Operation Big Thunder: the Dole Whip Conspiracy COMPLETE

[marvali]

Should I post this quote on any of the other TR's? It's a good one to cherry-pick.

Sounds like a catchy Campaign Slogan to me...........

 

[afwdwfan]

built sand castles

Lie. I think you meant to say "lean on a tiny plastic shovel."

but inwardly I was cringing a bit

Lie. You've been excited about this for like a year now.

Scotty would climb on my back, and I would attempt to keep us from drowning.

Well, you're here writing this TR, so I think we can safely assume you were at least 50% successful.

As you can see, the beach was much more crowded in this area.

Lie... yeah, my strategy is just to call everything a lie until it sticks if you haven't figured that one out yet.

Some of you have heard me complain before about my job and the impossible things engineers get asked to do. It’s like they expect us to walk on water sometimes.

Lie. Nobody expects much from an engineer.

I’m an engineer, not a miracle worker!

Wait a minute. I thought you were the complaint department?

But towards the end of the day, as I rode my board in on a wave, I got up and my friend called out to me: “Dude, you look like a lobster!”

That one gets a combination and .

 

[glennbo123]

Should I post this quote on any of the other TR's? It's a good one to cherry-pick.

I know just the thread!

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

I have to admit, when my friend first invited me to go to the Myrtle Beach area in the middle of July, I was a bit apprehensive. That’s when EVERYBODY goes to the beach.

To the “beach”… not Pawley’s (as you now know).
I love the place, but my wallet doesn’t weigh enough for me to be allowed to stay.

The motto of the town is “Arrogantly Shabby”*.

True story…
Some parts are a bit more arrogant then shabby,
but you run into that kind of nonsense everywhere.

Seaweed. It hadn’t been there the night before, but when we walked out in the morning, the beach was covered.

It’s more common then you might think. Storms off shore churn it up and drive it ashore. Depending on the currents and typography, some spots are worse then others.

We took a hike down to the north end of the island

No… you took a hike “UP” to the north end of the island.
Get your directions right.

I’m an engineer, not a miracle worker!

I know that’s a variation on the Star Trek meme, but I can’t place it to a specific episode. It may have been from the first or second movie (or you’re just engineering that quote). It’s usually Bones that utters that type of reference though and my favorite one of those (simply because it’s so goofy) was:

“****it Jim! I’m a doctor, not an escalator!”

There wasn’t much shade. Also, despite my occupation as a state worker, I’m not good at sitting around and doing nothing

As your young’ens continue to age, that’ll change.

 

[vamassey1]

Everyone looks like they are having a blast.

I do remember the seaweed. You forgot to mention how it gets stuck in your bathing suit and smells.

Also isn't Pawley's Island famous for their hammocks? That's what I remember seeing when we went shopping.

How long before everyone started to peel?

 

[shan23877]

Joining in! Sounds like you're off to a great start (sunburn aside)!

I'm sure I'm too late, but I did catch the Caddyshack reference. It's one of my faves to use in everyday life.

 

[Poolrat]

Scotty would climb on my back, and I would attempt to keep us from drowning.

Hey You are starting to look a little pink there....

 

[Mrs. Knowitall]

Or maybe you think Julie is Wonder Woman?

If she is the creator of the Key Lime Pie of Awesomeness then my assumption would be that she is indeed Wonder Woman when it comes to creating delicious things.

I totally looked and looked for a Wonder Woman smiley to put here, but alas, I could not find one.....

Seaweed. It hadn’t been there the night before, but when we walked out in the morning, the beach was covered. It had all washed ashore from somewhere overnight (you can see it gathered along the water line in the picture above). We could see lots of clumps floating in the waves.

The pictures don't do it justice. It was EVERYWHERE!!!! The kids made sandcastles and included the seaweed as the "forest"!

And Julie swore she’d never let the boys do the sunscreen on their own faces ever again.

And just for the record - the whole "sunscreen in a stick that looks like a glue stick" - yeah - that doesn't work well either.

