A Fun Twist

There was a twist in plans this year, for an annual get away (this would be #36) with my friend Frances. During the past year, she and her husband moved to Vermont. We wondered, what will we do for our trip this year?  Then, there was a fundraising auction and she won a bid for a beachfront condo.

Beachfront condo…

She asked if I wanted to join her on Fenwick Island, a coastal resort town in Delaware. Sure, I said, even though I had never heard of Fenwick Island. And then, we decided to include our husbands…that was the twist…that was new for us…and we had a delightful time.

The four of us…

The criteria for our get-aways include three things: some body of water to enjoy, thrift stores and/or antique shops to peruse, and gardens to meander. Would Fenwick Island meet these criteria?

The Atlantic Ocean

The condo was facing the Atlantic Ocean and we had lovely weather so we could walk along the beach and sit on the balcony… a wonderful fulfillment for our water requirement.

We had a fun time trying on matching shirts (which we did buy).

One day all four of us drove to a nearby, historic town with tree-lined streets, and quaint boutiques – we found sidewalk sales and ice cream. Another day we left the husbands behind, and sought out the thrift stores and antique shops we always enjoy. There is usually no problem finding these kinds of stores anywhere.

A landscape by Piet Oudolf, a Dutch garden designer.

The third requirement is all about gardens, and we found out the Delaware Botanical Garden was only a half an hour away! How convenient.

Could this be Nessie???

The four of us walked the trails, and in addition to lovely flowers, there were other surprises along the way.

This “nest” was created as an outdoor classroom at the botanical garden.

Apparently two volunteers at the botanical garden are clever at creating sculptures with natural materials from the forest floor. They were very creative, and fun to discover as we meandered through the grounds.

A turtle – a clever use of tree trunk slices for the turtle’s shell, with green moss in-between the spaces.
A snail…
A spider and its web…

Another blessing was seeing the nearly full moon (officially the following evening) over the Atlantic Ocean, the night before we left Fenwick Island.

Grasses and sand dunes, ocean, moon…

We could see its refection on the wet sand…so amazing.

Moon’s reflection on the sand.

Our criteria was met…we had a great time…with added blessings.

Sunset over intercostal waters.

A Few More Photos

I want to post a few additional photos from our road trip in the southeastern states.

The beautiful Pineapple Fountain in Charleston, South Carolina.
Special artwork using paint and sweetgrass, on display in Hyman’s Seafood restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina.
We were surprised to see this bobcat one morning in northeastern Florida.
These fun boats caught our eye. The boats shaped like cars were docked at an outdoor restaurant where we ate in Clearwater, Florida.
We tried boiled peanuts for the first time, and liked them. We ate at Hyman’s Seafood restaurant. The Hyman family has been at the same location for over 121 years (five generations). It started out as a Wholesale dry goods store then changed to Hyman’s Seafood in 1987. The restaurant has a great reputation.
Some “funky birds” in a park in Dunedin, Florida.
In Myrtle Beach we tried fried green tomatoes, for the first time, and liked them.
Sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Colors of California

We had a dazzling time observing all the colors during our few days in California.

Dawn’s early light, before sunrise.
Sun rising over the mountains, at the exact minute it was scheduled!
Lemon trees, lime trees, avocado and clementine trees, o my!
Big waves and blue sailboats.
A flock of Birds…of Paradise.
Gary an I on this rocky beach on the Pacific Ocean during low tide.
A lone tree on top of the cliff overlooking the ocean.
A fun hint of blue on our toenails to remind us of the ocean water and blue skies
We went to fly a kite and the wind took hold.
A dramatic Foxtail agave plant.
Lil’ Toot’s captain took us on a harbor cruise.
Twilight, catching a couple of planets.
Pacific ocean sunset.

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

We decided to take a road trip from Charlotte to the Atlantic coast over the weekend, just to see the ocean. (I’m always drawn to water!) We left Saturday morning and drove four hours to Myrtle Beach State Park in South Carolina. The state park offered a nice sandy beach on the Atlantic Ocean, with a wooden pier, hiking trails, an activity center and more.

Beautiful clouds and sunshine over the Atlantic Ocean.

We arrived in time to eat our picnic lunch on the sandy beach. The weather was great…77* and sunny. The grandkids enjoyed playing in the water and the sand. Gary and I enjoyed the sunshine, and watching the grandkids have fun.

Myrtle Beach, SC.

We walked out on the pier, and later in the afternoon we planned a hike. 

A wonderful quote to start off our hike.

As we started our hike, I was excited to read a nature quote on a sign at the beginning of the trail, and I thought to myself…this will be a fun hike. As we walked a little further, I started slapping mosquitoes, as did everyone else. As we continued on, we were attacked by mosquitos…so we turned around and walked back out of the woods. So much for a hike in this state park.

A field of cotton; looked like snow.

On our drive east to Myrtle Beach on Saturday morning, we noticed fields that looked full of snow clumps…and discovered it was cotton. On our way home the next day, we stopped at one of several cotton fields we passed.

We got out of the car and walked through the rows of cotton and got a good look at this interesting crop!

Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus Gossypium.*

It was a quick trip, but a memorable one. 

*Wikipedia

California Coast

We walked along the Atlanta Ocean in January, and five weeks later we walked along the Pacific Ocean. We spent some time with our older son and his wife and two children on the California Coast. It was lovely, sunny, and in the 60-70’s. Here are some photos from our time there.

We grabbed a blanket, with coffee in hand, to watch the sunrise every morning.

Sunrise, our first morning.

We walked to the playground with an ocean view to let the grandchildren play.

The playground.

We would see dolphins swimming off shore, and picturesque sailboats sailing by.

A mosaic tile art piece mounted on a cement fence.
A lone sailboat.
A sailboat race.

We went on a sunset cruise and saw sea lions, and another beautiful sunset.

Lil’ Toot: our boat, and captain, for our sunset cruse.
Sea lions.
Sunset, our third evening, from Lil’ Toot.

My granddaughter and I made fresh lemonade from the lemons off a lemon tree.

Fresh lemons!
Beautiful Bird-of-Paradise in bloom.

Gary and I walked along the beach, in my fancy boot (for my injured foot)!

150 concrete steps down to the beach (and back up!)
The beach and rocky shoreline – low tide rising.
The waves.

We sat by the firepit and watched the sun set every night.

Sunset, our first evening.
Lingering light from a sunset.
Sunset, the second evening.
The colors of the sunset reflecting in the east.

We enjoyed our time together, and making memories.

And once again, it was hard to come back to Minnesota’s cold weather, but spring is coming.