Vacation's are great, but there is no place like home.

The above picture was taking during a beautiful early morning, I never noticed how quickly the sun comes up over the horizon. Bill, Katie and I , met my brother Chris his wife, and Bill's sister Karen and her husband at a beach house in Myrtle Beach. I must say this was one of my favorite stress free vacations ever. and i decided to get off the "beaten path" and explore some not so tourist area's..... i'll explain more in detail with the next pictures. I love the ocean, hot weather... not so much! one evening while walking on the pier, we saw several sharks in the water just waiting for some newly caught fish to be cleaned, hoping for the gutted remains to be fed to them, needless to say, i remained on the water's edge from that day on :0). We didn't eat out that much either, my breakfast always consisted of my protein shake. lunch was usually turkey breast of 100 calorie whole grain flat rounds, with fresh fruit of the day ( oranges, pineapple, watermelon, apples). we did grill in several nights...... and i enjoyed some really good broiled seafood. MY lapband did do what it was supposed to do, and it did prevent me from over eating. and actually i had food stuck a couple of times, and needed to spit it back up twice. yes we enjoyed birthday cake, and i did have an ice cream here and there. i did my Wii fit a few times, had to find time when nobody was around so that i wouldn't get teased so badly. and i also power walked everyday but one. and one day i did 8 miles, although i averaged 4 miles a day. this wasn't leisure walking, i used my Polaris Heart Rate monitor, and made sure i pushed myself for one good hour. i FEEL SO GOOD.. and noticed that without hills, it took alot to get my heart rate up, one day i actually had to power walk in the surf, so the water resistance helped get the heart going. i didn't get winded, and could walk for hours, steps not a problem.... i am definitely in a good place health wise right now. I WILL be doing 10 miles for Melody, as soon as i figure out where i want to do it...

One of the things i decided to do was visit the State Parks of the area... the picture above is a State park that we visited that was a plantation http://www.southcarolinaparks.com/park-finder/state-park/1142.aspx The park remains untouched, and even the road to get there is just sand and ruts. there are mature tree's more than 200 years old, and some neat trails and alot of history...

the other local state park that we visited is the http://www.southcarolinaparks.com/park-finder/state-park/1020.aspx Huntington beach state park. this park is located just a few miles from the busy tourist section. many trails, private beaches, alligators and Birds (wetlands) there. this Park also has a Camping section. the beaches had a few people, but there were parts that had nobody..... the wild grasses were more abundant than the sand. the alligators weren't behind any barriers, or glass, and they had the freedom if they wanted to walk were i walked... i must say with the beauty of it all, being the wetlands....... the insects too were abundant, and insect repellent is a must!!!

and like my title states.......... i really had a great time, but driving in Pennsylvania reminded me how beautiful it is right where i live, and the view from my own porch is just as spectacular...

YES Dorothy......... there is no place like home!!!!