VACATION...

Dear Hubby and I arrived at our seaside vacation destination on Wednesday evening, May 1st. 

It was a dreary evening, with occasional "spritzzles" (our word for something a little more than "spitting", but less than "drizzling").  Even the outdoor pool area was totally empty, quite unusual!  But, we were in North Myrtle Beach...and therefore ALL was right with our world, lol.  Before we even bothered going to the condo to check in, we headed to Walmart and did a quick food shop, purchasing cereal, milk and some munchies.  We then checked in and, after putting the food away, had a quick bite to eat at the condo restaurant.  As soon as we got back to the condo we headed for bed.  We were BOTH totally exhausted. 

For this vacation we rented a one bedroom condo as we were only staying for 10 nights.  The bedroom had a wonderful king sized bed.  The blue pillows are our pillows from home.  We learned the hard way that sleeping on "uncomfortable" pillows for anything over a couple of nights could make for some grumpy mornings.  The tubing you see on both night tables are our CPAP machines.  Yes, we take them with us when we travel.  Heck, we even use them for quick naps during the day.  My doctor calls me the "poster child" for CPAP usage, lol.  One of the things I missed in this smaller condo was a bedroom balcony.  The two and three bedroom units have balconies off the living room and master bedroom.  We usually leave the balcony sliding door cracked so that we can fall asleep with the sounds of the ocean.  I missed the ocean sounds!

The condo bathroom was pretty much "the usual".  This condo only had one bathroom, accessible from the hall.  The two and three bedroom condos have master bathrooms and hall bathrooms.  Again, nice when it is more than just two people staying there.

 

All of the condos have stacked washers and dryers by Bosch.  They are nice in that there is no "vent"to have to worry about clogging and causing fires.  At one point in time I understood how it works (something having to do with condensation), but I have forgotten the particulars.  As long as my clothing is clean and dry I'm happy!  We only bring 3 days worth of clothing in our suitcase and I do laundry several times during our vacations.  Doing laundry with the ocean in the background is relaxing!

Ah, the kitchen...  My biggest complaint about this condo.  There is NO counter space at all.  The cabinets are all filled with the kitchen supplies such as dishes, glasses, pots and pans, small appliances, etc. leaving absolutely NO room to store food, and the small counter top is almost completely occupied by the coffee maker so there is absolutely NO prep room.  When we stay for two weeks I do cook meals in the two bedroom condo to keep our costs down.  I couldn't do that in this condo.  It was difficult just readying our cereal, juice and coffee in the morning!

 

 

 

The  living room area was pretty much as expected.  It had a sofa, chair, two end tables with lamps, a coffee table, a dresser, a TV, VCR/DVD player and a table and four chairs.  The sofa was a sleeper sofa. 

For extra sleeping capacity the room also had a "murphy" pull-down wall bed.   Since we had no intention of using it, we moved the table and chairs to that side of the room so we could watch the news and vacation channel while playing on the computer.  Dear hubby spent every morning going through his work emails and handling emergencies.  Yes, he was on vacation...but dealing with tons of emails and emergencies on vacation is better for him than having it all hit him the first day back to work. 

So, all in all the condo was "nice", but it definitely lacked in the kitchen area!  Our next vacation in November will probably also be in the one bedroom condo since we will only be going for 10 nights again.  In 2014 we will probably spend two weeks in a 2 bedroom condo.  

Up until Monday the weather was really dreary and drizzly and "spritzzley"!  Since the weather wasn't too nice we spent most of the day in the condo.  Dear Hubby spent his time reading or watching TV. 

I spent my time working on crocheting a pair of slippers for him, or crocheting a bobble afghan for our guest room.

After a few so-so days the sun finally showed its face.  What a beautiful day it was!  Lots more people on the beach and a few people by the pool!

 

I spent lots of relaxing time...water or wine in hand, crocheting on the balcony.  Heaven!  

 

Dear sweet hubby took me to a local yarn store to pick up some stitch markers and a stitch counter you wear on your finger.  It definitely made things easier!  He also took me to my favorite quilting store, but those purchases will be in a separate post.

Ahhhhh....sunset at the beach!  The best vantage point is on the "city" side of the building and since we are only in a one bedroom we didn't have a room with that view.  But the slight pinkish sky on our side of the building was pretty anyway! 

I can't wait for our next trip back to North Myrtle Beach!!!