Leaving late in the day to take on the rough 3 hour drive to North Myrtle is never the way I’d prefer to make the trip, but as our stores doesn’t close until 3pm on Saturday, that’s how it all went down.

A bit of a family tradition has become the stopping at Captain D’s in Wadesborough, on the way. Usually, we kill 30 to 40 minutes in this stop but this time we decided to hit the drive through and within 15 minutes we were back on the road.

The whole focus of this, essentially 2 night and 1 day trip was to take Delilah to surprise her mom at the beach, as she was already at the North Shore Tower 1 condo our friends are kind enough to let us use. The plan was to show up unannounced for a big surprise. 

This time, we’d be staying with the granddaughter a few places down at Grand Camen. But before that knowledge was out, we knew it’s be a really mood killer for Summer and boyfriend, Patrick to think we’d be staying with them. 

The trip was uneventful, though it did rain for about half the drive. Delilah, who didn’t have a nap at all Saturday, got a little rambunctious for the last hour so. 

It takes about 3 hours of driving for me to get fatigued, but as compared to our recent trip to Bill Herman’s place in Ravenna, Ohio, it was a brief joyride. 

I was able to multitask a bit by listen to our latest bounces from the current album I’m creating with Harrison Foreman. 

In addition to that there was rounds and rounds of Jingle Bell rock, Delilah’s favorite song of the moment.

When we arrive at the Condo, after a brief stop at DG where Nancee forgot most of the things she went in for, Summer and Patrick were actually heading into the building as we pulled up. But for Nancee’s whoop of excitement, I think they’d not have noticed us. The look of pure anxiety on Summers face was hilarious. 

After a bathroom break for Delilah we got checked in a visited a restaurant next door, which was fine except that I think Delilah was the only one who was actually hungry. The place had a cool license plate theme with mounted sharks and a bear skin and the food was passable. The service was friendly which was a bonus as it very rainy and windy outside.

Summer and Patrick came over and headed to the giant indoor pool and lazy river at Grand Carmen’s. It was like a jungle in there so Nancee and I headed back to the room for a 1 hot break.

Delilah was absolutely buzzing when she got beck to the room. It took a bit to calm her down but when we did she was fast asleep. This ended evening 1.

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After a fun-filled Christmas weekend at Badin Inn, my wife Nancee and I decided to treat ourselves to another weekend getaway, this time near Concord Mills. We stayed at the Embassy Suites, a hotel that has a unique design with a central open column that allows you to look down to the ground floor from any floor you happen to be on. It has open-walled glass elevators such as I have only ever seen in Nashville. It generally feels like a big castle so that’s a bit different for a general hotel vibe.

On Friday night, we had dinner at River Rock bar and grill, which was not the best experience. However, the next morning we had a delicious breakfast at the continental buffet in the lobby. Nancee enjoyed the whole day very much and repeatedly said how cool it was. We then treated ourselves to massages in the hotel’s spa and took a nap back in our room. In the afternoon, we had a late lunch/early dinner at Red Lobster.

At 5:30 pm, we went back down to the lobby for the hotel’s “Manager’s Reception,” where we were entitled to two free drinks. Since it was New Year’s Eve, I decided to have a couple of margaritas to help soothe my slightly sore throat. Nancee, being the designated nondrinker, a role I generally also hold, only had cranberry juice. There was a group of young people taking photos with their phones and circular phone light, throwing up gang signs all over the grand lobby, which was a bit odd. They eventually made their way to the regular bar and fitness area to talk.

During the reception, we met a lady selling trips in the lobby and ended up buying our next vacation from her. This is something we would normally never do, but we were actually looking to use up our considerable amount of Hilton Honors points, so we decided to take a chance. Look out Charleston, South Carolina – here we come!

After the reception, we spent the evening watching TV and turned in by 10 pm, missing the ball drop.

As we move into 2022, we have much to be grateful for. We hope that each of you finds the happiness you seek in the new year. Happy New Year to all!

Listen to “Ep01 A Slight Return” on Spreaker. Listen to “Ep02 Back To Absolute Zero” on Spreaker. Listen to “Ep03 The End of the Animal based Circus” on Spreaker.

I’ll post more about this when the pain subsides. Yesterday, Mr Frosty flopped down beside the car as it backed out and was tragically killed. He was without exception my favorite cat we’ve ever had. He was just the perfect pet and so incredibly beautiful. The 3 years we had him, he was just so loving to all of us and Delilah. It’s going to be seriously difficult to get over this and used to the idea of not having him around. We loved him so much. I’ll share photos here soon.

We were already dealing with the loss of Nancee’s Mom, Lynn, who’s funeral is in a few hours. Having this just compounds grief.

Last night around 1:04 am, Lynn Chandler, my wife’s mother passed away. She was just a few months shy of her 82nd birthday. I wanted to take a brief moment to acknowledge her life and contribution to my own little family here for posterity.