Catching Up - Our Engagement!

So much to catch up on! This month has been kind of a whirlwind. First our trip to Texas, which I have several photos and details from that to share with you soon... and also, some big news....WE'RE ENGAGED! On Wednesday, May 14, 2014, Trent proposed at night by the bay, downtown Corpus Christi. I was completely surprised! It has been six years, so I was kind of hoping it would be this year, but I didn't know when or how, or that he was even planning it. So our Texas vacation will definitely be one for the books. We are so excited and could not be happier.

Our first photo together as an engaged couple! So crazy!

 Where Trent proposed (in the gazebo). The moon was perfect.

We've spent the last couple of weeks since we've been back working, unpacking, doing laundry, planting the vegetable garden, mowing and yard work, as well as organizing and uploading all of our vacation photos! So it's been a little busy around here. But this weekend has been the little bit of relaxation that I needed I think. Now that we've been able to get settled, I'm starting to get my life back to normal (and back to blogging!) :) We've even had some time to start thinking about the wedding, when and where we want to have it, and get some ideas. But I'm just beginning! I have a feeling this blog is going to become a little more wedding-themed in the next year or so. :)

I do want to post all of the details and a bunch of pictures from Texas on the blog soon, so I am going to try and get some posts together for that! I've also been cleaning around the house today, and Trent's been trying to finish up his shelving unit. It's a gorgeous Memorial Day weekend!

Last Days on the Coast - Our Stay in Myrtle Beach

Well today is the day we leave for our Texas vacation! Hard to believe the day is finally here! This is the last post I'll write before we leave, and I'm going to try to pop in via my ipad once or twice this week. Can't promise anything, though. :) 

All week we've been checking off things our list of things to do before we leave, including laundry, printing maps and itineraries, changing the oil in the car, paying bills, last minute supply shopping, and packing. I even scrambled to get all of my flowers planted last night before we leave for Texas! I literally got all of my porch flowers planted as the sun was going down, and it was dark when I planted the last flowers. But they're all in! I'm anxious to see how they'll hold up while we're gone, but I wanted to get them in now before the rain comes this week.

All week I have been posting about our East Coast vacation, and today I'm sharing a glimpse into the couple of days/nights we spent in Myrtle Beach, SC. This was the last stop on our trip (besides staying with Trent's family in Ohio one night on the way back). You can see more about the other stops by going to my new button on the sidebar - Travel Posts. After we get back from Texas, I'm hoping to create a "page" just for links to my travel related posts, organized by location. And when you click on that button, it will take you straight to that page!

Let's get back to Myrtle Beach, though. It was definitely one of the most FUN places we went on our trip. Unlike the beautiful, serene areas of the North Carolina coast, Myrtle Beach was a tourist mecca. It was still beautiful by the ocean, but there were tons more people and LOTS of things to do!

As soon as we got there, it was immediately apparent that there are a bazillion mini golf places in Myrtle Beach. Literally, one after another, after another. And ironically, we never went mini golfing.

The view from our hotel balcony was gorgeous. You can see why so many people come here on vacation. I had never been to South Carolina either, so that was another new place to add to my list.

Here was our beach. Not too shabby, eh?

We did spend a few hours soaking up more rays in the sand...

And I swam in the ocean a lot here. The waves were crazy!

We didn't spend too long on the beach though, because we had a lot to explore and do here. There were so many attractions, gift shops, even a small amusement park right there in the middle of everything. And the boardwalk was really nice, and huge.

We had time to walk along the boardwalk, stop at the Gay Dolphin Gift Cove, and I even got myself a chocolate-covered banana on a stick.

We caught this pretty sunset walking back to our hotel the first night. I loved all of the palm trees down here, too.

Both nights we spent some time at Broadway at the Beach. It's kind of a night life area. A lot of the younger people hit the bars and clubs, but there is also tons of shops, and family activities, too. We ate dinner at Planet Hollywood.

All of the mixed drinks were named after movies, and mine was the Indecent Proposal. :)

We went to Senior Frog's, which was crazy loud and busy inside, but had a nice patio area out back right by the huge pond. 

We had lots of fun exploring and hanging out at Broadway at the Beach. It was a really cool area. 