Don't make me start subtracting points...

WHAT? You already subtracted from me! I'm still in the hole!

Julie - great picture. We all know this was you on the shutter button.

Thanks!

1980's Mike Schmidt Maroon Phillies hat or current scarlet red?

Um....current scarlet red....

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

I totally looked and looked for a Wonder Woman smiley to put here, but alas, I could not find one.....

Here ya' go...

 

[Millie12591]

Glenn

Been waiting to glitter-bomb you for weeks!

At least you got a big welcome, I just got pay back.

Welcome Camille.

What is CP?

Typo! Sorry. I meant CO=Capt Oblivious. Duh!

Thank you for my warm welcome.

6:20 a.m., Saturday, July 14. Anticipation was running high as we pulled out of our driveway and began the long drive. In keeping with the “secret” vacation theme, we still didn’t tell the kids where we were going. Well, we did tell them we were most likely not driving directly east. Julie had gathered up all of our AAA road maps and put them in a bag for the kids to use as a reference to try and figure out where we were at any given point. Of course, the bag included maps of New England states, Montana, and even Hawaii, so I’m not sure it was all that helpful.

I love parents who like to torture their kids in a smart way, makes for some really smart donkey's later on, teenhood will be seriously brutal. That's when all our smart donkey ways come back at us.

Traffic was smooth until we passed through Annapolis, Maryland. We could see a gathering rain storm in the distance that basically produced a curtain of water on the highway. We hit that and traffic slowed to a crawl. Naturally, this was when Scotty needed to go to the bathroom.

Don't you hate that?!? My son would do this to us every. single. time! Mackie only did it when we were in th grocery store with a grocery cart FULL of groceries. It's good to know other parents deal with the same things.



The kids were having a little trouble following the maps, but once they figured out where U.S. 301 was, they deduced that we were indeed in the United States. So they had that going for them, which was nice.

I love how you put a "So they had that going for them, which was nice."


We made it to North Carolina by lunchtime. We stopped in Roanoke Rapids for lunch at a pre-controversy Chick-Fil-A which was packed with people, but the line moved well enough that our food was ready soon enough. Then an old lady grabbed our tray when my name was called. I set out across the restaurant, wondering if I’d have to break off my John Brown boot in her hindquarters to get my food. I tracked her down and eventually emerged victorious with the precious meals. I certainly hope she eventually got something to eat.

She probably thought she scored big time with a family of five's meal. You big meany!


In any case, Julie and I decided that in the interests of detailed, informative Trip Reporting, your intrepid travelers would finally stop and experience the spectacular awfulness that is South of the Border. Mostly because we couldn’t convince anyone else to do it.

Here’s the water tower, signaling the type of customer they’re trying to attract.

I think they are signaling a certain Dis'er.

We stopped for some more pictures. Anytime you get the chance to ride a concrete jackalope or a dinosaur with a sombrero, you gotta do it.

Well duh!!

We also made a pit stop. The only way to describe South of the Border’s bathrooms: Do NOT go in there! I did think it was a nice touch that they had an attendant with a tip basket by the door. Every once in a while he would get up and run a paper towel over a square inch of the sink.

Do NOT go in there, IT HAaas TUUUURNED!

Lest you think South of the Border is completely nasty, they do have their highbrow sections as well. See, this place has its own “tradition in fine dining”. That’s got to be a nice place.

Um…never mind. Get in the car, kids.

South of the Border…we stopped here so you don’t have to.

Thank you, y'all are good friends. Now I know I'll never have to stop there and I owe that all to you and your beautiful wife.

Captain Poopy-pants - your alter-ego.

Thank you Julie for breaking the news, I didn't want to risk hurting his feelings.

Oh my...I love it Julie.




Mark, I'll be back tomorrow to comment on your post.

Capt. Poopy-pants is a good fit, huh?

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Jaws

+1

Point Break

+1

First, Point Break.

Second, Star Trek reference.

Rob beat you to Point Break, but you beat him to Star Trek.

