Happy Memorial Day! - Monday, May 31, 2010

Today started out like many of our days with a brisk 4 mile walk. After showering, Nancy had to go to work and I (per Nancy’s instructions) completely emptied the Master Bathroom so it can be scrubbed (by Nancy -- I can’t be trusted to do it correctly) from top to bottom tomorrow.

Our plan is that once the master bath is cleaned, we will use the guest bath for showers. The shower in the master bath is a real pain to keep clean, so once we get it spotless, we want to leave it that way while the house is up for sale.

All the goods from the bathroom ended up on towels in our bedroom.

I did what I was told, “get the stuff out!” However, I wasn’t told where to put the stuff so I made an executive decision!! Oh well, it’s only temporary and I’m sure most of this “stuff” is not going back in the bathroom anyway. I also went through my clothes closet and packed a large box of shirts, pants and shoes that will go to Goodwill.

NOW, that’s enough work for today!!

Today would not be complete without thanking all those who have served or are serving in the military. Nancy and I both are veterans and are proud that we had the opportunity to serve.

I wore my “American Flag” golf shirt as I always do on Memorial Day. After lunch I drove to Myrtle Beach to a new multi-use development called Market Commons. It is actually on the land of the former Air Force Base. The City of Myrtle Beach was hosting “Myrtle Beach Military Appreciation Days.” They have had numerous events going on since Friday night.

I had the camera for a change and snapped the following photos. Guess which branch of service I was in……..

SEMPER  FI!

The Memorial Day ceremonies featured all branches of service. A Brass Band played patriotic songs and after The Presentation of Colors, 3 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne All-American Free-fall Team landed just 25 yards from me – flares and all.

Following that, the scene turned very somber. They had a tribute to wounded warriors, POWs and those still missing in action. It caused me to reflect and remember that Freedom is not Free! So to all those who have served and are serving today, we say, “Thank You!” It turned out to be a great day for me. I just wish that Nancy could have enjoyed the military appreciation events with me.

Nancy here…….

I served 4 years in the Air Force during the Vietnam War.  Memorial Day reminds me of my good friends who lost their lives serving our country. However, Memorial Day means a lot to Bill and I for a much happier reason.  Our daughter, Julie, has a blog called “Julie’s Journey.” She explains it best with her blog entry for Memorial Day. If you have time….take a look…  Our grandson, Daniel is a very special survivor!

http://juliesexton.blogspot.com/2010/05/truly-happy-memorial-day.html

Daniel and his youngest sister, Samantha

Happy  Memorial  Day !!

Our "Home Turf" Bike Ride - Sunday, May 30, 2010

We both got a good night's sleep after our "Big Clean" yesterday.  This morning, we decided to ride our local neighborhoods.  Nancy grabbed her IPOD as is her Sunday morning custom when we ride.  She plays Elvis Gospel Music (she calls it "church time") as she pedals and snaps pictures.  Oh, she only uses 1 earphone so she can still hear traffic and me if necessary!

WARNING: Lots of photos.  Since we will be moving from here, we wanted a photo history of where we lived and rode. 

We rode through our neighborhood, Pebble Creek and headed for Prince Creek, an upscale community across Hwy 707.

Pickering Drive towards the International Club Golf Course.

Past the International Club Driving Range

International Community Club House and Pool

Entrance to International Golf Club House

Heading down International Drive towards Prince Creek

Prince Creek is home to a TPC Championship golf course.  There are quite a few communities within Prince Creek.  One of our favorite to ride through is Collins Creek.  Beautiful homes and a lovely boat landing makes for a nice ride.

Road to Collins Creek

Lovely Collins Creek Home

Collins Creek Boat Landing

Prince Creek is a nice place to ride as there is very little auto traffic and the roads are smooth.  We did see a family of Swans just before we past the TPC Golf Course.

As we approached Swamp Bridge, I took the camera from Nancy and snapped a couple photos of her.  She takes all the photos, so we never have a picture of her.  So here she is on "Blue Streak" (yes, she has named her bike!)

Adjacent to Prince Creek is another nice development called Blackmoor.  Blackmoor's claim to fame is that it is the home of the only Gary Player designed golf course in the Myrtle Beach Area. 

Road to Blackmoor Community

Blackmoor Golf Club House

It is really cool riding next to the golf courses I've played.  Nancy always accuses me of having a convenient memory.  What is a convenient memory?  Well, according to Nancy, I remember the things I want to remember and have no memory of things I don't want to remember.  For example, I can recall every and I do mean EVERY shot I have in a round of golf, yet forget to water Nancy's garden after she asks me on that same morning.  Oh well....what can I say!!

Back to the ride!  Nearing the end of our ride, we cruised through another subdivision in Prince Creek called Seasons. 

Seasons is a 55+ community with smaller homes and yards.  Even looking at those houses, we both agreed that we are tired of taking care of any house including the yard work and maintenance that goes with it. 

