The next morning I got a surprise when I awoke to find myself buried in pillows. My brother had decided it would be a good idea to throw as many pillows on top of me as he could. I didn't find it as humorous as he did.

Showers were taken and then we headed down for breakfast. The people in the hotel restaurant were all very sweet and very awesome. The food was pretty good, but I didn't like my omelet much. I've really only eaten the omelet's my dad makes, so it might have been why I didn't like the one the restaurant made. Plus, eating breakfast food out hasn't been something I am fond of.

After breakfast we packed up, checked out and went on an adventure. We had a good couple of hours before we had to be at the house, so we all decided to head to the mall that we saw from our hotel window. It wasn't hue, but it was a pretty good size. We did some window shopping, looking around, and dad and Mike actually bought a few things. Saw this really nifty looking guy in the Spencers. He was a total goth and dressed the part completely. So awesome.

We got a call from my grandparents, letting us know that they had gotten into the house early and we should come on up, so we got back on the road. The drive was only about an hour or two, so it wasn't that bad. The house wasn't huge and not as nifty as some of the others we had been in, but it was pretty cool. There was enough room to park all our cars and more since the house was off the ground and you were able to park under it. If you walked under the house toward the back you ran into the hot tub and small pool. It was only three feet deep and not very long, but still good for cooling off and swimming laps in. Which I did almost every night.

After you went up the stairs and inside you came int the kitchen/dining area. The living room was to your right with a couch, two chairs and a big screen. To the left was a big open space with the pool able and a door that led to a small balcony with stairs leading down to the pool/spa area. The set of stairs directly to your right led up to the second and third levels; all of which held bedrooms. My brother got a room to himself on the second floor, while I got my own room on the third floor along with dad and Lena's room. My room was right down the hall from them and I had to share their bathroom, but things were still nifty. My room was pretty big, had a TV, a huge walk-in closet, and a sliding door that lead to the balcony that connected with my Uncle Bill and Aunt Sharon's room.

After getting settled in I went with my Grandma, Aunt Sharon, and Aunt Angie to go shopping for groceries. We got lost and had an adventure but we did finally find the Sam's Club. Along the way my Aunt Sharon made note of where the hospital was, mostly because her family had a tendency to get injured on these trips. After getting all we would need for the week we head for home.

We put in a frozen pizza and a lasagna for dinner and everyone kinda lazed around. After munching on some pizza I stole my Uncle Danny, Dad, and Lena and we all went down for a walk on the beach. The sunset was so pretty. We got back home just as the lasagna was ready and I grabbed some of that as we watched some more TV. The I headed up to bed, had some computer time and then off to bed.

The next day was bound to be an interesting one.

So we finally get into Florence, South Carolina. Now that we were safe where we were supposed to be, things would go better right? Naw.

After getting all our stuff and getting off the train, we discover that it's raining. Oh joy. We haul all our stuff through the tiny station and outside to the front, looking for the rental car that we thought was going to be there. But it wasn't and we didn't have a phone number for the rental car place. So as we stood around in the rain, trying to decide what to do this guy comes up and says, "Hey, wanna taxi?" He's old, gross, smells like smoke and puke, and his "taxi" is about in the same condition. But we get in his stupid taxi, absolutly petrified, and get him to drive us to the airport so we can get our rental car.

Lena and I sat in the back, and we were both very uncomfterble. It looked like he lived out of the van when he wasn't taxing people around. There were two full ash trays up front with him and claw marks on the ceiling. I looked up and then leaned over to lena and whispered, "Do I want to know why there are claw marks on the ceiling?" We just looked at each other and shivered and tried not to think about what he did with this thing.

Finally we get to the airport and get all our crap out of the back of his van and he tells us we have to pay $15 for the ride and $5 for every person. So we ended up dishing out $30 for a five minute taxi ride to the airport. Whatever, he was creepy, we wanted away from him, we paid the money. Never, ever take a taxi in Florence, especially if it's a van and an old creepy guy.

So we get to the airport and get our rental car. It was nice, leather seats, with that new car smell mixed in with the scent of leather. We had a nice, rainy drive throuhg Florence as we went in search of our hotel. The place looked like crap, and not very friendly, especially with it raining. But once we got to the hotel, things started to look up.

It was a really nice place. My dad (MarksReynolds) wrote a review on it in his blog. It was The Hilton garden In, so if you want to go and read his revive you can go and check it out. The pool was tiny and full of people, so we never really used that. But the breakfast was great and the bed was nice and comfy. I like soft beds, so if you do too these are awesome! We actually got a handicapped room, no idea why, but it was really spacious. As hotels go, it was pretty good.

After we checked in and got settkled in, we were all starving for real food and decided to go to the Outback Steakhouse we saw across the street from our window. My dad also wrote a review on this one, so go check that out too if you're interested. The waitress was really sweet. My dad, right before she came was like, "I haven't heard one good southern accent since we've got here." And what do you know, our waitress had one of the strongest I heard the entire trip. The food was awesome, as normal and it was a welcome comfort after the drama of the day.

