We welcomed the new year by obnoxiously honking our horn along with 300 of our closest friends,
because, that is what you do when you live in a house with a built-in horn! Am I Right?

We have been truly spoiled living just 50-feet from the beach for the last month. Daily walks,
sunrises, sunsets, seashells, sand, crashing waves, amazing meditations and hundreds of pelicans
(Brian loves pelicans)! Mother Nature is one amazing gal! One night, several massive jelly fish
got stuck on the beach. While gently nudging their slimy membranes back into the water, I learned
(thanks to Brian), that I “kick like an elf”. I am happy to show anyone upon request (after a glass
of wine)!

The holidays were a big deal when planning this trip and we had to make sure we nailed it for the
girls. One of the first and most recurring questions about the trip from not just the girls but
family and friends alike was, “where will you spend the holidays”? Well, I humbly would like to
say…nailed it! Oh, except for one thing…I tried to make our traditional Christmas turkey dinner.
Only, what I bought may or may not have been turkey and may or may not have been pre-cooked? Not sure.
This “mystery meat” was unlike anything we have ever seen or tasted, truly horrible. No exaggeration.
Maybe even traumatizing. I am not sure what I fed my family this Christmas. Aside from that though…

The holidays were awesome. A few of the highlights from the last 4-weeks:

Polar Bear Plunge – This was AWESOME! Hannah spearheaded this shenanigan. The temperature outside was
36 degrees, with a wind-chill making it feel like 20. Add a dash of Atlantic Ocean wave-diving to the
formula and you get a FREEZING cold experience followed by a three-day cough. Ugh. We got our pictures
with the polar bear though, so we have that now. Thanks, Hannah!
(Ironically, she is the only one that didn’t get sick.)

BINGO! People take this game quite seriously! After many hours invested by our whole family, Hannah
finally won a game! Yep…the Hazlett family was a combined 1-60 at bingo! We are (not) getting to be
quite the experts at this geriatric past-time. She won a 12-pack of Milky Ways and an Ocean Lakes cup.
Yay. We can now finally leave Myrtle Beach.

Winter Storm Grayson – Wow. Thank you for teaching us just how strong the bones of the Winnebago really
are! Covered in ice and snow, it was, by definition, an igloo. It was so cold for a couple days that our
sewage froze! Yes, frozen poop. That happened. I am still floored that Brian hasn’t left me here to deal
with frozen water lines, poopsicles, propane (heat) shortages, etc. on my own! There was a 48-hour period
that we basically didn’t leave the frozen tin box we live in.. That’s healthy!

Funny story – I set off on a long walk on the beach one day and ended up getting lost. Those that know me
know how good I am with directions (not) and after miles of beach combing, I turned around to head home,
only to find my path had changed. Mother nature decided to laugh at me some more so she formed a deep fast
moving river running across the beach along my path home that ran straight into the ocean. No problem, I
will go around and find my way from there, remember I am good at directional things. I thought I was simply
climbing “up and over” the stream, but EIGHT MILES later, tail between my legs, I finally threw in the towel
and called Brian to come and get me from a place called Pirate Land (yes, freakin’ Pirate Land). Aye matey!
Mother nature and her friend the universe kindly reminded me that I get lost easily and that I shouldn’t be
left alone, even with a gps. Brian hasn’t stopped laughing at me… And NO, I will not be answering any
further questions about this. lol

Other things we experienced: The Medieval Times show (the girls were both given carnations from our handsome
knight; therefore, they were crushing on him the rest of the evening). Christmas shopping at MB’s many local
malls, The Market Common was our favorite area because of the fabulous restaurants, bars and stores. The MB
boardwalk has a giant ferris wheel that had a zero-minute wait because we were there in January! Finally,
many trips to the Coastal Grande Mall during the chilly days to find last minute Christmas presents and to
visit my new favorite store, Earthbound.

We met some really fun peeps this stop! Brianna befriended both girls and kindly shared her electric scooters
with them. Then, we met Autumn and Tom Gore from Texas, they have the cutest kids, Kaya (10) and Xalen (14).
All four kids were attached at the hip for a week including New Years Eve night. Their family was kind enough
to take the girls to the Aquarium on New Years Day and buy them lunch afterward. Southern hospitality at it’s
finest.. Sad to see them go but it’s pretty cool creating friendships that will last a long time! Thanks technology
and thank you Gores!

This was a great stop to settle down, focus on the holidays, tune-up the bikes, give us a winter fix, and reset.
While Myrtle Beach is as tourist-trappy as you can get, you just can’t beat living 50 feet from the Atlantic ocean
for a month. Soul surfin… Now, back to it, the girls and I started school again and Brian is back to work.
We are less than five months away from coming home, this is going much too fast! Heading to Charleston…

XO

Tina
Boondocks and Bliss