I guess we are now back to reality, with high temperatures today reaching only into the 30's (unless you count the warmest part of the day being midnight, at 44 degrees, when temperatures started falling).
Over the weekend, we drove the 3-3.5 hours to Myrtle Beach and stayed in a very inexpensive (off-season priced), and nice La Quinta Inn. The hotel chain allows pets to stay for free and it was very clean and comfortable. It was only a block and a half from the beach and a little over 3 miles from downtown Myrtle Beach.
We arrived around 2pm on Sunday and temperatures were in the mid-upper 50's - perfect for a nice, long walk on the beach!
Our 7 mile walk (roundtrip) took us from the hotel to the downtown area and back
Darwin loves the beach if we don't force him to swim and battle the scary waves
Downtown Myrtle Beach
Checking out the boardwalk
The "main drag"
We even walked to have dinner at The Carolina Roadhouse. I didn't take a picture of our dinner, but it was very good, especially the mac n cheese! Colin got the Albuquerque Chicken, which was topped with ham and cheese, and I got the marinated sirloin steak. Our hotel had given us a coupon for a free appetizer and we opted for the creamed spinach nachos. They definitely loaded the nachos with cheese, which was very tasty, but not so good for the thighs. I felt less guilty since we walked so much. We ended up taking most of our meal back to the hotel, stored it in the fridge and heated it up for lunch the next day.
Darwin loved getting to lay on the bed with us in the hotel room. We don't let him on the bed at home (he gets to lay on the couch though), so it was a special treat. Colin managed to get a picture of him passed out!
Darwin passed out on the bed, checking into the TV occasionally
I like that mid-low priced hotels actually give you free things like wi-fi and breakfast. Unfortunately, the breakfast options were limited to mostly starchy items like waffles, bread, bagels, cereals, etc. Colin and I were surprised they had hard-boiled eggs, but I was disappointed there was not much fruit.
After breakfast, we decided to enjoy the beautiful day and enjoy a mid-morning run on the beach. The air temperature was already in the upper 50's by 10am and there was not a cloud in the sky. Our 3.2 mile run was slightly more difficult on the way back when we had a light wind to contend with.
We literally laid on the beach, basking in the sun from noon until almost 4pm - it was glorious. I've been reading the Poisonwood Bible, a fairly large novel, and I read almost the whole book in those 4 hours, with no other care in the world.
I will frequently have to think back to the weekend to get me through the next week since temperatures are predicted to hover in the 30's and 40's. I love the sun and I am grateful it feels so warm here in North Carolina, but I don't like temperatures below 50 degrees! Thankfully, the temperatures don't typically stay cold for too long, and I had a wonderful weekend to hang on to for a little while.
How do you manage to get through the really cold winter days?