After dinner we headed back to the hotel to settle in for the night. After some time on my laptop andsome minor tv watching, it was lights out and off to sleep. My dad got a facebook, I was very amused.

The next day was full of exploring the mall and driving to North Myrtle Beach. But that's a tale for another day.

Friday, 11 July 2008 • 5:00 am

The alarm goes off and I’m up and in the shower. After Mike, Lena and Courtnie are up and ready, the car is loaded, we have a light but quick breakfast before heading out the door to the train station.

Our train is scheduled to leave BWI Airport at 7:45 am, so we wanted to leave the house by 6:30 am to get to the train station by 7:00 am. This gave us plenty of time to avoid any morning rush hour traffic, park the car and get checked in. Oh but wait, we are just down the street from our house and Lena says "Stop, we have to go back!!" I'm like, what?? She forgot to put on her wedding rings!! Looks like this trip is going to be full of mishaps already. We'll make this #3.

Our train out of BWI arrived at Washington D.C. Union Station at 8:15 am where we had a train change with an hour and a half lay over. This gave us time to find our way around Union Station and get second breakfast. Some people asked why we didn’t just drive to Washington D.C., but I do not like driving through Washington, especially during the week with all the traffic, and I wasn’t sure of the parking at Union Station. I’m familiar with the station at BWI Airport, and it’s easier to get to the BWI station from our home in Annapolis. The train out of Washington D.C. was scheduled to leave at 9:55am and be in Florence, South Carolina at 5:25pm. 

Now the decision to take a train and not drive to Myrtle Beach was made because Lena and Mike do not like sitting in a car for a long period of time. Myself and Courtnie are fine with it, but we thought the train would be more comfortable and an easier trip. Trains have toilets, and food, and drinks. They also serve beer, so that’s a plus for me! You are also able to get up and walk around and stretch your legs. All this is not possible if we are driving, and it’s definitely less expensive than flying!

Now mishap #4

While waiting for our train at Union Station in Washington D.C., the fire alarm goes off and an announcement is made that the entire station has to be evacuated! Holy crap!!! Evacuate? This is unreal! So the entire Union Station evacuates, very calmly I might add, with no problems at all. Of course this kind of thing always brings out the “crazies” that start spouting off about how it’s all a terrorist plot, or some government cover up or some crap like that, so we had to listen to two of these guys during our evacuation. We are now all outside the building when security personal tells every one to move away from the building and go across the street. At this time, here come all the fire trucks and rescue vehicles…how exciting. I take this opportunity to take a few pictures of Lena and the outside of Union Station. After about 15 minutes, the all clear is given and everyone heads back inside the station. Now we can continue to explore the beautiful interior design of the station while we wait on our train, and eat some more.

The train arrived in Washington D.C. on time, we boarded and found empty seats across the isle from each other, stowed our luggage over head, and the train left Washington D.C. a bit early.

Now the fun begins with bad event #5. The lady sitting directly behind Mike and me had two very small children sharing one seat, and they were watching some religious, praise the lord or we’re all going to hell revival shows on one of those portable DVD players…and they did not have headphones, so we had to listen to it too! Now don’t get me wrong or judge me, I believe teaching young children religion at an early age is a good thing. It teaches respect and many other great traits people should have. I went to church and Sunday school when I was young, but I’m older now and I have my own beliefs and opinions on religion. It’s a big world out there, and there are a lot of different religions and beliefs, more than any of us will ever know or be able to understand. You can worship whom ever, or what ever you like, it’s your choice, that’s ok with me, but I’m not a religious person so I shouldn’t have to listen to it if I don’t want to.  But this gets better, because after 20 minutes or so, a comedy show gets put into their DVD player and it is not very kid friendly with the language. After that, a kids cartoon is put in, but what ever was playing, I and the rest of the passengers should not have to listen to it! I do not understand how people can be so rude or uncaring about the people around them. Even her two older kids sitting behind Lena and Courtnie had a DVD player watching a movie…with no headphones! Come on people! Have some consideration for your fellow travelers! To top it off, when one of the kids would start moving around in their seat, the mom would start yelling at them and making threats! Unbelievable!! I know it’s not all the kids fault, but I was thinking a couple rolls of duct tape to all five of them and the entire car would have a nice quiet trip! Mike and I did watch a couple movies using Courtnie’s laptop, which has two headphone jacks, so that did drown out some of the noise for part of the trip. Of course, we could have not used the headphones and given the kids nightmares that night since we were watching Dawn of the Dead, and then Underworld…Zombies, Vampires and Werewolves, oh my! J

Other than the stupid people behind us, the trip went well. I had a few beers; we ate train food…uck, and snacked on the goodies we brought along. Of course, the train stops at all these little towns along the way, and sometimes just stops in the middle of nowhere for no apparent reason, so we didn’t get to Florence, South Carolina until 7:00 pm, an hour and a half late…that was bad event #6.

