Day 8 - Pawleys Island

A small, but powerful storm blew up over us at 6:00 am, sending me to my phone to make sure we weren't having tornadoes.  A lightning bolt hit very close to our hotel and temporarily woke most of us.  We all went back to sleep and ended up sleeping in.  I think we finally all needed to catch up on sleep.  After grabbing bagels from a great local shop, we loaded up into Vansen and headed back to Myrtle Beach.  The girls took Sylvia to a ropes course and the boys played a round of miniature golf at Jurassic Golf.  I'm pleased to report that I got a hole-in-one on the first hole and went on to have one of my best games ever!

We all got back together and headed to North Myrtle Beach to visit Wheels of Yesteryear, a car museum made up of mostly muscle cars from the 50s-70s.  Jason and Lena had been wanting to do this one for a while.  After we toured it, we realized we were very close to Conway, SC and could get there on Highway 501.  I just had to take a photo to document that!

We headed back to our hotel in Pawleys Island, taking time to drive down the old highway through Murrells Inlet.  This is an interesting beach area/town as really only a few towns are on the beach.  Most of the others are on the intracoastal.  So instead of beachfront restaurants, the ones in Murrells Inlet are marsh or creek side.  As we headed south, we passed the Hot Fish Club, a restaurant we've been trying to get dinner from the last two days.  We've learned that unlike the rest of the east coast, people here eat early and many restaurants stop taking to-go orders after 4:30 or 5:00 pm.  When we got back to the room, we called Hot Fish Club at 4:00 (when they opened) and got our order in.  We were soon enjoy great local seafood (yes, I still had an amazing steak, but with a crab cake) and very happy to have checked this off our list.

Jason had to take a business call so while he did that, we rested and read a bit.  Soon, we were headed back to Huntington Beach State Park.  A small storm moved away a bit before we arrived and the evening was just wonderful.  It felt almost like we were on a private beach and we got to witness a second beach wedding (one last night too).  We had a great time swimming, using the boogie boards, and jumping through the waves.  There's just something about having the salt of the ocean in your eyes and on your lips.  I decided to grab my Sony camera at the last minute, and I'm so glad I did.  And I only had to dry off the lens once!  

Our last full day in Pawleys Island is tomorrow, with something fun and unique planned for tomorrow night.  After that, we turn towards home.

Day 4 - Asheville - Durham, NC

We skipped the hotel breakfast this morning, opting instead for some coffee and doughnuts at Dunkin' Donuts.  Not the healthiest way to get going, but hey, we're on vacation.  Our first stop was a little over an hour from Asheville up in the mountains:  Linville Falls.  When we arrived, the temperature was about 65 with sunny skies as we walked into the visitors center.  Due to our limited time, we decided on two shorter hikes:  one to Dugger's Creek and the other to the Upper Falls.  Dugger's Creek is this single stream of water falling deep in a ravine down to a creek.  The rock striations, light green moss, and enclosed area made this feel very much like something out of a Disney theme park, or a place where Indiana Jones could appear at a moment's notice.  The trail to the Upper Falls was more well-trodden and being put to good use today.  At the end of the hike, we were able to walk on a rock face with protective railings to watch the water move downstream over three different falls areas.  A very worthwhile stop indeed!

To Boone we headed where we were looking forward to re-creating a memory from Caroline's youth.  Her family was vacationing one summer on Grandfather Mountain and they ate at the Dan'l Boone Inn, an old style restaurant that serves comfort food in a family-style manner.  Back in the day, the family liked it so much they visited more than once on the trip.  When we were planning our itinerary, Caroline's mom suggested we return to see if it was still as good.  I'm happy to report that the Dan'l Boone Inn IS still amazing.  Wow!  A great meal and a great price in an amazing setting.  It was a lot of fun.

Mystery Hill was our first stop after lunch, and again, this was a suggestion from Caroline's mom.  The hillside has been attracting visitors since the 1940s when the owner figured he would open up a house that highlighted the strange gravitational anomalies that people have recorded feeling since the American Revolution.  One room of the attraction takes advantage of the weird gravity effects and can really make you unbalanced if you let it.  Water can flow uphill, balls curve back to you when thrown out at an angle, and you can really feel a force pulling you in a direction it normally wouldn't.  Of course, the kids had a blast, but the adults had to admit that it was fun too.

We needed to make Durham by dinnertime, so we hopped onto the Blue Ridge Parkway for the final time and eventually made our way back to Interstate 40.  After checking in, we found a local seafood restaurant, Squid's, and after having a great dinner, drove into downtown Durham.  We toured around and saw the American Tobacco Campus (Durham's downtown entertainment district that sits inside an old converted tobacco factory), the Durham Bulls stadium (yep...Bull Durham), and a quick look at Duke University.  A dip in the pool and hot tub tonight, and we're ready for tomorrow's adventure!  Outer Banks, here we come!