…Now the People Gather on the Beach

We had a very fast week, spending the majority of it on vacation in South Carolina at Myrtle Beach with our good friends, the Messers. We loved spending time on the east coast, which was the first time for the kids. It was much too short, spending only four days with two travel days. The weather cooperated with us, starting off cool but warming gradually each day after Hurricane Matthew vacated the area. We really liked the area we stayed in, checking it out with several walks. We ate in each day but did manage to get a parents night out. We hated to leave but it’s always nice to get home and sleep in your own bed too. Hello again and welcome back to the Scheu Family Blog.
We left early Sunday morning and drove towards SC not knowing if roads were open or even if the condo was accepting guests. We said we were going on an adventure, not sure of the destination. We kept in contact with Bryan & Angie, who were already down in that area and they kept us abreast of the status of the area. We enjoyed the beautiful scenery during ride, which kept me fully alert the entire time (unlike the trips to PCB of the same length). We ran into a couple stand-stills we associated with not only accidents but also congestion from folks trying to get back to the east coast after the hurricane. The Messers said the route was dangerous but clear – people not stopping at dead stoplights was the biggest concern for us – what idiots! Bryan & Pat stopped to help a man who was hurt badly, which I thought was very cool. We got in to town only to find there was a curfew from 6 to 6 and all stores were closed. So we came on in to the Anchorage 1 and joined in the festivities! Bryan & Pat made grilled BBQ chicken on the grill and some delicious spicy potatoes. After a few libations, we went to the beach after curfew (we’re such rebels!). It was our only trip to the beach at night. We turned in fairly early after playing a couple hands of euchre (Ann & I were champs) and getting a visit from the downstairs neighbors of the Kennedy’s to quiet down…which put a damper on the condo-warming party. Here are some random pictures from this week.

I was up before everyone else on Monday morning, enjoying the sound and rhythm of the ocean on the balcony and waited for everyone else to slowly get up and get moving. I went to the beach with Bryan, Angie, Drew & Luke and played football in the ocean, got some sun and had a couple beers in the sand with my buddy. :0) Pat brought a couple boogie boards for the boys. It was a little cool at beach – we started with sweatshirts but it got warmer and I actually got some color in me. We got cleaned up and went to the mall and movie theater. We ended up split in to three groups – Ann, Abby & I watched Girl on a Train which was really good. Afterward we did some shopping in the biggest mall I’ve seen. We had dinner at Pat & Shawna’s condo where we tons of tacos & margaritas. We enjoyed more euchre. Bryan & I won the most games but were finally defeated – for the first time ever – by Pat & Ang. We somehow managed to not get in trouble with the neighbor that night…we must be losing our touch!
We slept in nicely on Tuesday. When Bu woke up, we went out and walked the beach. That day we went south, towards huge ferris wheel, known as the Sky Wheel. It was about 3.5 miles down the beach to it and the big pier in the downtown area. It was really developed with lots of huge condos, restaurants, stores and attractions. Ann picked us up down there on her way to a scrapbook store she had been told about by Shawna. Along the way we also found a store called Christmas Mouse, which was the biggest Christmas ornament store we’ve ever seen! We saw several areas where there was severe storm damage and many areas still have no power. Next we came back to the condo for a quick bite to eat and then hit the beach for more sun, surf & beer. We got cleaned up and ran to the liquor store and grocery store for more supplies before Bryan & I grilled out pork roast while Ann baked carrots, potatoes & asparagus for a huge dinner – yum! After cleaning up, we decided to play a long game of 3 Man. I hadn’t played that drinking game since my days at the ΦΔΘ house. We had so much fun that we actually got another knock on the door about being too loud that night! We have a few social media pictures to share: Bu & Pirateers, Gigi, Uncle Scotty was in a nasty car accident this week – our thoughts are with him and Aunt Sally as he continues to mend; Aunt Sally had to cut her vacation in Greece short; several Scheu family pix, Kathy in WDW, Gracie with BF at the pumpkin patch, my buddy Brad and family at the Colts game, one of my favorite Cowboy players meme and Jet DT Dennis Byrd, who came back from paralysis from a hit on the field back in the 90’s passed away this week due to an auto accident.

I got up early on Wednesday morning to catch the sunrise over the ocean only to find that it was a cloudy morning. Boo! Abs & I headed north up the beach for our walk that morning. On our way we found Luke & Drew out on the beach. Drew went inside and Luke came walking with us. We saw more gorgeous, beachfront homes and unfortunately more lost dunes. At the two-mile marker we headed inland and walked to one of the beachwear stores to get some souvenirs like hats, shirts and can cozies. We also got a new boogie board for the Kennedys since theirs died yesterday in the surf. We got back at about the 5-mile mark, so it was a good walk. Bryan was cooking a huge breakfast of eggs, bacon, potatoes and leftover pork roast when we got back. That held us over until dinner. We got cleaned up and Bryan & I took the seven kids out for fun at the Fun Warehouse. We had a couple of go-kart races then the kids went roller skating while Bryan & I had a couple brews. Meanwhile the ladies and Pat went to the pool and then ended up at the beach where we met up with them for yet more sun, surf and brewskis. Pat bought a fishing pole and the boys tried to catch fish for dinner, which didn’t turn out anything but was still fun. The Kennedys made a huge batch of shredded Cajun chicken with a yummy blue cheese topping which made for some great sandwiches while Bryan made another huge batch of his spicy potatoes. Ann made frozen strawberry margaritas that were an instant hit and the boys did shots of Petron – it was a great night until we had some table drama. And for some reason we had to watch our step so we didn’t step on tomatoes, which were scattered throughout the condo (don’t ask!).