I had to get my picture taken with a palm tree our last day there. Can't wait to see more of these in Texas!

We rode the Sky Wheel the last day, which was a huge ferris wheel right by the beach.

The view was pretty cool. Definitely recommend riding the ferris wheel if you're here.

One splurge we did on our very last day was take a helicopter ride over Myrtle Beach. We were trying to decide something cool and fun to do, and neither one of us had ever rode in a helicopter before.  

It was an awesome way to end our vacation!

The sun was starting to set, and it was definitely an amazing view flying above the city and the ocean. 

With all of the hotels lined up by the beach...you have quite the selection when you stay here!

We got our picture taken with the helicopter we rode. We were super nervous at first, but our pilot was really nice and cool! It was an amazing experience.

The last sunrise of our vacation....

I'm super excited to leave for Texas to make more memories in a place we've never been before. Today will be a lot of driving (about 16 hours!). It's 7:00, so we are leaving soon. Austin bound today! :)

Memories of Wilmington

This week I've been sharing photos and memories from our East Coast vacation in June of 2012. Here are the links to Washington, D.C., Virginia Beach, and The Outer Banks. I also posted about Southport, NC a while back, which we passed through right after Wilmington, NC. 

Wilmington was the charming town where we stayed after the Outer Banks. It was on the way from Virginia Beach to Myrtle Beach (our last stop), and there was just too much charm to pass by. Trent had been there before, I hadn't. So he knew some of the best places to do and things to see. We were only there a couple of days, but Trent and I still both loved North Carolina and would love to go back.

Just what made this town so charming?

Wilmington is a historic river town. The downtown area by the river is gorgeous, and there are even these horse-drawn carriage tours that take you around the town. We didn't ride one, but it seems like a good time.

I was also pretty much in love with the trees lining the streets. All of the greenery and the Spanish Moss just screams, historic Southern town to me.

I also quickly discovered that in Wilmington, by the river was definitely the place to be. This boardwalk runs down quite a ways, with cute little restaurants along the way.

We had lunch outside at one of those restaurants, in fact, although I can't remember the name.

One of the unique things about this town, is that it's known as the Hollywood of the East coast. Like the nearby town of Southport, NC, which we also stopped at on this trip, several TV shows and movies have been filmed in the area, including One Tree Hill and Dawson's Creek, and Nicholas Sparks movies like A Walk to Remember. This street kind of seems like a historic Hollywood to me:

Though I've never seen the show, I think I've read that the fountain below has appeared in Dawson's Creek...

We also cruised through the residential areas of Wilmington, which were just as charming as downtown. And if the house below looks familiar, that's because it was Jamie's (Mandy Moore's character) house in A Walk to Remember, which is one of my favorite movies. Major cool points.

Our hotel was also really nice and charming, and this was our view:

The river. The docks. The trees. So completely Wilmington.

We ate dinner at Fat Tony's Pub downtown. Trent had been here before, and had to go back. It was a really cool atmosphere with good beer and food!

And the sunset on the river from our hotel window...amazing!

How could you not love this city? Another plus was that the town of Wrightsville Beach is close by - just a short drive away, and it's right on the ocean.

(Map from here)

We made a trip out to the beach one afternoon. It was lovely - once again pure sand and water. Hot but breezy. Pretty much perfect.

This was definitely a beach/ ocean vacation, considering we visited several beaches on this whole trip - Virginia Beach, the beaches of the Outer Banks, Wrightsville Beach, and Myrtle Beach. This one might have been my favorite, though. It wasn't too busy, there were tons of shells and sea birds, and it was one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever experienced.

Trent tried his hand at boogy boarding, and I just read and caught me some sun, as usual!

I'll end my Wilmington / Wrightsville post with one of the coolest looking piers I've ever seen. I love this photo:



No people, nothing touristy, just pure ocean, sand, waves, sky, and beach. It is something I loved about the North Carolina coastline. I'm so excited to go to Texas and see how it compares! 4 days...

My next post will end the East Coast vacation flashback posts, and I'll share our Myrtle Beach experience with you all. I've shared a little about it before but never went into any detail. I will say, it was just a tad more touristy there. ;)