Memorial Day March

The annual town parade was held in Milton this year - a move from Marlboro. Both are part of Marlborough just to confuse you more. The Vets of Marlborough moved it to a different route so Milton could feel a part of the parade and plan is to now move it back and forth each year. Just imagine the drama that unfolded in Marlboro as a result. The ice cream stand on the route was so upset they even started a facebook page. Hilarious. Part of the real reason they moved it is that there were three men from our area killed in the Civil War. They were Quakers and this year the parade ended in the park that was built were they lived. Lest us not forget the meaning of Memorial Day, which some in Marlboro have done. Many boycotted the parade. Grown-up, I know. Needless to say the ceremony at the end was the best attended ever and I thought they did a great job. I heard lots of good things about it. After they served refreshments in the pavillion that overlooks a little lake. Way better than ending in a school parking lot and boiling in the heat I must say.

Here's a few shots...

taste testing - PF Chang's Frozen Meals

We have NO real Chinese places near us. The closest PF's is about an hour away. Not too far for a date night or something like that, but when Mark is gone I'm not going by myself and I really wanted good Chinese tonight. I thought I could get buy on some appetizers from the supermarket, but I scored with PF Chang's new frozen meals. I thought it was pricey at $7.99 for a 2 person entree, but in reality it's cheaper than a meal at the crappy Chinese joint next door. WAY BETTER!
Tried the Orange Chicken. Very good. Real pieces of white chicken breast - not particles and pieces of skin. Upon opening the bag I decided I would cook just a portion for me. Ends up I can get at least 3 meals out of a bag. So I divided up the chicken and sauce chunks and put it in the pan and covered it for 10 minutes. And it was DONE! Nothing else to do except eat it. I had made brown rice last night and it completed the meal. So if you don't have any good Chinese places near you I would highly recommend trying the PF's from the grocery store.
Now to test the chocolate lava cakes... can't go wrong there.

home in one fell swoop!

We made it home in one day - 12 hours on the road including all the stops for breaks and food. Google had told us 13 hours. Way off! It's 10 hours according to Garmin, but we needed gas and such and oh wait... DC traffic. Way before we hit DC. Like 60 miles out of DC it slowed down. Jersey traffic was not as bad this time, but we were on the NJ Turnpike and not the Garden State Parkway along the shore. Found one more good southern restaurant. Zaxby's. Awesome chicken and stuff. Better than Chik-A-Fil. Should have tried it sooner. The south is full of chicken places - fine by me. I love chicken. I hate to say it, but Bo Jangles takes the cake for sides. Rice, green beans, cole slaw - all good there. Never had dirty rice before and it was tasty.
The cats were very happy to see us and will not quit following us everywhere and sleeping on us all the time. Need to keep them up today so we sleep good again tonight! Off to unpack!

How not to sell a timeshare in 30 seconds or less...

As part of our package deal we had to attend a timeshare presentation. Never been to one? Let's just say if you are going to say no just say it. It is ok to say yes if it is something you want and can afford. I mean hear them out so you get your freebie and make them feel you are learning something at the very least. In Myrtle Beach you can buy a condo for under $100k. Why spend $22k on something you can go to once a year for the rest of your life. And not decorate to your own tastes. The math did not make sense in this situation. Don't give any excuses just say no and be done with it.

Famous lines we heard over 2.5 hours...

We had to adopt two kids because my wife had cancer and couldn't have kids.
The oldest was 5 when we got her and 9 when it was finalized. Cutest thing ever.
Let me show you my grandkids. Takes out a picture that is 10 years old of 4 really cute kids. Wonder if they are his grandkids?
I have diabetes and have lost weight recently by mowing my own lawn.
My wife got cancer again 3 years ago and had to spend 3 months at a place far from home for treatment.
I'm so tired from taking care of my wife each night feeding and bathing her that I just can't find time to take care of myself. That contributed to my diabetes.
My Mother-in-law just lost her leg from the knee down. Was only supposed to be the foot. She has diabetes too.
My wife is going to stay a few more days to take care of her.
I got two free nights in a hotel from all my timeshare points in the city my MIL is in the hospital. Took my two grandkids with us for a fun stay. Sounds like fun to me....

Yes, folks all from the same guy. He has an awful life don't you think? We felt so bad for saying no, but this was not for us! So what were we too believe? Were we buying a timeshare or subsidizing a pity session? Boy did he make us feel guilty - then called us stupid for not buying? Then they sent over some guy in a dirty white shirt to try and get us to buy hotel points for $2500. Huh? Then he slammed out of the room and shot us a nasty look. No wonder his close rate is 33%. I'm going to guess it's more like 10%. Was happy to hear that we didn't get the red head that is known for keeping you until you say yes. Her close rate is 66% (sounds like the devil if you ask me!). The day before she kept a couple for 6 hours. I would have walked out on her. It is my vacation time and your 90 minutes of pity is up. What an awful sales tactic.

Nascar Night

Mark managed to snap a few shots at the race, while I was at the pool on Friday. It was 95 and way too hot inland where the race was for me to go. It was 85 at the pool and it was the pool with nice cool water. And I also got Papa John's pizza and breadsticks. I'm sure this is no big deal to any of you, but we don't have Papa John's at home and I love their breadsticks. Wait I watched two movies too. Don't count on me remembering which ones - I don't. They were so-so and totally not how they were described on red box.