Bu and I were up early on Thursday morning, spending some Daddy-daughter time with our laptops while everyone else slept. Ann made pancakes for breakfast but I had leftover breakfast casserole from Monday morning. Bu & I decided to walk to the Sky Wheel again and have Ann meet us up there to walk around the area. Luke and Elizabeth joined us as well. We walked 3.5 miles before we met up with Ann at one of the arcades where we played a few games then went exploring. We ending up at the Sky Wheel where we got to see the area from a different view. We then went to the I Love Sugar candy store, which was amazing. After getting our own bags of mixed candies, we enjoyed their ice cream and then came home to hit the beach. We had a lot of fun in the sun playing bocce ball and drinking a few cold ones. Due to the damn flies, we ended up coming back to the resort to hit the heated pool where we played football, drank, played our music loud and drove out all the old folks! We were there for a couple hours before getting cleaned up and going out to dinner at Mr. Fish for an adults-only meal. The kids stayed back at the condo and had pizza. The grouper was delicious as were their hush puppies and their local Myrtle Beach beer called New South White Ale. Afterward, we stopped at a little hole in the wall bar just down the street called Jimmagan’s Pub where we watched Thursday Night Football and the MLB National League Divisional Series game. We didn’t stay long, leaving after only one round and coming back to pack up our stuff on our last night together.
We were up very early on Friday morning, only to find that the Messers had already hit the road. We packed up the car and head out ourselves, back to Indiana. We did good, getting on the road before 6. We got a couple hours down the road before we stopped for breakfast somewhere in North Carolina at our favorite destination while traveling – Cracker Barrel. Have you ever seen one that wasn’t packed? I really need to invest in them. We had a great ride home and only got stopped in traffic once – the first mile after getting on I-74, which runs to G’burg. We rolled in to town and went out to dinner (dressed in our travelling clothes and all!) at BWR. It was a nice way to unwind. We came afterward only to find our front door lock wouldn’t open. Thankfully Gma & Gigi had left the backdoor open for us so we could get in and get everything unpacked. It was funny though to hear the dogs going crazy inside the house as we struggled to get in. I think Lola peed a little. Once Luke was able to open the front door from the inside, Molly came streaking out the door into the front lawn and started doing laps and barking wildly! She was so excited. Later, Ann ended up running in to Mrs. B’s for late night scrapbooking with Shawna. Abby just had to go running around with Britney for a little while also. Luke & I decided to lay low and watch some DVR’ed shows and chill on the couches.

Saturday, I was up early and refreshed after a great night of sleep while the others slept in, giving me some peace for a few hours. We were TP’ed overnight, which made a mess. Welcome back! Matt came home from school that morning and the kids and I cleaned up the yard and house. Matt went in to work. Abby went out with Mary before she also had to head in to work until midnight. Ann & I returned the rental car and grabbed lunch at Texas Roadhouse before getting our front door lock serviced by our locksmith, Tim. I highly recommended him and his crew. He is very smart and very good at his job. Look up AAA Lock Doc in Columbus. We came home and put in the lock and started our weekly household chores. Luke & I mowed after fixing his mower again. I think we fixed it permanently this time. We spent the rest of the night doing laundry while catching up on our DVR’ed shows and taking naps. Ann made this delicious buffalo chicken dip and a big salad for dinner. Matt & I watched baseball and college football – the Cubs won game 1 of the NL championship in dramatic fashion. The Purdue game was a blowout and might cost Coach his job. The Ohio St and Wisconsin game was and exciting way to cap the evening.
We slept in on Sunday morning. We enjoyed the day off by watching TV on the couches and taking naps. Ann made an amazing breakfast casserole before Matt ran in to work again. Abby ended up getting called off from work, so she took it easy and got caught up on her homework and later went out with friends. We watched a lot of football as I worked on the blog. The Bears lost again but the Cowboys looked good at Green Bay, winning big and moving to a full game ahead of the Eagles, who they will face in their next game in two weeks. To cap off the evening, Ann made a pot of chili and we returned to the Sunken Boat Bar to watch the Colts game on their huge outdoor screen with the Messers and about a hundred of their closest friends. It was a nice spread and it was good to see everyone. The game itself was a yawner and even though Abby came out later and Matt joined us as well after work, we still ended up leaving at halftime, wiped out from the long week. It was cool to sit with Ann & the kids and watch the game on a two-story TV! We came home and watched the end of the Colts game, who looked pretty good vs. the Texans. Matt spent the night and planned to head back up to school tomorrow morning. It was nice to have the family together again, even if only for a short time…
Next up is our Waybac segment, which features pictures from our 2nd six photo albums of our young family around the turn of the century. We lead off with some nice photos of our the family around the Christmas tree in December 1998 in Greensburg; then down to the Sand Pebble in May 1999; next we have the kids with Santa at WTRE in December 1999; then Matt at Dad & Barb’s house and later hold Abby in our living room – both in May 2000; then more Week 19 fun in Treasure Island in May 2000; Matt & I at t-ball at the Y, the ‘tube up on Pine Lake in LP and Tammie with Leila at a Brown family cookout – all in June 2000; Dan & Kacey’s wedding in September 2000 and finally Matt goofing around in September 2000.

And we wrap with it up with our video section which features two new home movies this week as well as several from around the internet.

And that does it for this episode of the Scheu Family Blog. Thanks for keeping up with us this time out and we’ll catch up with you again next time. Until then, have a good one. I miss ya Mom.
Later, Scheu