Back from Vacation and Other Assorted News

Hey, all!

I hope you are all well and happy.  Golfer and I are doing well.  We've recently been on vacation and have been catching up on things since returning home.

Golfer and some of his friends play in the Military Retirees Golf Classic every year in Myrtle Beach.  This is a nice tournament and gives veterans a chance to see each other and play some golf.  It's always Memorial Day week.  The weather was almost perfect this year.  Bikini and her family take their vacation during this week and we get to spend time with them.  Although she told us that for the next two years they won't be able to go because of the kids' shifting school schedules.  We'll miss them.  Nurse J sometimes goes for just the weekend, but can't stay because school for BeyB isn't out until mid-June here in Virginia.

The one major drawback and awful issue with all of this is that Memorial Day weekend coincides with the annual Bike Fest in Myrtle Beach.  We have always known this and always dealt with it.  They have as much right to be there as the golf tournament people.  But this year was the worst ever. 

Here's a little background on Bike Fest:  The Harley Riders have their gathering earlier in May and are there for two weeks.  They ride their bikes into town and gather.  Sure, they like to party and visit, and there's  more traffic on the roads, but for the most part they try to behave.  And they do do some great charitable work.  Bike Fest, on the other hand, consists of people who haul their bikes to town.  It's mostly for show.  They then take up all the parking spots at the  hotel with the vehicles, trailers, and bikes.  This year they also took up parking spaces for their grills, which is against the hotel rules.  There was more noise, more bad language, more smoking, more drug use and more just plain bad behavior this year.  And for all intents and purposes, the hotel management appeared to just give up and do nothing to help the other guests.  I spoke with several people who were there for the first time and said they would never return.  I personally think the hotel should warn people about the Bike Fest conditions when they're making reservations.

Add to that the fact that housekeeping was poor to non-existent, at least three times the elevator lurched and dropped half a floor with us in it, and the front desk staff barely spoke English some days and were less than helpful.  Ownership changed a few years ago and things are not what they were.

So this year was the turning point.  We've decided to find another place to stay a bit away from the rowdy action. Golfer and I had time before we came home to look at a couple places.  They seemed very nice.  We're thinking of staying in one of them to try it out before the next tournament.

After the so-called bikers left town things got a bit better and we enjoyed the rest of the week.  Beach time, pool time, dinners out, etc.  And I got to go on the Sky Wheel!  I've wanted to go since they built it, but just never made it.  Bikini, Brief, the kids and I went one afternoon.  It was great!

So now we are home.  The laundry is done, things put away, house is cleaned, the yard work has been done, things are caught up.  Right now we're just hanging out in the house because of the storm warnings.  "Andrea" is moving in and it's pouring down rain.

Stay safe!