Our lake family had spent many hours planning a trip to the beach once the boats were out of the water. The designated time was last week. Jeanine and most of the group set out last Sunday. I had papers to get to press so Doug and Becky Martin picked me up Wednesday in the early AM.
Sometimes plans just don’t work out. Jeanine received a call Tuesday afternoon that her oldest brother had been killed in a car accident in South Carolina. We spent much of Tuesday evening on the phone before Jeanine said to go ahead and head south since the arrangements would be later. We arrived around noon on Wednesday… Doug picked me up at 4 A.M.
Obviously, Jeanine was not much in the vacation mood. She spent much of Thursday on the phone with various family members. Finally, the decision was made. She and Krystal would travel the additional 2 hours to where her brother’s son lived to help with the arrangement. They set out early Friday morning.
She insisted that I stay at the beach with the rest of our friends, which is what I did.
We found a bar, right in front of the hotel on the beach we were staying at where the bartender said she would turn on the WVU – Baylor game. We had dinner there and watched an exciting game. Fortunately, Jeanine got to enjoy that evening. The bartender stayed over an hour after her designated closing time just for us… which was very nice of her.
We had a good time. Lots to eat. We visited several of the local shops. Our friends Bob and Donnie Smith of Spenser have a sister who owns two restaurants at Myrtle Beach. One of our evening outings was to dine with her. Even though she had been warned that we were coming, I think our appearance caught her a bit off guard. I’m not sure who’s idea it was but, the girls at the lake came up with the hair brained scheme that we would draw names, then buy outfits for one another, from Goodwill, that we would wear to the restaurant.
Thank goodness, Tara White got my name and was very easy on me. I had a Hawaiian shirt and straw hat. Believe me when I say… I was one of the lucky ones.
When we arrived, the restaurant was packed, so you can imagine the looks we got. Lanie was very supportive and took excellent care of us. We had a great meal and often had to explain our unusual appearance to other patrons.
We came back home on Sunday which is always the worst part of the trip. Jeanine and Krystal as well as son Jamie, who had taken Jeanine’s Dad to South Carolina on Friday, arrived home safely several hours after we got back.
All in all… it was a vacation and our friends always make it interesting. They made a bad situation bearable. However, it is one that I probably don’t care to repeat in the near future.
