MYRTLE BEACH VACATION

This is my Myrtle Beach vacation post,
which I started on July 17,
the day after I returned.
I am just now finishing it on July 30.

I spent the week of July 10-15 at Myrtle Beach, S.C.

It was my first visit to the beach.

I am not a beach person.

I love to vacation in the WV mountains.

However.....

I decided that I wanted to see the ocean....

if only just this one time....

to see  another part of

God's wonderful creation.

My youngest daughter and her family

have gone to the beach every summer

for probably the past 15 years.

My son-in-law works at Red Roof Inn

and gets free lodging at any Red Roof Inn.

His immediate family members get lodging

at half price, making it possible for me

to afford the trip, especially since my

oldest daughter went and we split the cost.

I did not enjoy the trip.

It was a long trip....about 500 miles,

and the traffic was very heavy in parts.

I was glad that my daughter wanted

to do all of the driving.

God had just blessed me with a used
2010 Kia Forte with very little mileage,
therefore providing a good means of transportation.
Below are pictures I took when we stopped
at one of the rest areas in South Carolina.

That long trip was worth it.

My first sight of the ocean was just awesome.

I walked along the beach and let the waves

come up on my feet.

The breeze was so nice.

Since the temperature was hot,

I visited the beach early in the day

and late in the day when it

was cooler.

Below are a few of the many pictures
that I took of the beach, ocean and waves....
amazing!

I so enjoyed the time spent with my granddaughters.
I enjoyed seeing them have such a good time.
They walked out into the waves.

Below is a list of some of the things that I did while there:

Visited Ripley's Aquarium

Saw Toy Story III in 3D.

Shopped at a huge indoor flea market.

Shopped at several of the many shops along King's Highway.

Walked out on two different piers...awesome!

Walked on the beach almost every day.

Played games at an arcade with my granddaughters.

My Myrtle Beach vacation was most likely a

once in a lifetime event for me.

I truly enjoyed seeing all the sights...

especially the ocean.

SNAKE!

I have always been.....

and will always be....

fearful of snakes!!

This morning, my hubby showed me something

that I have not seen before.

This is on the bank just above our carport.

I had never seen this before and was so

amazed at the sight!

He said it is snake poop!
Well, I don't know....
I looked online and couldn't
find anything like that....
do any of you know?

I know we have snakes around

because he has seen a couple already.

Now, I am so fearful when I am outside.

I am fearful that our dogs may come

upon one of them and get bitten.

I just wanted to share that "poop" with you

because I haven't seen any before.

Have you?

FISHING AT ELK FORK

I guess you all realize that one of our favorite

things to do....is fish.

I've got some more fish pictures to post.

I hope you don't get bored....

fishing is a very fun and relaxing pass time....

that is...if it isn't too hot.

First, I'll show you the little turtle

who chose to sun himself right in front of me.

Then here is a turtle that John caught on his line.

Now for the good stuff...

sometimes you have to wade out into the water.

Bringing him in.

There he is...a big cat.

At the end of the day...

a total of nine!

That got a smile out of him.

You know what we had for supper!

That was a good day of fishing.

Hope you enjoyed it too.

BUS TOUR - PART FOUR

The next stop on our tour was in

the town of Bluewell, WV.

Here, we visited 

Buddy's Country Store Museum.

The building was just jam packed.

One room was set up with hundreds of items

found in coal camp stores 

in the early days of mining.

Below is the entrance of the store.

Check out those old signs.

Look at that old scale, cash register and

other things found in an old timey store.

Here is an old barber shop set up.

Look at the Post Office mail boxes.

This must be one of the first baby walkers.

There was just so much stuff...
I didn't take pictures of everything.
Below are things in the second room.

This first picture is of an old newspaper...
click on it so you can see the date.

This part of the room is set up like a bedroom

may have looked back then.

This must have been one of the very first

ringer washers ever made.

Here is a collection of old irons.

This is an old wind up record player.

The records are about 1/4" thick or more.

The lady wound it up and it really played.

Below is the old wood burning cook stove,

and lots of other things found in the kitchen.

Here is a collection of old adding machines,
old typewriter, old radios and toys.

After leaving the museum, we headed for

Pinnacle Rock State Park.

Some of our group walked to the overlook...

I stayed behind and sat in the shade.

I snapped a picture of the mayor standing below

Pinnacle Rock.

She is a very nice lady and a great tour guide.

From here, we headed for Princeton, WV.
The bus drove around town while our
guide pointed out some of the sites.
Princeton is where we picked her up,
so we left her here and headed for
The Cracker Barrel to have supper.
After supper, we headed home.

We covered a lot in one day...
I really enjoyed the trip and hope
to go on more.

I hope you enjoyed my bus tour posts.

BUS TOUR - PART THREE

I must catch up on my bus tour posts.

This is part three and maybe only

one more to follow.

After lunch, we browsed a small gift shop.
The shop was full of all sorts of nice items.
The only thing I came out with
were two magnetic book marks.

After that, we walked around the small town,
viewing all the old homes.

Below is the Cooper house,
built by Edward Cooper in 1910,
son of John Cooper,
who is Mercer County's
pioneer coal operator.
The roof is made of copper.
The orange brick was sent specially
from England for construction of the home.
One of the orange brick buildings
contains an indoor swimming pool.

Below is the site of the N & W Railroad Station,
which was torn down in the 1950's.
At one time there were as many as fourteen
trains going in and out of Bramwell
in one day.

As the bus was pulling out of Bramwell,
I snapped this pic of  the
Bramwell Presbyterian Church.
This church building was given
to the congregation in 1903 by
I.T. Mann, one of the most
powerful men of the coalfield,
having been asociated with the
Bank of Bramwell.
The building is constructed local bluestone,
and may have been modeled after a
small cathedral in Wales.

We are heading for our next stop......
which I think you will find interesting...so....
be sure to come back and visit my blog again soon.

BUS TOUR - PART TWO

This is the second post of my bus tour.

After leaving Pocahontas, VA,

we arrive at Bramwell, WV.

Bramwell was once the richest town

in the US for its size.....

with as many as 14 millionaires.

The town was settled in 1885

by the largest holder of coal lands in the

Pocahontas Coalfield.

The town was named to the

National Register of Historic Places

in February 1983.

The current population is around 400.

Our tour guide was the mayor of Bramwell...

Louise "Lou" Dawson Stoker.

Our first stop was at the Bank of Bramwell.

The bank building is made of stone.

This is the bank vault door.

A glistening chandelier.

A beautiful floor.

Woodwork of walnut and mahogany...
all hand carved...... magnificent!

Those are only a few of the awesome carvings.

After the bank tour, it was lunch time.

We went to The Bramwell Cafe.

There was even a sign to welcome us.

Lunch was very tasty and filling.
To top off the lunch, we walked to the Corner
Shop and were served a homemade waffle cone
with one scoop of ice cream....just marvelous!

This shop stands where the former
Bryant and Newbold Pharmacy was....
the interior remains almost the same as it was in 1910.
It is reported that it was the third drugstore
in the US to carry Chanel No. 5.

Part three to follow.