As planned, I left work on Thursday, scooped up the kids and headed to Richmond, VA for our overnight before continuing to South Carolina.

The drive there took longer than expected: bathroom stops, stretch stops, and a “dinner” stop. On paper, the drive should have taken five hours. In reality, it took closer to seven. We arrived around 10pm to our hotel just outside Richmond, Virginia.

“Are we there yet?” became an hourly question. It was surprisingly warm, in the high 70s, as we were passing through Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. As we were passing through Maryland, the trees were covered in flowers.

The next day, Friday, we had breakfast and were on the road again. This time to South Carolina. The more south we went, the lovelier the accents and nature became. We stopped quite a few times to eat and use the restroom. I only try to stop at the highway rest stops if I absolutely have to. Instead, I look for local diners. For example, we first stopped at Logan’s Diner in Emporia, VA – a nice, local spot featuring folks who live in town, and it was only a 5 minute detour. For lunch, we stopped at some hole in the wall in Fayettsville, NC, presumably famous for its burgers and sweet tea. Here is R, tasting sweet tea for the first time:

We arrived to South Carolina at around 4pm, which was MUCH later than expected. We are in a condominium tower, on the fifth floor. We lugged all the stuff in (two carryons and a few shopping bags), went to the pool (the kids were begging for it), and HAD to go to a grocery store because #kids. By the time we crawled into beds, it was 9PM. The kids were done and I was more than done.

Our second day was better. We slept through the night in our new place, so we felt rested. Except, the building had karaoke downstairs in the restaurant, and I felt asleep to “sweeeeeeeeet Caroliiiiine!! Pahm, pahm, pahm…”

Our second day entailed a very cloudy and cold weather albeit it cleared up by late morning. We had a slow morning, then went to the Broadway by the Beach – a complex that has shops, cafes, and rides. We had a nice afternoon spending money, swirling around in tea cups and having lunch.

By the time we piled into the car, it was four!

Went to the beach (cold), pool (warmer), then dinner (store- bought tortellini) and bed. The kids had an early night (7pm) while I stayed up and read my book while listening to karaoke downstairs (“I looooooove rock’n roll, *something, something* jukebox, baby)

Today was our third day here in South Carolina and I finally am feeling relaxed. Today we went to the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk, where it was more shopping, eating and *cold* beach time.

I think we are going to fall into a rhythm here: go out and explore in the morning and spend afternoons/evening at the apartment, swimming and (cold) beaching.

Random observations

1 Spanish moss! I’m sorry but that thing is creepy. It looks like bunches of some poor witch’s hair.

2 My bed is positioned right next to the front window. It seems to be *glued* to it. It’s is so strange but cool.

3 Our unit is very LIVED-IN. It truly needs to be updated. The building is from the 80s and it is showing its age with all the scuff marks and a noisy plumbing system. But the VIEW is everything.

4 People. I have had the pleasure to experience southern hospitality and warmth last year when we went the Outer Banks in North Carolina. South Carolina is no different; people are socially warm and welcoming. Everyone talks to everyone- gas stations, cafes, elevators.

5 The ocean. It is just so enormous, reaching in all directions, and seemingly endless. But it is also strangely calming.

6 Spoiled rotten. I am usually a tightwad but have been buying the most ridiculous things. Many of them are money down the drain.

A moving scorpio toy, a funny looking tumbler, a sweat shirt for each of us, some t-shirts, some fudge, earrings, and endless portions of ice cream. We have spent money on rides, and photo booths, and arcade games, and more rides. Afternoon coffee. Some blue-colored drinks with zero nutritional value, served in a giant bowl accompanied by a rubber ducky (you got to keep both the container and the ducky).

Interestingly, the containers were later “up cycled” by the kids as beach sand buckets and shell keepers.

7 laundry. I have done laundry twice – the building has a fully equipped laundromat for the residents.

8 screen time. Both days, after coming back from our outings to Broadway at the beach and Myrtle beach boardwalk, the kids had some screen time. While I was having coffee in the morning and reading some articles, they had screen time. While I was puttering around the apartment and making dinner (bow-tie pasta with pesto, left over chicken tenders, cut up cucumbers, tomatoes and olives), they had screen time. So this trip has not been entirely screen-free. BUT I need to remind myself that I am here solo and when I need a break, it is okay for them to watch some shows.

I will leave it here and will write more later!