Back from the beach

A restful time at Myrtle Beach was had by all.

Restful because it rained nearly the entire time we were there. We went to the beach and played in the waves while it was raining. I'm wondering: is it a written law that everyone who moves to the Carolinas must extoll the virtues of the region to the detriment of the truth? My in-laws moved there about 20 years ago and have done nothing but sing the praises of the weather.

*It's hot...but it's a DRY heat
*It NEVER snows
*It only rains after dark. If it rains during the day, it rains for 10 minutes, then is finished and that Carolina blue sky is showing through.

Well I hate to shatter their illusions, but it must have been uncommonly wet every time we've visited. The only "Carolina Blue" we've seen during our visits to the region is the water falling from a gray sky. Remember...they also get hurricanes every year. Dry Heat? Not with all that water in the air and on the ground. Snow? Please...it snows every year and the people are so neurotic about it they have to close schools and businesses, hoard water and write their wills when an inch of the white stuff hits the ground.

So the next time you come across someone from the Carolinas spouting the mandated party line, just smile indulgently and tell them their region is very nice.

And don't go there expecting blue skies and rain only at night.

Tied down by too much stuff

We're supposed to leave this week for a short vacation to Myrtle Beach, SC to pick up the kids from the grandparents, get some sun and enjoy the beach. Should be an easy trip, right? Just jump in the truck or van and head to the beach.

It's not quite that easy. See, first we have to find someone to be us while we're away.

The pseudo us-es must take care of the 13 horses, 3 dogs, 2 ferrets, various barn cats and chickens while we're gone. They're those little responsibilities whiich sounded good when you got them, but grow into a burden severely limiting your spontaneous travel opportunities. Summer's not quite as bad because the horses largely feed themselves on the pasture. Trying to get someone to take care of the horses in the winter, when they are stalled, is another story, though. The dogs, ferrets, cats and chickens always require daily care. We're planning to go on a cruise this January and are already lining up pet sitters to be surrogate us-es.

And to top it all off, we're adding another "pet" while on vacation. We will pick up our 2005-06 exchange student, a boy from Germany, at the Myrtle Beach airport. He'll be the 11th exchange student we've hosted, and the third German, dating back to our first student in 1998. He'll be with us for the school year. We've also hosted students from Russia, Spain, Mexico, Hong Kong and Venezuela.

So it's another busy week and we'll return home from the beach with a van full of more responsibilities. The children will be home and our exchange student will get his first view of his new home for the next year. More changes and responsibilities.

We wouldn't have it any other way.