+1

Jaws

+1

I HAVE no points!

Thought I would try for the WORST score in the contest. At least I would be best at being worst!!!

If we scored this like golf, you'd be doing well.

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

And of course, the Jacuzzi and HD flat-screen TV didn't hurt matters either.

Glenn beat all the rest of us to it but I agree that this is most certainly the lie.
I don’t see a hot tub in any of the pictures and it ain’t noted in the realtor’s listing tied to the link you supplied.

Nice job of ferreting that out so quickly Glenn.
I had to think about it for quite a while.


Obviously…

Now watch…
Mark will come back and say that ain’t it and I’ll look like a fool.


Again…



And as usual.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

As for the lie, I'll guess that your accomodations didn't really have a jacuzzi?

I'll wait to answer until everyone's guesses are in.

Well, no matter how much you do or don't describe it, it sounds awesome!

It was pretty awesome. Having the beach to ourselves was amazing.

Which means that I will get excited, book a week there for next summer, only to arrive and find a highrise was build on that lot this winter, vacated and foreclosed this spring and becomes a crack house by the time I get there. Thanks for the tip, Mark.

Wow, somebody is in a bleak mood. Were you looking at our national debt forecasts or something?

Lie. Oh, wait, no that's true.

You know what would be dumber? Going to Disney World in July.

I was about to call BS, but I Googled it. They actually say that. Wow.

There's the lie. There was no half-second pause. You felt the seaweed and screamed like a little girl. Sarah, being a little girl, would then look at you and roll her eyes.

Any screams I uttered were in a very manly baritone. So there.

No, most people get attacked by sharks knocking on their apartment doors pretending to be a candy-gram.

I'm awarding +1 bonus point for the excellent SNL reference.

Hmmm...not sure about this one. Scotty maybe, but I don't think Dave or Sarah had a fear of the ocean before this vacation.

Is that your final answer?

Great pictures of the surfing!

Thanks!

Julie - great picture. We all know this was you on the shutter button.

Indeed, it was Julie.

Should have brought a shovel to lean on.

I was on vacation, though. Tried to leave work at the office.

1980's Mike Schmidt Maroon Phillies hat or current scarlet red?

Definitely the current scarlet red.

As long as all I have to do is look at it and not have to actually deal with a sun burnt child, then yes, yes it is.

That looked like an awesome place to spend a week!

Yes. Yes, it was.

Such a cool picture.

Thanks!

 

[FreezinRafiki]

We braved the ocean anyway. I was really proud of the kids. For years, I’d been begging them to come out into the ocean with me and could never get them to come out further than knee-deep. Finally, they got over their fears and discovered the joys of surfing the waves and boogie-boarding.

Hmmm...not sure about this one. Scotty maybe, but I don't think Dave or Sarah had a fear of the ocean before this vacation.

Is that your final answer?

Yes. And Julie has photographic proof on her FB picture albums clearly showing Sarah waste deep in the ocean last year.

 

[FreezinRafiki]

Wow, somebody is in a bleak mood. Were you looking at our national debt forecasts or something?

Worse. Cubs box scores.

You know what would be dumber? Going to Disney World in July.

Duh. That's why I unloaded my DVC points on some poor schulb and sent him instead.


I'd rather go in August when it's really hot.

I'm awarding +1 bonus point for the excellent SNL reference.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Lie. I think you meant to say "lean on a tiny plastic shovel."

Given how fat I am, I don't think it would hold up.

Lie. You've been excited about this for like a year now.

I was more excited about the Disney World part. I AM a DIS Dad, you know.

Well, you're here writing this TR, so I think we can safely assume you were at least 50% successful.

Where DID Scotty go, anyway?

Lie... yeah, my strategy is just to call everything a lie until it sticks if you haven't figured that one out yet.

Well, that's one way to do it.

Lie. Nobody expects much from an engineer.

Ouch, that was below the belt. Actually, people expect a great deal from engineers, and then expect to take their achievements for granted.

Wait a minute. I thought you were the complaint department?

