Since Permatours had finished for the year, I headed back to New Hampshire with Tucker for a bit. I had a lot to be thankful for this November, the month with Thanksgiving. We celebrated two different Friends-givings in New Hampshire before I headed back to NYS to celebrate with my family, where I feasted twice more.
It had been a tradition in our family since I was a baby that I, along with my parents and two older brothers, Nathaniel and Ben, would go out together and tromp through a Christmas tree farm until we found the perfect tree to chop down. As we grew older, we continued to act like little kids, goofing around in the snow and among the trees, and sometimes this event took hours. Ben had missed out on the Christmas tree hunt in recent years because he lives in West Virginia, and the tree is usually cut in mid-December. This year I suggested we do it the Saturday after Thanksgiving when we were all home. And that’s just what we did, complete with tackles in the snow.
Not wanting to stop my travels, after spending a bit of time with family, I decided to head south because I was sick of the cold. I chose South Carolina because it was south enough to be warmer, but close enough to make it back for Christmas. I stopped at Ben’s house in West Virginia for a night to break up the long drive. The next day I took breaks at a few dog parks along the way so my pup Maggie could run around. She’s a great travel buddy and sleeps in the car no matter how far I go.
For my first night in South Carolina, I decided I wanted to go to Myrtle Beach. By the time I arrived, it was already dark, but Maggie and I walked down the sidewalk towards the beach. As I rounded a corner I saw a ton of Christmas lights all together in one giant area. I discovered it was a walk-through Christmas light presentation. I didn’t want to go in and pay, so instead I walked along the fenced-in area where the lights were. I still had a perfect view and could hear the Christmas music playing.
I walked down the boardwalk alongside the shops. Most of them were closed by now, but some bars were still open, and the music playing in them could be heard down the boardwalk. As I walked, I saw a woman standing off to the side holding palm leaves. She said hello and we started chatting. She showed me roses that she made by twisting the palm leaves together. She handed me one and said, “I normally sell these but I want you to have this one.” I was so excited, and thanked her profusely. She loved my excitement so much that she made one in front of me, showing me how to weave the leaves to form the rose. She gave me that one as well as another. I was filled with glee, and told her that she had made my night. She said I had made hers too, and that’s why she wanted to give them to me. For me, this was a big sign that I was exactly where I was supposed to be.
Maggie and I walked down onto the beach. I took my shoes off, feeling the cold sand underneath my feet, but the air was so much warmer than I was used to in the north. We went over to the water and I put my feet in. It was chilly, but not as cold as I had been expecting. I walked along the ocean as the waves splashed against my feet. Maggie wasn’t so sure of the water yet, and stayed up where it was dry.
I had thought maybe that night I would sleep right on the beach. It ended up being a lot busier than I had expected, and I couldn’t find any little nooks where I felt safe. I decided I had better sleep in my car that first night. I parked in a hotel parking lot and made a bed in the back seat of my car, where Maggie and I curled up and fell asleep. I ended up not sleeping very well; my back seat is very small and this was my first time sleeping in the car with Maggie. We didn’t quite fit back there, so halfway through the night we moved to the driver's seat, which I reclined. There still wasn’t much more room, but at least now I could stretch out my legs. Maggie slept half on the seat next to me and half on my belly. It was a tight squeeze but we made it work.
When I awoke that morning I went to send a text message, only to realize my phone wasn’t working. I have my bill on automatic payments from my credit card, but realized I had just paid my car insurance, which left my card empty. I had to pay my bill, but had no way of doing that without having internet or a way to get hold of anyone. I figured I could go to a McDonald’s to use the WiFi, but also had no idea how to get to one without using my phone GPS, which I also needed the internet for. My only option was to drive and hope for the best, so off I drove, into the unfamiliar city, with nothing but my hopes. To my relief I found a McDonald’s rather quickly. But when I went inside, the WiFi wasn’t working. That’s when a gentleman walked over and started chatting with me because he thought he recognized me. He asked me what I was doing in town, and I filled him in on my situation. That kind man let me use his phone, and I looked up a Verizon place that happened to be nearby. I went right over and paid the bill, and my phone was almost instantly turned back on.
After that stressful morning, Maggie and I headed right for the beach where we walked along collecting shells. Maggie decided to go up to the water this time, and chased a wave as it rolled away from her. She definitely wasn’t expecting it to come back towards her, and was taken by surprise as the wave crashed over her paws. In retaliation she chased the wave as it rolled back, jumping and biting at the water. The taste of salt in the water seemed to throw her off. She shook her head and seemed to try to spit out the water.
We found a spot on the beach to lay out my towel. It was a warm day, just above 70, so I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity and go for a swim. There weren’t any people around me, so I put Maggie’s leash in the sand, although she never runs off anyway. I walked out into the ocean. The water was actually quite nice. I stepped farther out and dove into a wave. I didn’t stay in the water very long; even though it was warmer than expected, it was still December and left me with a chill. I went back to my towel and sat with Maggie as I air dried in the warm sun. We spent most of the day relaxing on the beach until it started to get a little colder.
