Hilton Head Island, SC

Savannah, GA

Myrtle Beach, SC

A great view from Hudson's Restaurant where we had dinner our first night at Hilton Head.  FYI, there isn't a town or city named Hilton Head. What we are really referring to is Hilton Head Island.

Alex has acquired quite an appreciation for chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream.  Here he is with "Mud Pie" a suitable alternative.

There are some high rise hotels but there are also these beautiful homes along the beaches.  

Driving around the Island we went to a lighthouse with a view of this harbor.  

The 18th hole of the PGA course Harbor Town Golf Links is visible from the lighthouse.

We got several good suggestions of restaurants from a friend of Steve Taylor, and when my college friend Carol Halcovage suggested the same restaurant - well, we had to go there.  Here is the interesting decor at one of their favorite Island eateries, Roastfish and Cornbread.  Chef David Vincent Young provided a great fresh fish meal and the most tender alligator we had on the trip.

The food was excellent!

We drove to Savannah and toured the city.  Savannah has many "squares" or parks in the middle of the city and nicely kept olden architecture.  It is also a haunted city with a lot of history.

Our next stop was at our Myrtle Beach condo.  Two of the many things we like about Myrtle Beach are
its fine restaurants, and great entertainment venues.  We saw a great show at the Alabama Theater, although Donna, Alex and I were three of the youngest audience members.

The Alabama Theatre, as well as the House of Blues and Barefoot Landing, are about 2 miles from our condo.  Shopping, dining, water sports, and entertainment are all close.  Add in a grocery store, pharmacy, and liquor store just a few blocks in the other direction as well as a gym, pool, and hot tub as part of the condo amenities and it's an easy place to have a great vacation any time of the year.  We love it here.  It is available for rental.  It is about 2000 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 3 full bathrooms and is set up to sleep 8.  If you are interested check it out at http://myrtlebeachbarefootresort.com/myvacation/propdesc.php and select the property Edgewater 427. Give us a call if you would like to rent it.

This good-looking young man is Alec Dougherty (not Larry, the one in grey), Janice and Dan's son, a student at Coastal Carolina via Parkland High School. We met up with Alec and walked the MB Boardwalk.  You can see the Skywheel in the background.

 The 4 of us ended up at our condo and had a very nice dinner at the nearby TBonz steakhouse.

A friend of Larry's (CHS classmate) Rick Harvey and wife Sue live on their Arabian Horse Farm about 2 hours west of MB.  Midweek we visited them, their great properties, enjoyed Rick's boy toys, and the beautiful horses.

 Here Alex sits in one of several cars Rick is restoring.

Doesn't everyone have a UTV - Utility Terrain Vehicle?  Rick gave each of us a tour of the 87 acre farm in the four wheeler.

Alex has wanted to drive a golf cart, now he had his chance.  The age restrictions weren't as rigid at Rick and Sue's.

If you recognize these items, you were paying attention at a McDonald's drive thru. Rick has a good friend that owns many McDonalds and keeps him provided with restaurant memorabilia.

Pictures taken on the UTV tour of the property.

Before owning the horse farm, Rick and Sue lived a few miles away at a lake house they still own.  The peaceful lapping of water on the shore with this view makes for great relaxation.

Alex and Donna went with Sue on morning horse feeding.

These horses are quite young and stunning.  They currently have 6 horses, 4 mares and 2 stallions.  As they clear more land they plan to create an area to train them for riding and build their business.  When I asked Alex if he wanted to return to Myrtle Beach when better weather arrives, he liked the idea and quickly added that he wanted a return trip to the farm.   

This MB mini golf location featured birds and turtles as well as a volcano that spouted steam frequently for your entertainment and viewing pleasure.

We needed to alter our return plans since once again the Northeast was being threatened with snow and we must be home by March 14th.  We drove from Myrtle Beach to Richmond, VA on Sunday night and followed it up with another 300 mile day to get home on Monday, March 10.  We were able to see my niece and family in Richmond for dinner.  We had planned to spend a few nights there but it is still too cold and we're tired of the annoyances caused by sub-freezing temperatures.  Maybe we're just a little anxious to get home too.  It was nice to see Erin and Henry, my niece Cassandra, and that beautiful three year old son of hers - Brian Jr.  

As the GPS states, less than 10 miles to home.  Bittersweet as it is, it is a relief and we're excited to be here.

First we saw our neighbor Kiki with her children Corinne and Luke.  

We were hoping the snow was gone but we're parked in the driveway and all is well with our house.  Multiple people checked on the house while we were gone and drove our car periodically.  Not a single issue to deal with except our hallway chandelier is down to a single working light bulb!  

Living about a 1/2 mile away from our house, Mary Jo and Quinn were not expecting us, but I think they were happy to see Alex.  Fozzie was excited too.  We also saw Josh Knecht and Amy Miller, soon to be Josh and Amy Knecht, that night before we melted into our beds.  Home At Last!  

Officially the trip is done.  We drove the RV about 11000 miles, and the towed car about another 9000. Many people asked what will happen with the rig.  We would like to make a few trips with friends and maybe a Penn State Tailgate event or two but I don't think we'll be living in it for multiple months again.  To be determined, but for now, we're just going to enjoy our home.

The three of us agree that as a group, the National Parks are great to see with the Grand Canyon the number one "Oh Wow".  Add in man made sights like Hoover Dam, Mount Rushmore, and long bridges. and there are many must sees throughout the country. The Dallas Cowboys stadium is very impressive, built with no regard for cost. College campuses like Stanford and Notre Dame are beautiful, although Penn State is still looking good to Larry, and now Alex knows what Dear Old State means too.