This is the conclusion of our stay in Myrtle Beach. Although we faced many challenges and obstacles we still managed to enjoy each other’s company on our vacation.
SWIMMING
Let’s pick up where I left off. Finally, at 10 pm the lift had been freed from the closest, no longer surrounded by dusty liquor bottles and free to breathe in the salt air. The battery was attached and I was ready for the pool. Since it took so long to do all of this even though I had given ample time, they had agreed to keep the pool open for me. The downside for them was everyone else stayed too, even though the pool closed at 10 pm. I swam for about an hour and then we went back to our room.
I need a toilet
I realized I forgot to use the bathroom so we changed into our pjs and went back downstairs. Well, guess what? Someone had left a surprise in the toilet bowl and it was not something pleasant. So you guessed it back to the front desk we go. I needed to go! We told Valerie that the toilet was clogged and asked, “What am I supposed to do now?” She told us there was another public bathroom, down the hall and around the corner. I made it in the nick of time but this bathroom was even further away from our room.
Look out, Mom is mad
The next morning we got up for breakfast. The line was a mile long but as promised Mom went to the front desk at 10 am asking for the General Manager. Kelly got on the phone with the general manager who acknowledged he was supposed to meet with Mom but was unavailable. Now I was with Dad eating breakfast but I could hear Mom shouting at the front desk. I’m surprised she wasn’t arrested. I don’t know how she did it but Kelly calmed her down and listened to the whole story of our day from hell in SC. She asked Mom what would make her happy. Mom told her that what would make her happy would be if every single guest in the hotel had to use the public bathrooms. Then if every single guest in the hotel who wanted to go swimming had to walk around the pool three times looking for something they couldn’t find, then go to the front desk and wait for 2 hours before they could go swimming. After all, that was what we had to endure.
Remove the door!
As you would expect they did not do this but what they did do is solve one problem. Kelly suggested that maintenance take the door off the bathroom so at least I could use the toilet in our room. Brilliant! While Kelly was getting maintenance on the phone Mom came and got me from breakfast with Dad. Dad and I decided we were going to go to Murrells Inlet and explore the tiny town. When Kelly came back to Mom she told her in front of me that they would be refunding our stay. I asked them to do better than just refunding our stay because Mom used points to get this hotel on the ocean for me. She agreed.
Privacy
When we went back to our room, low and behold the bathroom door was being taken off. It took all of about 20 minutes. We got changed and I got to go to the bathroom in private. Our short stay in Myrtle Beach was finally starting to turn around. Fingers crossed the rest of the day would go off without a hitch.
Bubba's Love Shak
Murrells Inlet is a family town with lots of history and a cool MarshWalk. No, we didn’t see Shek or hear crawdads singing but we did find an accessible boardwalk around the Marsh filled mostly with restaurants. One of the restaurants was called Bubba’s Love Shak. This is pretty funny because in our family all my cousins call my dad Uncle Bubba. As soon as we saw the sign Daddy started dancing and singing that song, Love Shak, Baby Love Shak… Sorry if you can’t get that song out of your head for the rest of the day. But it did bring a smile to our faces and helped us enjoy the day. We saw boats of all shapes, sizes, and colors.
Pink Boat!
There was even a pink boat! This pink boat reminded me of a game my aide in High School would play with her husband, kids, and me. Every time they saw a pink car they would text “pink car” and a picture. The picture was a must because to get points you had to have the picture. So I sent her a text, "pink boat", and a picture of the boat letting her know I was thinking of her. I got double points once because I found a pink wheelchair van!
COFFEE
Since the coffee at the breakfast bar was shall I say not very good. Finding a cup of coffee was essential. Right next to Bubba’s Love Shak was Brown Fox Coffee Box. It was the cutest little tiny-house-type coffee shop I have ever seen. The smell was delicious and the iced caramel latte was to die for. I missed my Starbucks coffee while we were on vacation. Mom joked that I probably had a letter from Starbucks at home asking me if I was okay.
Friendly's or not
While we were in Wilmington, Dad looked up a friend who lived in the Myrtle Beach area and they decided to meet up for drinks. We dropped Daddy off and were going to go shopping but we didn’t. We went to the hotel and had snacks. We had not bothered to have lunch because I had a big free breakfast. We would be going to an early dinner though. Plus I needed the downtime. For those of you who know me, getting up at 9:30 every morning is not something my body likes. I had to get breakfast every day. On the drive to pick Dad up, we spotted the place we wanted to have dinner. FRIENDLY’S!
Hot Tomato
This might not be your first choice but Friendly’s holds special memories for me and they are all closed in NY. We were so excited but soon our excitement was dashed. Dad didn’t want to go to Friendly’s. We tried to entice him with the thought of chocolate fribbles! But he stood his ground. He found a place called the Hot Tomato. Although we protested and they said it would be a 30-minute wait, it was worth the wait. It only ended up being 15 minutes and the food was delicious. Mom and I had a BBQ chicken pizza and a pepperoni roll. Mmmm, mmmm good! Unfortunately, the Hot Tomato has closed its doors due to the economy.
Goodbye, now on to Nana's
Overall the rest of the trip was without a hitch. I got to go swimming again before dinner and use the toilet in our room. Dad made it to the airport on the shuttle. It was somewhat comical because the shuttle driver asked how he was going to get me into the shuttle! Think about that. If I had needed the shuttle this would been the icing on the cake, but thankfully it was only for seeing Daddy off. Mom and I were going to drive the next 8-10 hours to Florida. I still can’t believe what happened but I am proud that we rolled with it and didn’t let it ruin everything.
Thank you for reading until the end!
This is the view from my wheelchair, where miracles can make a difference. Always Strive for the Impossible. Come back next week as we journey to Nana’s and hear more about my experiences and The View From My Wheelchair.
Thank you again for the trip, I enjoyed hearing that mom got the free visit. Why didn't they think of it earlier? lol. I am looking forward to nexts week adventure to Gma's house we go.. When I do my Orientations, yes you are part of it every week. I mention you and your life's Journey. Have a great week.