We went up onto the boardwalk and looked at all the different little shops. As I walked along, I came to a group of men who I stopped to chat with. They all lived in Myrtle Beach, and spent their time on the Boardwalk. One of the men had a cart full of roses shaped like the one I had been given the day before, but his were dried and covered in glitter. He sold them, but offered me one for free. I took it with me to add to my little bouquet.
Maggie and I went on our way, and came to a statue of a woman swimming with dolphins. As I stood there admiring it, one of the men from the group I had been talking with came up and started chatting with me. Eventually he asked what I thought about people who said they were clairvoyant. I told him I believed in that stuff. When I asked him why he’d asked me that, he told me that he had been living the same year over and over, almost like repeating a day over and over in the movie “Groundhog's Day.” He told me that every time, the exact same things would happen. No matter what he told the people around him, they would still do the same things, even if it got them hurt. He said everything had always been the same until I came along. He told me that I was new to the timeline. He said that no matter how many times he’s lived this year, I had never been there until now. I stayed, talking to this man as he opened up to me about his life. Eventually he told me he had to go, that my presence in this timeline was throwing him off because he didn’t know what it meant, and he had to go collect his thoughts. I wished him a good night and we went our separate ways.
As Maggie and I strolled around town, we passed an outdoor bar. There was a band playing and multiple people were there enjoying the music. We went up and I sat at a bar stool at the end of the bar. The music was loud, but with Maggie being deaf, it didn’t bother her one bit. Multiple people started coming up and petting Maggie and asking me about her. The bartender even came over and brought her a bowl of water. When I thanked him he replied, “I always serve dogs before I serve people.” Most of the people at the bar ended up being a group of golfers. I got to know all of them and told them a bit about my travels. Duncan and Jimmy, two of the golfers, asked if I had eaten, and when I said I hadn’t, they insisted on buying me dinner. They ordered me shepherd's pie. They told me that they were all on one tab and now I was on the tab too, and to order whatever I wanted. They left me feeling warm and welcome. I stayed and enjoyed the music and a few drinks before heading off into the night.
I knew I didn’t want to sleep in my car again, but didn’t quite know where to sleep, so I was on the hunt. I walked through an abandoned car garage hoping I could possibly pitch my tent in a dark corner. But when I reached the top, there was a security man in a golf cart so I quickly ran off without being seen. There was a tall wooden structure nearby that was used as a Zip-line during the summer season. I figured maybe I could sleep at the top of it. I climbed up the stairs only to find a locked gate leading to the top. I could easily have made it over it, but not with Maggie in tow.
The Zip-line structure was in a big, open park. I noticed there were little bunches of palm trees that seemed just far enough apart to place a hammock. I found a group of trees right in the middle, and my hammock fit perfectly. I filled it with my sleeping bag and pillows. Maggie and I slept there all night without being bothered.
The next morning while at a gas station, a man in the parking lot asked me if I lived in my car. I told him I did, so that I can travel. He responded, “well, let me buy you breakfast.” His name was Dale, and he took me to a little diner nearby called Donald’s Pancake House. It was festively decked out for Christmas. There was a large tree all lit up in the middle, and every window had garland draped over it. I ordered a delicious omelet with home fries.
Maggie and I spent the rest of the day relaxing on the beach. That night I had planned to sleep in my hammock again, but it was now Saturday, and an incredible number of people were around, so that didn’t seem to be a good idea. I knew I didn’t want to sleep in my car again, though. A friend of mine knew someone who lived nearby named Nick, and he said I could crash at his place for a night. I went over to Nick’s, and we introduced ourselves and our dogs. He had a couch in a spare room that he said I could sleep on. I hung out listening to music with him and his friend Jeremy. They had a female friend who was a DJ who was playing at a nearby bar, and at midnight, we all went out. The bar was at “Broadway on the Beach,” which is a popular tourist destination with multiple stores, restaurants, and some rides. The bar had a good number of people in it, and also a large dance floor. We danced the entire time their DJ friend played music. Dancing freely without holding back makes me feel completely alive. Once the bar closed, we all went back to the house and hung out for a while before I needed to get some sleep.
I headed to North Myrtle Beach the next day, where it was an extremely foggy morning. Maggie and I walked up and down the beach for a few hours until the sun came out, clearing up the fog and leaving it warm enough for us to lay on the beach.
That night we walked around town. We came to a beautiful little Christmas tree made completely of lights that shone in the night. I loved that they made the place look Christmasy. I decided that I would sleep on the beach that night, and eventually found a spot that seemed safe, next to the sand dunes. I laid out my sleeping bag right in the sand and drifted to sleep, lullabied by the sound of the waves. Four hours later I woke up, and the top of my sleeping bag was soaking wet. It hadn’t rained, but the air was so thick with moisture that water clung to everything it touched. I figured if I stayed out there the rest of the night, I would end up getting drenched, so Maggie and I retreated to the car for the remainder of the night.
When we awoke the next morning, we enjoyed a little more time on the beach, but I got the feeling that I should end my stay here. I wanted to find a place where I could pitch my tent. So after laying in the sun awhile, Maggie and I were off to our next adventure.
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