Returning home from the beach

On the beach behind Kingfisher Inn

We had the last of the eggs and ham in breakfast burritos as we finished packing to leave the Kingfisher Inn. We stripped the beds, putting the linens and towels in the bathtub as directed. We loaded the dishwasher and started the cleaning cycle. Rex and I brought luggage carts from the first up to our third floor room so we could load our luggage to take to the cars. We did our best to clean the room the best we could although, without a vacuum, we were unable to clean the sand that we tracked into the room on our feet.

The condo office doesn’t open until 8:30 am but we put our keys in the dropbox and left the parking lot by 8 am. Although the trip would be slightly longer, we decided to return home via the West Virginia Turnpike to avoid driving through larger cities with the Labor Day weekend coming up. We topped off the gas tank at the Walmart so we could avoid stopping once underway. Rex and Natalie made a detour to Harrelson’s Seafood Market where we got our shrimp earlier in the week. Rex wanted to bring a bunch of shrimp back home for a shrimp boil.

We followed exactly the same path that we used for the trip south on Saturday. We even stopped for lunch at the same exit in Ashboro, NC, as Saturday except we ate at the Arby’s Restaurant. The Wendy’s Restaurant at that exit was disappointing on Saturday.

The weather was very hot so we didn’t leave the air conditioned car very much other than lunch and rest area bathroom and stretch breaks. Our EZ-Pass got us through the West Virginia Turnpike tolls quickly and without charge. When in Huntington, we made a quick stop at the Sam’s Club in South Point, Ohio to stock up on salads for the week ahead. We got pizza slices and large soft drinks from the café at Sam’s. It is hard to pass up a meal for $5.

While at Sam's Club we topped off the tank.  We would have made it about 30 miles from home on the gas that we bought at Garden City this morning but we wanted to take advantage of the better prices before we left.

We arrived back home before 9 pm and unpacked most things before heading to bed. Tomorrow would be a day of laundry, cleaning and putting gear away and resting some after the 11 hour trip.

We were glad that we made the trip to the area but were confident that we had spent enough time there to do what we needed to do. Additionally, it is doubtful that we would return to the Myrtle Beach area in the foreseeable future. Other than really good seafood restaurants, there didn’t seem to be a lot of things to do in the area that appeal to Mary & I. The trip to get to Myrtle Beach takes 10 to 11 hours of driving and we can be in Florida in 12 hours. The area on Florida’s Nature Coast, around Homosassa has lots of outdoor activities that appeal to us and is mostly I-75. The only negative for the trip to Florida is that we frequently go through Atlanta traffic.