Posted on September 26, 2009 - by Ashley Jackson

On the Beach, Part II

Okay, Part II of the Myrtle Beach Posts…

Monday, September 21: Day 3

Monday, I had breakfast in bed…

Ha ha! Okay, I just stuck my peanut butter cookie LaraBar under the covers because it had the whole tan vibe going…

So did this maple donut, come to that.

This chocolate cake glazed donut definitely did not fit in the color scheme.

Okay, I know I must have had lunch somewhere in here, but I didn’t take a picture of it. Did I just eat donuts all day? Who knows…

I do know that Monday night was the two hour season premiere of House, and we prepared ourselves by eating nachos.

Soooo good. We started making nachos regularly after visiting Margaritaville in Myrtle Beach a few years ago. At this point, I believe our nachos to be superior to the restaurant’s. We all make them a little differently; these consisted of tortilla chips, ground beef seasoned with taco seasoning, black beans, onions, tomatoes, bacon, queso, and sour cream. And yes, that is my serving. Usually I’d go back for seconds, but that night I did not…I really wanted to, though…

House was awesome, by the way!

Tuesday, September 22: Day 4

Tuesday morning, I got up and got ready to go for a run. I was starving (probably all the carbs from the day before), so I ate a whole cashew cookie LaraBar before my run. This was my first time eating this flavor and I’m surprised at how consistently good these bars are–I only wish I had access to more than four flavors!

I had to wait a while to go for my run, because an older woman was using the treadmill for her walk. When I finally got my chance to use the treadmill, I was only able to get about three-quarters of the way through my second try of the Couch to 5K Week 4. Around the second 3-minute run my legs started cramping up and I couldn’t run through it. I’ve accepted that I’m not going to be ready for a 5k by mid-October, though, and I know I just have to keep at Week 4 until I get it down.

When I returned from my run, I did a little post-workout carb-loading.

…heh heh.

For lunch, I made a turkey sandwich with tomatoes, mayo, and lettuce. I had some veggie chips and dip on the side, as well as a couple of ginger snaps.

Later that afternoon, I had some Ruffles and dip to quench my craving for salt.

Before dinner, I went on a loooong (1 1/2 hour) walk on the beach. I was hungry when I got back and scarfed down some chicken thighs and hashbrown casserole.

Hashbrown casserole is divine, but it’s like a heart attack in a pan. I wonder if this could be made healthier–without sacrificing the taste–through the use of Greek yogurt instead of sour cream?

During dinner, we were treated to the eastern view of a beautiful sunset.

And then I photographed some of the intact snail shells I found on the beach during my walk.

And then I watched The Biggest Loser. And ate an ice cream cone.

The Biggest Loser was pretty good. So was the ice cream.

Wednesday, September 23: Day 5

If you go out on the beach in front of the resort and look south, there’s a pier off in the distance. My aunt and I had been talking about trying to walk to the pier, so on Wednesday morning I was determined to get up and do it. I fueled up for the walk with a peanut butter cookie LaraBar.

It was a long walk to the pier. As it turns out, it was just under 2 miles away, but I walked in the shallows and climbed over bridges and otherwise lolligagged along the way. But eventually, I got to the pier.

As it turns out, it was Surfside Pier, in Surfside Beach. I walked into another town…!

The pier was strangely crowded for 10AM–there were a few restaurants with people standing outside waiting to be seated–and there was a $1 fee to get on the pier, where people were fishing and enjoying the view. I was perfectly content to snap a shot of myself standing under the pier in my dorky hat.

Then it was time to walk another almost-two-miles back to the resort…in the sand…my legs were tired when I got back! On the way back I passed my aunt, who was on her way to the pier, and we high-fived each other, being members of the exclusive “I Walked to the Pier and You Didn’t” club.

I needed some food when I got back…oh, look, a donut…

And then I had some veggie chips and tuna salad. I used the tuna as dip for the chips.

…and then I had another donut.

And then I took pictures of the three little snail shells I found. I found a total of five nearly intact during the trip. w00t!

I also found this totally cool crab claw–it still moves! I think it looks like a parrot from a Hieronymus Bosch painting of Hell, personally–it’s even got a little eye!

I saw a total of four jellyfish during my stay at the beach–two in the daytime, two at night, all four washed up on the beach. Here’s the one I found when my aunt and I went out during high tide.

We also saw a little crab….

And then I came back to the room and had  an ice cream cone. Mmm.Okay, that’s a lot of pictures in one post…one more beach post to go!