Anyway race shots... taken from Mark's seat.

Myrtle Beach - the beach

I'll try to get some pool shots today. Should be quiet as most people check out today. Mark is heading to the race and I am sitting by the pool, ordering Papa John's breadsticks and watching some redbox movies. He is feeling guilty and I'm not sure why. 95 degree heat and lots of people at the race? Sounds fun to him and the pool sounds fun to me! We both have fun and then hit the road for the long drive home tomorrow. Stopping somewhere in PA - not going thru Jersey. NO WAY!

We went down to the beach last night and it is nicely redone with a great board walk and lots of tree's. Palm tree's. They even have stations to rinse off at. I was impressed. The beach in Wrightsville Beach, NC was nicer. Much less broken shells to cobble over there. The water here was a bit warmer, but we weren't there to swim. There are tons of places to stay on the beach and next time we will. While this place is very nice it is not on the beach and this is a beach town. The pool is a bonus, but most of the hotels on the beach have pools too. Off to golf again (mini-golf this time!)

The Wizard

As in the golf Wizard. That was the course we played. 48 hours before your desired tee time you can get a great deal so that's what we did - got a great deal. We ended up being put with another two-some and we were worried that they might be good because the one owns a condo down here and comes and plays lots of golf several times a year. I think he's had a lot of lessons and probably started out awful because he is so-so now. We had no problem keeping up and we hadn't played since Wisconsin last year. The 77 year old guy was the best. Had some really cool clubs too. I'm sure the one was about $400. Mark and I did not keep score. They kept saying birdie, but I'm pretty sure they were not counting all their strokes! Super nice guys anyway!

Here's a few shots.

Mark teeing off from 17 over the water to the island. The guys are spotting it for him. And the slow pokes who almost got kicked off the course are slowly walking to their carts. Nice targets if you ask me. They held up the course. 18 holes took us 5 hours.

Me being patient about waiting to tee off. Same hole. Perfect weather. 83 and sunny with a light breeze.

on to Myrtle Beach!

Lots of rain and drizzle and nothing much exciting today. We did manage to fulfill my lifelong wish of eating at the Waffle House. LOL! Seriously always wanted to try it and honestly the waffle was pretty darn good. I had a pecan waffle and for the extra 49 cents it cost I think I got at least $3 worth of pecans - more than the waffle. It was very good! I was shocked it was $2.65! Seriously cheap, hot and tasty. The waitress was very entertaining and had the most interesting laugh. Mark also had a waffle - the buttermilk waffle and that too was good. A bit sweeter than mine. The city ham was good and not salty. I think with our huge orange juices and tip it was about the same price as hitting McDonalds for a breakfast meal. Way better this time around.
Last night we relied on Yelp.com for our dinner. The first place had a limited menu and nothing hit our fancy so we decided to walk down the street a little and we ended up at Tower 7, a Tex Mex place. This was also highly rated on Yelp. I would say it's a cross between Quodba and a fancy Mexican place. We did have our order taken at the table, but it arrived in little baskets or platters. The music was a little loud. The food was very, very good. Top of the line meats. No grizzle in the beef much to Mark's delight! He had the Tower 7 burritto. Lots of good stuff in it. I was impressed he tried the guacamole. My chicken quesadilla was yummy. It didn't come with any sides, but it was more than enough. For some reason I was a bit shocked by the place because it was so casual and from the reviews I was expecting more, but it is a college area which I did not know. I'd go back to Wrightsville Beach for another vacation and stay longer next time. We are not on the beach anymore, but there is a pool! Hope to test it out tomorrow after a round of golf!

Vacation Post

Tried to keep in order!

Mark at Kill Devil Hills Beach, NC - obviously way out of order here, but beachy none the less.

1st Ferry to DE from NJ! Loads of sun and dolphins!

We hit the road Friday afternoon and headed for Atlantic City. Just the first of many stops. Saturday morning we left for Cape May and took the ferry to Delaware. This was the first of several dolphin sightings. Unfortunately for you dolphins in the wild are hard to photograph, but they were cool! After getting into Delaware we headed down towards the Outer Banks prepared to hit bad traffic like we did in Jersey on Friday and for some reason it was smooth sailing.

View of Wright Brother's Memorial from our hotel.
View from our room of the beach - turned a bit to the side to show the houses.
Mark on top of Wright Brother's hill with the beach behind.

Saturday and Sunday we stayed in Kill Devil Hills (and no we didn't make it to the Kill Devil Grill Julie - they aren't open on Sunday for dinner! boo, but Owen's was pretty good) More dolphins in front of the hotel we were at and lots of wide open beach. The water was cold and air mighty hot - like upper 80's.

Today we hit the road again and went farther down to Hatteras and Cedar Island and back onto solid land in NC. Spending the night in Wrightsville Beach just north of Wilmington. Very nice beach - better than Kill Devil we think and I actually saw more dolphins playing right in front of our hotel. Very playful and loud with their splashing. Water is much warmer here and people are actually in it.

One last ferry ride. One of the two today was free!

More on our next step - Myrtle Beach is up next!