Since school was closed for Columbus Day, Jenny decided to go ahead and take the whole day off from work to keep both her boys. It being such a special day, she called me to see if we wanted to make the most of it by heading up the road to the zoo. Of course I did! 
I'm always up for something that will occupy the boys and me for any or all of the day, particularly when it involves getting Reeves together with his best buddy cousin, Henry. The zoo has reciprocity with the acquarium, so we got half off. Sweet!
I'm always up for something that will occupy the boys and me for any or all of the day, particularly when it involves getting Reeves together with his best buddy cousin, Henry. The zoo has reciprocity with the acquarium, so we got half off. Sweet! The day started out with a bang as soon as the Humps got to our house to load up in the mini. 
It was then that R and H realized that, through some serendipidous hapenstance, they were both wearing red shirts. What are the odds! And hey!, Puppy's red too! There was much rejoicing. The ride up was pleasantly uneventful. The older boys were in the way back where they thoroughly enjoyed the additional bit of freedom those extra three feet gave them. I think they even enjoyed the fact that in order for us to get anything, ie, snacks, back to them, we had to throw it at them. This often brought about howls of laughter. I suspect the little ones equally enjoyed the fruit snacks whizzing past their heads as well.
We went in the back entrance this time. I'd never done that before, but it was neat because it took you into the garden part of the zoo - no animals there, but some really cool plants. From there, it was adownhill walk (hike) across the Broad River to the main part of the zoo. I was happy to see the tram pass us along the way as neither Jenny nor I were much looking forward to the return trip - at the end of the day, with a loaded double jogger, and two sure-to-be-exhausted three year olds hoofing it uphill back to the car.
It was then that R and H realized that, through some serendipidous hapenstance, they were both wearing red shirts. What are the odds! And hey!, Puppy's red too! There was much rejoicing. The ride up was pleasantly uneventful. The older boys were in the way back where they thoroughly enjoyed the additional bit of freedom those extra three feet gave them. I think they even enjoyed the fact that in order for us to get anything, ie, snacks, back to them, we had to throw it at them. This often brought about howls of laughter. I suspect the little ones equally enjoyed the fruit snacks whizzing past their heads as well.We went in the back entrance this time. I'd never done that before, but it was neat because it took you into the garden part of the zoo - no animals there, but some really cool plants. From there, it was adownhill walk (hike) across the Broad River to the main part of the zoo. I was happy to see the tram pass us along the way as neither Jenny nor I were much looking forward to the return trip - at the end of the day, with a loaded double jogger, and two sure-to-be-exhausted three year olds hoofing it uphill back to the car.
Knowing how to read and understand a map is essential to any zoo visit. They were pretty good about showing us where things were. When we would then ask them which way we should go, they would say, "You tell me."Reeves and Henry loved every minute of the zoo. The howler monkeys were the loudest I have ever heard them. You couldn't even carry on a conversation anywhere in their vicinity. This entranced the boys. We finally pulled them away in order to seek out lunch. We found it at the Kenya Cafe. Jenny and I tag teamed it. She got the food while I wrangled the children. (I make it sound hard. They were actually very well behaved.) 
We got lucky and the tortoise came right over to us.
We got lucky and the tortoise came right over to us.
Three year olds in the mist.
Here they are pretending to be elephants.
"You seriously dragged us all the way up to Cola to sit in this stroller all day? Yeah. Thanks for that!"
Lion Kings
It is much too tedious and mundane for me to mention everything we saw, but suffice it to say, and Jodie, I'm sorry to say this, the snake house was, without a doubt, the biggest hit of the day. They loved it. They went to each and every little window and stared and talked about what was inside (mostly rattlesnakes, as far as I could tell from my eavesdropping). The lizards were molting, so that only added to their coolness. Bennett and Cullen were thankful for the chance to get out of the stroller and stretch their legs. Reeves had been talking about seeing the snakes as soon as I had mentioned the zoo. I'm not sure from where this fascination came, but whatever it is, it has stuck around for a while, so it must be legit. Not much to say about these pictures other than to mention that we spent a good half hour in there.
We closed out our day with a spin on the carousel. 
Bennett and Cullen were DONE by this point. We waited for the tram. Of course, we were the next in line after the first trip filled up. Nice, that added about 20 minutes, but the boys spent that time exploring the "jungle" beside the tram stop. Cullen zonked immediately on the way home. He was followed quickly by Bennett. (This boy has to be super tired to sleep in the car.) Henry and Reeves stayed awake just long enough to make enough noise to sufficiently wake Cullen up, then they were out. Of course, then Cully was up, and so were his lungs. He was NOT HAPPY about his interrupted nap. He kept it up till about Summerville, where Bennett woke up and took over. Murphy's law. But it was all worth it. Thanks, Jenny, for calling to do this great trip!
Bennett and Cullen were DONE by this point. We waited for the tram. Of course, we were the next in line after the first trip filled up. Nice, that added about 20 minutes, but the boys spent that time exploring the "jungle" beside the tram stop. Cullen zonked immediately on the way home. He was followed quickly by Bennett. (This boy has to be super tired to sleep in the car.) Henry and Reeves stayed awake just long enough to make enough noise to sufficiently wake Cullen up, then they were out. Of course, then Cully was up, and so were his lungs. He was NOT HAPPY about his interrupted nap. He kept it up till about Summerville, where Bennett woke up and took over. Murphy's law. But it was all worth it. Thanks, Jenny, for calling to do this great trip!I almost forgot. 
A close second behind the snakes for favorite activity was this.
A close second behind the snakes for favorite activity was this.