From there, we headed home by way of Tournament Blvd.

Hwy 707 and Tournament Blvd

Tournament Blvd

Entrance to International Club Communities

Entering Pebble Creek, our community

Entering Trent Drive, our street

Home!!

We finished our ride (about 20 miles) by 9am while the temperature was still comfortable.  By noon it was closing in on 90 degrees with high humidity!!  However, it is never too hot on the Golf Course!!  After all, it is Sunday and we must follow with tradition...Bike Ride....Nancy goes to work and Bill plays GOLF!!  Hopefully, the work tradition will be a thing of the past soon!!

The "BIG" Clean - Saturday, May 29, 2010

Well, it was a beautiful, but warm Saturday morning.  Nancy walked on the treadmill and then went to the grocery store.  I rode with the Grand Strand Bicycle Shop cycling group.  After my ride, I had the opportunity to try a high end Trek Road Bike......Wow that baby could fly!!  But, I don't have the need for speed, especially if it costs soooooo much!  By 10:30 we were both home and play time was over. We had decided that today was going to be the day we finally would start the "BIG" clean and get the house ready for sale.

I cleaned up the garage and sprayed for bugs.  We packed up 6 or 7 boxes of my work literature and moved them to the garage.  I will be so glad when all those boxes are gone.

We spent several hours in the "Bonus" room over the garage cleaning it from top to bottom.  Nancy washed all the woodwork, windows and doors; while I spackled up some holes in the wallboard and hauled boxes. We have two big closets, a big desk, a huge built-in bookcase and plenty of "STUFF" to get rid of.  Fortunately neither one of us is a pack rat, so it was pretty easy to just toss a lot of stuff rather than save it.  I do have to go through some old tax papers and "important" papers to see what we really need to keep.  That will be done tomorrow -- I promise! Here are a few pictures of the results of our hard work.

We also rearranged some furniture between the kitchen, living room and entrance foyer.  Nancy really knows how to make things look spacious and uncluttered.  She always says, "Practice makes perfect"  and she has had LOTS of practice, this is house #16.  A lot more has to be done, but we have finally taken the first step.  Within this month, we will do what it takes to get the house on the market.  See that "military plan" thing is creeping back into the picture.  It is now a matter of "taking that hill!"

Later in the day, Nancy invited her mom and good friend Chris to have a Memorial Day Cookout.  We had the traditional picnic food: hot dogs, coleslaw, sauerkraut, pickled beets, corn on the cob and for dessert---strawberry shortcake with vanilla ice cream.  We RARELY have this type of fare around here, so I had to take full advantage of the feast!

This month we have done quite a bit when we look back: garage sale, pressure washed the house, threw out a lot of stuff and now started the cleaning and preparation for selling the house.  We are getting there even if it seems like it is not happening fast enough at times.  We'll eventually "Get 'er Done!"

Ocean Boulevard Bike Ride - Sunday, May 23, 2010

We decided last night that we would load the bikes in the car and ride Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach this morning. The weather was going to be perfect again for a ride – 70 degrees and sunny with no wind!!

We left the house at 6 am and drove to the “old” Air Force Base (now Market Commons) and parked the car in Warbird Park – a small park with a few military planes on display.

The sun was just coming up as we crossed US 17 and headed north on Ocean Boulevard.

The Blvd has bike lanes about 5 miles of the 10-mile strand.

We planned to ride to the end of Ocean Blvd and then reverse our course and come back. That’s exactly what we did. The view for the most part is hotel after hotel, condo after condo, with beach stores, pancake houses and amusement parks sprinkled throughout.

Occasionally, we got a good view of the ocean and it looked like a lake today with virtually no waves.

Turn around point 76st Ave North

Myrtle Beach just built a boardwalk, so we made a quick stop to take a look at that as well.

The road was pretty bumpy and it jarred us a couple of times, but I’m glad we did it. I don’t think we’ll ride this route again, as we prefer more natural surroundings. We are always looking for good places to ride. If you have some favorites……..let us know!! They can be anywhere in the USA…..remember we will be traveling eventually!!

Traffic began to pick up in volume about 8am. Fortunately, we were almost finished the ride. Sunday mornings have always been our favorite time to ride. Normally, we have the roads to ourselves, but downtown Myrtle Beach is a little different. I guess folks are getting an early start to head home on Sundays. Nancy, as usual, had a camera in hand and snapped lots of pictures of the “strand.”

Minature Golf Course at Hwy 17 and Ocean Blvd

Farrow Parkway Entering Market Commons

Driving Home approaching Market Commons Shopping District

We finished in time to get home and shower. Nancy had to go to work and I HAD to play golf! That’s a Sunday routine as well.

We have promised each other, AGAIN, that sooner rather than later, we have to tackle the house to get it prep’d for sale. Nancy will probably put that on our “To Do” list…..that means I have to get it on our “To Done” list. Oh well, today I am going to relax and play……Tomorrow is another day!