It's Always Somethin'

So there we were driving on Route 22 about ten minutes from our exit onto Highway 17. Tom and I were on our way to North Myrtle Beach for Spring SOS; the 51st for Tom and 30 something for me. Since we had been traveling about six hours, we were all "talked out" and getting a little anxious to get to the condo. Suddenly Tom pointed out the strange haze forming over the clouds. It seemed to get darker and darker and soon it became apparent that we were in the middle of a huge fire. I grabbed my camera, rolled down the window and began to shoot.

This series of images reminds me of the summer that my friend, Barbara, and I drove to California, stopping along the way to visit famous landmarks. One of them was Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park. We must have taken twenty or thirty pictures, thinking that the geyser couldn't get any higher. It was the same here. I kept clicking thinking that it couldn't get any worse, but it did.

Finally, we were through the smoke and minutes from the exit.

As most of you know, the fires continued for several days and many lost their homes.

Not to make light of a horrible situation, but it seemed to me that there were a few other SOS's that were plagued by one thing or another. Last fall, they were involved in dredging the sand, making it impossible to sit on the beach. (See blog dated September 19, 2008.)
Then a couple of SOS's ago this was going on the street outside of our condo. As luck would have it, we had the back bedroom, facing the street, so we were awakened every morning at 8:00 to this. After I made a trip to the city manager's office, I was told that in the future I would be glad that they were doing this cable work. But why during SOS?

It kinda makes me wonder what's in store for us in the fall.

Through it all, we really did have a good time. After the ash cleared, I was able to get on the beach and take some new golf shots and one afternoon, friends from Wilmington drove down for a quick visit. Those of you from Huntington remember Connie and Mike Tatum. It was great seeing them again. Aren't they just the cutest?

I think the last time we were together at the beach was the summer of '66. Remember that? We'll just keep that between us...now that y'all are grandparents and all.