.

I know I've said it before, but it's still weird to me that I have fallen in love with golf over the last few years.  But, I'm glad it's happened because it's a great thing to do on vacation - Curt and I both enjoy it, it gets us outside and allows us to see some beautiful and unique scenery in our different vacation spots.  And, this trip was no exception!

Myrtle Beach - Barefoot Resort

Last week, Curt and I were lucky enough to spend the week in Myrtle Beach with my parents and his parents.  We drove down with Curt's parents, and my parents drove down on their own.  We left on Friday morning; we drove most of the day, stopping in Herndon, Virginia (just outside Washington, D.C.) where we had a two bedroom suite booked at Hyatt House.  We then spent most of Saturday on the road as well, arriving in Myrtle Beach around 3:30pm - my dad and Curt had made arrangements to meet at a restaurant close to our resort (we were supposed to go to that restaurant every half hour, starting at 3pm, until we managed to find each other)...so, when we found each other within 10 minutes of arriving, we were relieved.

Enjoying happy hour and appetizers after meeting up...

Dad, Mom, me, Marilyn, Gord and Curt

We spent our week in Myrtle Beach at Barefoot Resort.  We found the unit on the 'Vacation Rentals by Owner' website, and rented from people who live in North Carolina.  We were all very happy with the accommodations - it had three bedrooms and three bathrooms, so we all had our own space, which was perfect.

The view from our balcony...we all spent a lot of time sitting outside, enjoying this view - I don't think I could ever get tired of seeing this...

Beyond the pool is the Intracoastal Waterway and Barefoot Marina, and beyond that, Barefoot Landing - a shopping center that also has restaurants and entertainment (Alabama Theater and House of Blues)

The balcony was really big, and really gave us a lot of extra living space.

Curt and I were lucky enough to get the master bedroom in our unit...our parents thought we should have it because Curt did all the work researching accommodations, deciding where to stay and then booking it.  I was glad it ended up that way ;)

Not a great picture, but here is our room...

King size bed, large walk-in closet and a HUGE bathroom...it was great!

 A view from the pool, looking at our building (we were on the fifth floor, right above the blue umbrella).

We spent a lot of time around the pool!  It was HUGE - the resort website claims it's the largest pool in North Myrtle Beach!  Signs around the pool said that maximum capacity is 1573 people?!?!  I can't really imagine that though?  There was also a hot tub, but I didn't get a picture of that area.

Probably one of my favourite parts of vacationing is chatting with other guests, and this resort was great for that.  We met some really interesting people throughout the week - I especially enjoyed chatting with a retired couple who have been living on their boat for the last seven years!  They had some interesting stories.  My mom made a connection with some people as well, and she ended up spending a few afternoons sitting in and around the pool with them! 

Frank, Mary, Mom and Alice :)

One day, while lounging at the pool, I took a walk to get a closer look at some of the boats in the marina...

 I thought the name of this boat was clever...'CockTails' for the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Clemson Tigers.

So, as you can see, we were very comfortable at our resort.  And, once again, we were really happy with our decision to use Vacation Rentals by Owner. 

Long Weekend Cottage Fun

A few weeks ago, Curt and I got an email inviting us to 'The First Annual Wielemaker Cousins' Cottage Weekend'.  The email was from his cousins James, Joel, Blair and Carl - the Roeleveld's were organizing this weekend at their cottage, a beautiful spot on Harris Lake, near Point Au Baril, Ontario.  Almost immediately we responded and said we would be there!  We were lucky enough to spend a weekend at this cottage last summer, and although it's pretty far away (about a four hour drive), we knew it would be a great time.

In the week before, Curt and I were having second thoughts about going...our weekends in August had been VERY busy, and we were thinking we should stay home and get organized for our trip to Myrtle Beach.  However, before we could email the Roeleveld boys to cancel, we got an email from them with details about the weekend.  They had gone to a lot of trouble to organize the meals for the weekend (who was going to cook when), where everyone was going to sleep, and all the other little details...and, once we saw the work they put into it, we decided we couldn't cancel on them, we didn't want to ruin their plans!

So, on Friday night, we hit the road - we drove as far as Orillia and spent the night at a hotel there.  Then Saturday morning, we got up early and finished the drive, arriving in Point Au Baril just before 10am.  And, as we pulled into the marina to park, James pulled up to the dock...the cottage is only accessible by boat. 

We spent a lot of time on the water, the Roeleveld boys LOVE their water sports, and they have all the 'toys' you need....a new ski boat, water skis, tubes, slalom skis, a wake board and a wet suit for bare-footing!

We took over 300 pictures throughout the weekend!  Three days, three hundred pictures?!?!  Curt likes to use the 'Shoot & Select' feature on our camera - it makes sense, it's for fast moving objects...you press the button, and instead of taking one picture, it takes multiple, then you pick the ones that turned out best.  So, that's how we ended up with so many pictures.

That being said, it's been hard to choose pictures to include :)  I've really narrowed it down here...

This is where we spent most of the weekend...either hanging out on the dock watching everyone try various water sports, or on the boat, watching from there.

Curt, wake boarding like a pro...

Me, wake boarding like a ROOKIE!  You can tell in this picture that I'm not very comfortable, but, I'M UP!  I was fine as long as I stayed inside the wake...once I went outside the wake, I was stuck and couldn't get back in :)

  And, to be fair, here's one of me going down...because there are a lot of these too!

I have to admit, I was pretty excited to get up the first time I tried!  I've been wake boarding before, but it was SEVEN years ago.  Now, the boat played a big part in me getting up, but still!  This is a ski boat, it's meant for water sports...so, the tow rope attaches to a bar above the boat, rather than right behind the boat - I really think the fact that the rope comes from a higher angle helps you get up!

When we weren't on the water, we were usually eating :)  But, Curt and I also took a few games...Ticket to Ride was a HUGE hit with the cousins, I don't think any of them had played, but they were hooked!  One of the many games that was played (Blair in the green shirt, my brother in law Mark, Joel, Carl and Anthony's back).

As we drove home, Curt and I talked about how glad we were that we ended up going.  We were the oldest ones there (by a few years!), which was a HUGE joke throughout the weekend, but it was still great to hang out with the cousins who could make it.  The Roeleveld boys did a great job hosting, and made sure that everyone there had a great time!  So, a big thank you to Uncle Jack and Aunt Laura for letting us use the cottage...and to the boys for organizing all the details for us!  We are looking forward to 'The 2nd Annual Wielemaker Cousins' Cottage Weekend' next summer :)