Moving on.....

My week long sentence at North Myrtle Beach was commuted to a mere four days. About 3 days longer than necessary to see the sights. Were it not for my last evening there I might have considered it a waste. The night before I packed up I took the dog for a walk to enjoy the one amenity not falsely advertised. While gazing at the thrashing waves on my stroll along the deserted beach, a sudden electrical storm emerged behind me. There had been threats of a storm every day so far, but until now nothing had materialized. I sat in the cool sand watching the spectacle of an angry sea with one eye and pillars of bruised clouds tangling with nettles of lightning with the other. I was the windswept meat in a force of nature sandwich. I had free tickets to the coolest show on earth for about an hour. When I noticed my butt was numb and that the lightning had dimmed to a weak strobe I tracked down Poe and walked slowly back to my hovel. Within minutes of returning and opening the two tiny windows in my stale, airless room the bottom fell out of the sky. A rainstorm to rival all others began and I laid in my den of squalor listening to the thunder and raindrops and I thought about how the best things in life are free.

Some of the coolest things on my trip so far have been impossible to photograph. I'd never catch the bouquets of arching light I saw that night on my point and shoot camera. And the rollicking waves won't pause or pose for me. The stingray I didn't know I had been swimming with the day before didn't leave his calling card. I'll have to be satisfied with my memories alone. Sorry followers, you get cliff's notes.

I didn't do much in NMB besides admire the endless sprawl of bars, pancake houses and motels. I am curious about the abundance of pancake establishments in the tourist areas. Do people only want pancakes when they're on vacation?

One day I went on a helicopter ride, which was pretty cool. I got upgraded by chance to a longer and more inclusive tour by being a straggler and the odd number to fill the chopper (one benefit of being a loner I guess). We went on a 13 mile tour over Myrtle Beach and it was definitely memorable if not very very short. I couldn't imagine the poor suckers who showed up for the 2 mile tour since 13 miles at 120mph was barely long enough to sneeze. I got to use those pesky math skills I have tucked away too. 13 miles divided by 120mph is really short. It was thrilling and quick and I only felt like puking for about 3 seconds when we first lurched from the launch pad at top speed. I wondered what the effects of half digested bagel and coffee might have on the instrument panel and if the poor folks riding with me would forgive me if we went hurtling into the ocean on their fun sight-seeing adventure.

So long South Carolina, I spent some time in the sand and I tried to slow my brain down and feel like I was really there. Needless to say, I was ready to move on from the roach motel as soon as I felt I'd gotten my money's worth.

Wilmington, N.C. was my next stop. It's small, steeped in history and has much cooler waters somehow than the beaches one hour south of here. It's curious and I intend to investigate it further. Starting now.