Family Christmas

Stix n Brix
Clayton, NC

We’ve been here for a couple of days wrapping things up so that the closing will go smoothly next week, but I just had to post a few shots from Christmas with the family.  We left Huntington Beach real early Friday morning so that we could get Wanda set up in Mom’s driveway in Roanoke Rapids and help her with some Christmas preparations.  We went to Rocky Mount on Saturday for a Christmas Eve dinner with Gin’s parents.  We ate too much but it was so good.  Back to Mom’s and Christmas Day with her.  The rest of my family came in Sunday evening for dinner.  Once again, we ate too much.

 

After dinner, we gathered around the tree while my great niece Xani played Xani Claus and handed out gifts to everyone.  She did a real good job with the names.

 

It was nice weather so we could get some fresh air.  Since it was a little crowded, my sister Virginia and BiL David spent the night with us in the MH.  It sure was convenient and we were glad to have them.

 

This year we received the best gift ever from my niece Marie.  Along with being a microbiologist, she is an artist along with her husband Shannon who live in Asheville.  She works with different mediums.  This year she made graphic magnets.  Ours was a perfect life-sized rendition of Smudge which she based upon a picture from my tribute post.  We were so touched that we all cried.  It will stick to the fridge in the new MH nicely.  I’ll get shots of that in a few weeks hopefully.

Thanks for dropping by, and enjoy each day of your life’s journey by finding beauty in the ordinary.

Causeway Birds

Huntington Beach State Park (site #21)
Murrell’s Inlet, SC

I just had to get some more pictures from the causeway to share with everyone.  There are so many migratory birds here but the easiest to catch are the Egrets.  They love to pose.

 

I had not noticed this heron before.  It’s a Tricolored Heron and he was looking for lunch.

 

There are lots of different ducks that I can’t figure out one from the other.  I had a blurred picture of a Bufflehead but I think this shot of a pair of Hooded Mergansers came out pretty good.

We all got together with Bill and Nancy on Thursday and went for another paddle.  We were on the Waccamaw River again using a boat landing at Highway 9 near Longs, SC.  It was more traffic noise but it was a pretty day meandering along in the kayaks.

 

On Friday evening, Gin and I along with Dan and Tricia again gathered at Bill and Nancy’s house and we went out for dinner at Capriz in the Broadway on the Beach shopping center in Myrtle Beach.  Afterwards, we walked around to see the shops and lights.  It was delicious food and great company.

The time for us to leave is drawing near but we have really enjoyed our time at a great campground and time with great friends.  If anyone is travelling anywhere near this area,  take the time to spend a few days here.  We love the beach and the causeway birds.

 

 

We will go back to NC to spend time with our families for Christmas and then get the paperwork done on the house.  We can hardly wait to get that straight so that we can go to Florida to get a new MH!

Life is what you make of it…today is tomorrow’s yesterday.

Lotsa Photos

Huntington Beach State Park (site #21)
Murrell’s Inlet, SC

We managed to get the bikes on the beach and go out to the jetty the other day.  It’s about a mile and a half one way.  It’s nice to have the electric motor to push us through the headwinds.  Dan and Tricia didn’t have that luxury.

We saw a pair of dolphins in the water and a sea turtle.  I tried to get pictures but all I got was the water where they had just gone back under.  It was a little cool and overcast but we enjoyed the time on the beach and gathered a few shells.

We all went to the causeway in front of Atalaya to see the alligators and I showed Dan and Tricia how easily my camera can zoom in for a close up.  Dan took this picture of the turtle.  Cool huh…

 

We had a couple of cool dreary days that gave us a chance to relax at the MH and recharge our batteries, so to speak.  As soon as we had a clear day though, I just had to get on the bike and spend some time on the causeway taking pictures.  There were tons of birds there.  I think the Herons and Egrets actually like to pose for the cameras.  Here are a few pictures to check out.  Just a reminder, a caption will appear if you put the cursor on the pic and they enlarge when you click on them.

 

 

 

  

 

 

Hope you enjoyed the birds.  This month here is going by so fast, spending time with friends and enjoying the park.  I’m liking this a lot. 

Life is what you make of it…a smile is free to share.

Huntington Beach State Park

Huntington Beach State Park (site #21)
Murrells Inlet, SC

I have been lazy and just living in the moment, but I said that I would share some pictures of this beautiful cg.  This is the site that we are on.  It would be a great place to have a Carolina Clan get together.    Notice the Santa hat on Wanda.  We copied Jim and Linda on that one.

I love the wildlife here.  When you drive over the causeway to get to the park, you will see all kinds of birds and often times see an alligator.  There are a couple of sandbar islands that are popular places for the birds to preen and just show off their beauty.

 

There is another causeway leading to Atalaya, (the Moorish style castle that was the winter home for the Huntington’s) that is not open to vehicle traffic.  It is harder to see the water around it due to the bushes and trees, but the alligators like it here better.  Flocks of ducks and other migratory birds use this area as a good stop over.

On Sunday, we got together with Nancy and Bill and Tricia and Dan to do a bit of kayaking on the Waccamaw River Intracoastal Waterway.  It was a great afternoon with great friends!

 

The Enterprise Boat Landing is surrounded by a Wildlife Refuge so it is a beautiful natural setting.  We saw several of these huge old trees all around and kept looking for gators along the shore.

 

We did finally see an Osprey with his fish dinner (click on the photos to enlarge) thanks to Nancy’s sharp eyes.

As I said in the beginning of this post, we have enjoyed living in the moment.  I think that we can handle this lifestyle once the house sale is finalized.  Speaking of which, we went back to Clayton for 24 hours to take care of some of the items listed by the inspector.  I had a dental appointment too so that worked out ok but, it was a long drive there and back.  We’re planning to relax around camp again today…

Life is what you make of it... don’t stress out on the little things.