Yours Truly, Julie: Annual Girls Beach Trip 2011

Every year, for probably the past 8 or so years (with very few missed), my Mom, sister and I (and sometimes girlfriends too) have gone to the beach for a few days together. It is a tradition that I look forward to and have had to miss it the past couple of years because of being in school/living in another state. So, this year we continued the tradition, but sadly without Jenna. Jenn couldn't get off work and we tampered with the idea of not going, but in the end we thought we'd go just for a couple days and then hopefully go again late this summer when Jenn can make it. But, it was fun with just me & my momma--it's never been just us and it was nice!

Funny thing about these trips is, although we always stay in different places, go at different times in the summer and sometimes go with different people...the one consistent thing is my mother. My mom LIVES for the beach. She loves everything about it. It doesn't matter what beach it is or where we stay. She is happy as a clam!

We always seem to leave late at night or later than we planned (my mother is NOT punctual) and this time was no different. My mom insisted that we leave Sunday night despite the fact that Stu and I were hosting a dinner party. She was like, "Don't rush at all, we will just leave after your guests leave. I like to drive at night." And that is the truth! We left for North Myrtle Beach around 11pm and arrived around 2:30am! My mom is a night owl and typically is the last one to go to bed. You would think she'd knock out by 9pm with the way she runs around all day from job to church to job to visiting someone at the hospital to baking a cake to playing the piano and back to the beginning. I don't know how she does it. She never sleeps! I admire her productivity. Even when she finally gets home she will exercise in some way and vacuum the entire house!

But I don't mind one bit about my mom's crazy late night drives--we had a great time talking all the way down there/stopping for diet cokes/listening to country music. And we didn't stop ONE time to pee the whole way down there!!! If you know my mother, THAT is an accomplishment. I believe she was a cocker spaniel in another life. My mom can ALWAYS take a restroom break. haha!

We arrived at the little apartment we booked. It was one of four apartments in the complex that a friend of my mother's owns. It was old, but clean and that is all that matters to me. It was also right across the street from the beach! My mom is also the kind of person that brings cleaning stuff & her own linens when she stays somewhere that is not a hotel. Although it was 2:30 AM, my mother still managed to make the little foreign apartment feel like home. She went right ahead and unpacked all her belongings and put them "away." She even brought extra towels and put them in a cabinet. We could not be more opposite. If I am not staying somewhere very long, I tend to just leave my stuff in my bags. She also brings everything under the sun she thinks we might need. And with her being a nurse we usually have a mini-hospital in the trunk, complete with gauze bandages & stethoscope. She is precious.

We probably went to sleep around 4AM and woke up around 10. Put on our suits and went across the street to the OCEAN! It's been too long...I was SO happy to smell the salt, feel the stickiness & dig my toes into the sand! I have missed going to the beach every summer, even if it was Myrtle Beach. We spent all day laying out, soaking up the rays, reading magazines & I also caught up a lot on my current read: "The Help," which is fantastic!

After spending the day in the sun, we showered & got ready and went out to a dinner show. The newest dinner show in Myrtle Beach (and it seems we have been to all of them) is called "Pirate Voyage" and was awesome! It was a pirate themed show, obviously, with lots of acrobatics/water/and even seals! While we watched the show we were served a ridiculously large dinner of vegetable chowder, a cheddar biscuit, cajun baked chicken (1/2 of a chicken!), bbq spare ribs, butterfly fried shrimp, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob & an apple turnover for dessert! We wasted so much food but also ate way too much! Why do they give you 1/2 of a chicken and then some?? It was a very good show and I was extremely impressed with the set and all of the acting. Seriously fun and I would definitely recommend it if you find yourself in Myrtle Beach.

After the show we got stuck in lovely night-time Myrtle Beach traffic for like half an hour and then came home and I CRASHED OUT. I was exhausted from staying up too late/being in the sun all day. I don't even remember falling asleep. We got up the next day and spent a couple hours on the beach before we had to check out.

It was so much fun! Short and sweet. I love spending time with my mom! She is so full of life and down for anything. She loves to just go and see what happens--no planning (well, very little.). I wish I were more like this sometimes! It was nice to catch-up (I know that seems weird being that we live together, but we are all so busy and never home!) and have great conversation. I admire her in every way and am glad that I exhibit a lot of her quirky mannerisms and even look a lot like her. She is amazing and I hope to be at least half the mother she is one day.

Thanks for a great time Momma! I love you!

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Oh Ocean, how I have missed you!