2004-10-20

(click on image to see the full-sized version) My mother and the spud slept in a little, not getting up until almost 8. Then the spud and I took turns taking showers (oh my god, I can’t believe I haven’t mentioned the shower yet – the water pressure in the shower was incredibly strong; I thought it was going to fling me against the wall the first time I stepped into the shower. It was AWESOME.) and we sat around and watched TV for a while (my mother does love that Katie Couric) and then we went to breakfast. This time, we did the Shoney’s buffet (no yummy little pastries! Sob!) and I grabbed the check from my father when it came, because there’s no damn reason he needs to pay for EVERY meal, is there? Then, since none of us really wanted to go back to the apartment, we did some driving around, and we hit a strip somewhere in Myrtle Beach that had many of the same kind of shops and arcades that Gatlinburg does. In fact, Gatlinburg and Myrtle Beach both have the Alabama Theatre, the Dixie Stampede, and The Fudgery, among other things. I started referring to Myrtle Beach as “Gatlinburg by the ocean.” After driving around for a while, we went back to the apartment, watched The View (another show my mother loves), and once that was over we decided to go… shopping, of course! There were some shops at Barefoot Landing we hadn’t made it into, so we decided to go back there. We shopped for a few hours – I bought a sweatshirt at Big Dog – and then decided to go into The Fudgery for a sample of fudge. Only they were about to put on a show (they apparently do a whole song and dance while they make fudge, and at the end they’ll give you a sample, but not before you’re suckered in by the sales pitch) so we stayed and watched that, and then because we’re big stupid suckers, my mother and I each bought something like 3 1/2 pounds of fudge because it was such! a great! deal! Buy three slices, get three free! How can you possibly pass that up?! We’re suckers. Because who the holy hell needs six 1/2-pound slices of fudge? I had actually decided I would “accidentally” leave the fudge in the refrigerator when we left Thursday morning, but my mother was on to my tricks and made sure she got up before I left, and took the fudge out of the refrigerator and put it by my purse so I wouldn’t forget it. I ended up tossing it in the trash at the gas station, because like I said, who the hell needs that much fudge? Anyway, we bought our fudge and did a little more shopping, then went back to the apartment, where my father had been spending the day sitting on the balcony and reading.

(click on image to see the full-sized version) (click on image to see the full-sized version) We decided to go for a walk on the beach, and for once I left the camera at home, because I didn’t want to drop it in the sand or get it wet. I wish I’d brought it with me, though, because as we were walking back toward the apartment, these two old guys were walking on the beach with their elderly, tiny dog who I swear to god looked like a little toy wind-up dog. He either didn’t like the feel of sand on his feet or was very arthritic, because he was moving very, very slowly. Anyway, we ended up spending about an hour and a half walking on the beach. The spud gathered up another ton of shells, and we found a dead shrimp on the beach (but didn’t eat it). We all got splashed a few times. It was just a really nice afternoon. We headed back to the apartment and got ready for dinner. My parents had decided they wanted to celebrate the spud’s birthday (it’s on the 26th), so they told her we could go wherever she wanted to go for dinner. She decided she wanted Chinese food (it’s her favorite) and while we were out shopping we’d seen a Chinese restaurant with a buffet, so that’s where we ended going. Highly recommended. In the Galleria shopping center on North King’s Highway. It was one of the better Chinese restaurants I’ve been to. They had almost any kind of food you could want (except crab rangoon. Sob!). The spud tried fried squid and said it was really good, so I gave it a try. It tastes just like crab to me, only a little chewier, and I liked it enough to go back up to the buffet and get some more. After dinner, we drove around a little more and then went back to the apartment, where my father brought a giant chocolate chip cookie with “Happy birthday!” on it in frosting. He stuck a couple of candles in it, the spud blew out the candles, and then she opened presents from my parents. She got two skirt-and-shirt outfits, and a pair of boots that I just might have to steal for myself. We ate our pieces of the giant cookie (and ice cream too, of course!), then cleared the table and the spud and my father watched TV in the living room, my mother watched TV in her room, and I laid on my bed and read until it was time to talk to Fred. Then the spud and I were off to bed. Did I mention that the bed I slept in was too soft and that I didn’t sleep worth a crap the entire time we were in Myrtle Beach? It certainly makes me appreciate my own bed, that’s for sure. The last day of Myrtle Beach tomorrow! * * * I always imagine that if Spanky were a person, he’d sound like Lenny from Laverne & Shirley, walking into the room and saying “Heddo!” He has that same blank look on his face, that’s for sure. But does that make Meester Boogers Squiggy? ]]>