Florence, South Carolina is about an hour drive from Myrtle Beach, and also the closest a train gets to Myrtle Beach, so this is where we get off, rent a car and stay the night. We prearranged a rental car, but the rental car place is at the small airport in Florence, not at the train station, and we didn’t have the local phone number to call them to pick us up. So, bad event #7, we took a taxi to the airport, which is about five or ten minutes from the train station. This was the most disgusting vehicle I have ever been in! The driver looked, and smelled like he was a homeless guy that was living in this minivan he called a taxi! He was a smoker, and since I’m an ex-smoker, I guess I’m more put off by it than some people (sorry to my smoking friends), so I had to roll down the window so I could breath. The ceiling looked as if it had claw marks on it and it felt like a wheel might fall off any minute now! Oh crap! We’re all going to die!!

Of course, I should have asked how much it was going to cost us before we got in, but I didn’t, so lesson learned. A 10 minute trip to hell and back, and 30 dollars later, we were at the airport.

The lady behind the car rental counter was extremely nice and apologetic that we had to take a taxi since they would have picked us up for free, but it was our choice and I didn’t expect her to compensate us for it. Thinking about it now, I could have called information or something and found the number, but it was a long trip, and I just wasn’t thinking at the time. The car we rented was a very nice four-door Hyundai Genesis with leather seats, XM satellite radio and all the bells and whistles a car could have.

After some directions from the nice lady at the rental desk and a 10 minute drive, we found our hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn. This is a very nice place, and after the journey we’ve had so far, it was a much needed relief to see we made the right choice staying here. As an added bonus, when we first drove up to the hotel, there was a rainbow over the place as if to say, nothing will go wrong here!

After getting settled, we went across the street and had dinner at OutBack Steak House. We have one in Annapolis which is great, so we figured, it has to be just as good, and it was! After a great dinner, we retired to our room and called it a night. Mike slept on the pull out couch in the sitting room area of our room. Courtnie had her own bed in the bed room with us, which had two queen size beds. A good end to a crazy day!

During or trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, we spent the night at the Hilton Gardens in Florence, South Carolina. This is a very nice hotel, clean, great personnel, and a good breakfast. It is located near shopping, a large mall, movie theater, many restaurants and is easy to get to. If you travel with pets, sorry, no pets allowed. Check in is at 3:00pm and check out isn’t until 12:00 noon, so you have plenty of time to sleep in and grab breakfast. Our room was suite, so we had a sitting room with a TV, a nice comfy chair, and a couch which pulled out into a single size bed. There was also a desk/table and chair. The bed room was very large with two queen size beds. The bath room was also nice with a full tub and shower combo. The only complaint we had were the beds were too soft. We like a firm mattress, so soft ones will not get an excellent rating. The hotel has free internet and Wifi, along with a small, but nice weight/workout room, indoor pool and spa, and a nice little seating area outside set up like a backyard patio. The pool was very small and more than five or six people in it at a time might seem crowded. But I wasn’t there to swim, so it didn’t matter to me. The main lobby was very large, but the reception desk was small, but it was not crowded so check in and out was easy. Off to the left as you walked in was a large sitting area with a large couch, many chairs and small tables, and over the fire place, a large plasma T.V. To the right as you walked in, and to the right of the check in desk was the “restaurant” It seemed to be set up as a buffet, but it was not. Breakfast was inexpensive and very good. You ordered from the menu, but it included the cold cereal bar which had many types of bread which could be toasted, muffins and many other pastries, a few types of cold cereal, milk, juice, various fruits, coffee, hot water for tea, and a few other things which I can not remember. I had two eggs, hash browns or home fries (potatoes) bacon, grits and two pieces of french toast, along with what ever I wanted from the cold bar all for $7.95. Not a bad deal at all and it was all very good! The service was excellent and this will definitely be a place I stay at again if I’m ever in the area!

While on our trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, we stopped in Florence, South Carolina for the night and had dinner at the Outback Steakhouse. As usual, the food was great! There was the usual wait for a table, which we almost hope for now, so we went to the bar and stood at a small table which did have two chairs. My wife Lena and daughter Courtnie sat, while my son and I stood. These tables in the bar area are first come first serve, so you can eat here if you like, but we were waiting for a table where we could all sit. The waitress came took our drink order, and we also ordered some cheese fries. These things are so good, you can't stop eating them, and then your full before dinner even starts. This is why we hope for a wait for a table. We get drinks and cheese fries, eat that, and a hour later when the table is ready, we are not full and we can eat all of our dinner. Desert is another story. We usualy can't finish that unless we share it. Just as scheduled, we finished our fries and drinks, and our table was ready. I always get the steak with a baked potatoe and broccoli. The service was great and very friendly. The food was perfect as always and even though the menue is about the same every where, some Outback's may have a slightly different menue from location to location, but it is always very good!! If you've never been, you have to try them out!