Both boys slept great. I had envisioned being up all night as they woke each other up and took turns keeping us up. I was sure Bryant was going to be nodding off in his class because of this. Looks like Bennett has been a good influence on Reeves. 
Once we were all in for the night, we pushed the Pack-n-Play up against the door and covered the open side with a blanket so that Bennett couldn't see out. (It was too small to fit in the bathroom.) It worked like a charm. He even took a two hour nap in it Wednesday morning with Reeves and me in the room! Reeves spent the first night in one double bed by himself and the next snuggled up next to Daddy. (I know Bryant loved this!) Both boys, and consequently we, slept through the night both nights. Our room was peacefully quiet until almost 7:00. Neither B nor I could believe it.
For days before we left, Reeves would walk all over the yard with his beach toys. He loves them. He talked all about how he was going to play at "Murray Beach" with his beach toys. Unfortunately for him (and me), the weather was not cooperating. It was cold and rainy on Tuesday and pretty but freezing and windy on Wednesday. So, while Bryant was in class, the boys and I did a lot of driving and a little shopping - but mostly driving. They both took their afternoon naps in the car while I did laps up and down the bypass and the strip.
When Daddy got out of class on Tuesday, we headed to Broadway at the Beach for dinner. It was almost deserted. 
We first went to eat at a place called Key West Grill. I had to ask to be seated away from the table of smokers. I mean really, we have two children with us and the restaurant is about 9% full. Is this really the best place to put us? What an idiot host! Once we sat down and looked at the menu, we realized the cheapest thing on the menu was $23. Let's just say that's not in the budget now that I'm staying home. Luckily, no one came over to us at all in the five minutes we were there. Bennett was pretty fussy, so we used that as our excuse to book it out of there. 
We ended up at Hard Rock Cafe. Not too bad, and Reeves loved walking around looking at all the memorabilia. And it was loud, which is a must when your pushing bedtimes with two.
Since checkout was at 12:00 on Wednesday, I loaded up the car and headed out with the boys. We walked some, but it was so cold outside that, although Reeves probably would have been fine, I just couldn't subject Bennett to it. We hit Barefoot Landing for a bit, fed Bennett in a couple of parking lots, napped, and watched Nemo on continuous loop. Other than a few breakdowns, Reeves did great. The breakdowns concisted mainly of him screaming "NO!!" at the top of his lungs, continuously. I can't wait for this phase to be over.
Then, juxtaposed right across the street, oceanfront, are these massive highrises, holding hundreds if not thousands of guests each. They completely dwarf the smaller ins behind them. There is no view of the ocean save for those who pay for it from up above the fray. I just can't see that any interaction goes on with anyone else when you stay at one of these places. I didn't expect it to, but it depressed me. I don't long for the "good old days" all that often, but Myrtle Beach made me do just that. I can't fault the landowners who sold out so that these monstrosities could be built. How can you turn down multiple millions of dollars when you're making a living by cleaning up other people's rooms? They have torn down the old Pavillion. I imagine they'll probably put up another couple of huge hotels, maybe a park or two, but these too will be places cloaked in anonimity. Seems that the best place to go to be alone is right in the middle of the biggest crowd you can find. That's the beach vacation most people who go to Myrtle now get. 
SHAG, the movie, is truly now nothing more than a distant memory. There are still some beaches that are doing all they can to stay true to the family summer communities, but they are few and far between.
He was perfectly content to dig and rake. We watched the birds and looked for shells. Then, it started to get dark. I looked up and realized the sun was indeed going down, but it wouldn't truly set for another hour and a half. It was just sinking, not below the horizon, but below the tops of the highrises. 
A day cut short by overzealous development. But a trip I am so glad we all got to go on. Our first "vacation" as a family of four.
I must admit, it was just a little bit overwhelming. Even though there were three of us adults there, we were outnumbered 2 to 1. Of course, when you factor in the 400 field trips that were there that day, the ratio goes completely out of whack. Maybe it makes me a bad person, but there was just a bit too much humanity there on Thursday. Is it wrong that I began to loathe the school children who were running around yelling and screaming and generally enjoying themselves? Probably.
It was a nice visit, and I definitely want to go back, but honestly, I enjoyed the company much more than the actual zoo. It was almost too much to keep up with the stroller (and infant strapped therein) and Reeves. Thank heavens for Caroline and Gwen because more than once they had to take off after my older child as I got trapped behind a group of Tweens. I hope Reeves appreciates as much as I do the fact that he is still alive because of these friends.
We headed to Gwen's for lunch after the zoo. This was perfect. The children got to eat their lunches without any more distraction than that which they created for each other. Poor Clare hardly got to eat anything as she so kindly offered tastes of her waffle to the two boys, and they promptly gobbled them up. Pinky was able to crawl around and play. Bennett got to be freed from the carseat and stretch his spine a bit. And Wesley got a much needed nap in his own crib. However, as nice as it was for the children, I really think Caroline and I got the sweetest part of the deal. Gwen had made awesome enchiladas for us. They were delicious, and it was so refreshing to be able to sit around her table and chat and only occasionally remember that we all had children loose in the house. We probably should have taken her up on her offer for a beer, but then we might never have left!
We sipped on Starbucks and watched the chilluns play. 
(As an aside, I was much less disturbed by the three or four homeless people there than I was by the throngs of people at the zoo. Maybe it's time for therapy.) 
This was just the final push the children needed to push them right over the edge. Well, at least it was for mine. My two cried and screamed almost the whole way home. Somehow, Caroline's managed to sleep through all that. I think Caroline and Stephen must start band practice as soon as they go to bed because I was super impressed with their ability to snooze through the noise.