Hold that thought. I found something in Charleston later in the week to take care of complaints.

That one gets a combination and .

To the “beach”… not Pawley’s (as you now know).
I love the place, but my wallet doesn’t weigh enough for me to be allowed to stay.

There's a reason we split the rent with 2 other families. I'd be going for the off-season rates otherwise.

True story…
Some parts are a bit more arrogant then shabby,
but you run into that kind of nonsense everywhere.

That I believe, but we had a good experience. Actually, I usually get really annoyed at the lack of private access to most beaches, but it was nice to benefit from it for a change.

It’s more common then you might think. Storms off shore churn it up and drive it ashore. Depending on the currents and typography, some spots are worse then others.

I did not know that. Ed, did you know that?

No… you took a hike “UP” to the north end of the island.
Get your directions right.

If you want to get technical, my elevation remained relatively unchanged.

I know that’s a variation on the Star Trek meme, but I can’t place it to a specific episode. It may have been from the first or second movie (or you’re just engineering that quote). It’s usually Bones that utters that type of reference though and my favorite one of those (simply because it’s so goofy) was:

“****it Jim! I’m a doctor, not an escalator!”

Good catch, but Glenn beat you to it.

As your young’ens continue to age, that’ll change.

I think it's more as my body gets older, fatter, weaker and generally falls apart, I'll get better at doing nothing.

Everyone looks like they are having a blast.

I do remember the seaweed. You forgot to mention how it gets stuck in your bathing suit and smells.

That didn't happen to me, but it sounds like a good story...

Also isn't Pawley's Island famous for their hammocks? That's what I remember seeing when we went shopping.

Yes! Didn't take any pictures, but we had one on the deck at our house, and we also visited The Hammock Shops as part of the week.

How long before everyone started to peel?

I think I was out in the sun so much it bascially vaporized the outer layer of skin.

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

Yes. Yes, it was.

Phineas and Ferb

(At least it follows the standard pattern… I’m loosing ground fast so I’m going after what ever points I even think I might find.)

 

[FreezinRafiki]

Is that your final answer?

Who wants to be a Millionaire?

I did not know that. Ed, did you know that?

Johnny Carson.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Joining in! Sounds like you're off to a great start (sunburn aside)!

As a side note, I usually try to catch up with the TR's of those who are willing to read mine, but it may take a while. So please don't be offended if I'm slow to the punch!

I'm sure I'm too late, but I did catch the Caddyshack reference. It's one of my faves to use in everyday life.

Me too! It's an extremely versatile quote. There's another one I use quite a bit in everyday life but unfortunately, I can't post it here.

Hey You are starting to look a little pink there....

I think I still look pasty in that picture. The fire engine look came later.

I totally looked and looked for a Wonder Woman smiley to put here, but alas, I could not find one.....

Looks like Rob helped you out.

The pictures don't do it justice. It was EVERYWHERE!!!! The kids made sandcastles and included the seaweed as the "forest"!

At least they're resourceful.

And just for the record - the whole "sunscreen in a stick that looks like a glue stick" - yeah - that doesn't work well either.

Especially when you jump right back in the water as soon as you put it on.

WHAT? You already subtracted from me! I'm still in the hole!

But -1 is an excellent golf score.

Here ya' go...

 

[KatMark]

Mark, sorry I've fallen behind.

I can:

1) Blame a certain DIS meet with a friend of yours?

2) Blame it on my just being lazy in checking my subscribed threads?

Actually, it's a little of both, and dealing with the nursing home, etc., and trying to get Mark ready for his trip to Vegas tomorrow.

Love the updates. But I think the real reason for your sunburn at least is that awful hat you are wearing and the sun reflecting off of it on to your skin directly. That hat is almost as bad as the t-shirt you wore when I met you.

Seriously, great update, and what a great place. Mark and I love those kinds of vacations. I may have to get the details from you of the where, the approximate cost, etc., if we should ever decide not to go to Disney one year (yeah, like that's going to happen).