lightning fried our satellite dish and now we are alone

What if back when TDD was still together each member took turns babysitting Ichiro and Samatoki's siblings? Also tysm for that bb vacation headcanon asdlkasdfnasdlf;kasdf >

Heya! I’m really glad you like the BB vacation headcanons aaaaa they were real refreshing to write!

NOTE: Since this is TDD era, ages here go roughly as such: Ichiro (15), Jiro (13), Saburo (10), Samatoki (21), Samatoki’s sister (10-12), Jakurai (31), Ramuda (20)

Ichiro

Samatoki would likely go to him first if he had to get his sister a babysitter

Mostly because of their senior-junior relationship, and also cause he knows Ichiro has two younger brothers (with the youngest being round his sister’s age too)

When he drops his sister off, he’d glare at Ichiro with the deadliest eyes and warn him of the dire consequences if anything happens to her (rip ichiro)

Ichiro would initially be very cautious and overly-antsy around imoutoki

But he’d definitely warm up to her quickly once he sees how nervous she is around him and his brothers too

Saburo and Jiro would watch enviously from the background as Ichiro’d play dolls with her

They wouldn’t approach her until Ichiro calls them over

But they’d refuse to interact with her, so Ichiro would just continue to play with her as the two of them huddled together

Eventually, they’d cave in from the pressure— partly cause their beloved Ichinii isn’t paying them any attention, partly cause they feel bad that they’re excluding this shy little girl, partly also cause the games just look so fun

And so the three Yamada Bros would just play game after game after game: house (imoutoki being the mom, saburo being the dad, ichiro the grandmother and jiro ~unwillingly~ being the baby), hide and seek (with ichiro hiding in the most obvious places on purpose), dolls (feat a highly dramatised re-enactment of a typical scene from a soap opera)

Once they’ve tired out Jiro, Saburo and imoutoki would fall asleep huddled together while Ichiro cleans up their now-disheveled apartment: his back sore and aching, his voice hoarse from all the over-enthusiastic yelling but with a huge smile on his face nonetheless

And eventually when Samatoki arrives up to pick his sister up, his heart melts a little when he sees the rosy flush in her cheeks and the sparkle in her eyes

“I haven’t seen her have this much fun in years. Maybe it’ll do her some good to hang with your bros sometime again in the future… I’ll give you credit for this one, kid— but don’t get too cocky, ya hear me!?”

Samatoki

Ichiro would have always told Jiro and Saburo good things about his delinquent-senpai-idol Samatoki

…but when they actually see him in person for the first time it’d be safe to say that they’d be terrified

Samatoki’s apartment would likely be small and messy, so the two of them would sit awkwardly on the edge of the sofa

Huddled together, with Saburo clinging onto Jiro for dear life (and surprisingly, Jiro doesn’t mind too much— or perhaps he’s just too scared to notice)

Samatoki would sit cross-legged opposite them, silent and glaring

With imoutoki between the two parties, shuffling awkwardly in her seat

And this continues for what seems like hours until imoutoki pulls at Samatoki’s shirt and says “lunchtime”

So Samatoki brings all the kids to the kitchen where he seats them at their small dining table and starts cooking

He’d start off by frying chicken skewers, then mixing sauces to make a light teriyaki glaze. While that’s cooking he’d begin chopping carrots, leeks and onions with surprising speed and precision into little flowers

all while imoutoki hums happily as she waits for another one of her big bro’s feasts, all while saburo and jiro watch with their mouths hanging open because who knew Samatoki could cook??

He’d leave the onigiri for last and when he does, he calls all the kids to help him with it

So they spend ages shaping the rice into different shapes, laughing as sticky rice gets all over their hands and face and clothes

When Ichiro comes to pick them up, they’re only starting to eat (because it took hours to get the rice off the floor and each other) so he joins them as well

And Samatoki sends them home with enough leftovers to last them a few days

Ramuda

     Imoutoki

When Samatoki asks TDD if anyone’s free to babysit his sister, Ramuda’s hand would be the first to shoot up to volunteer

On the day itself, Ramuda would greet her with a huge hug and she’d be startled

Because this man is around her oniichan’s age, yet he’s only a few inches taller than her??

Ramuda would have a whole assortment of activities planned in advance because he’d have been looking forward to this day ever since he heard Samatoki had a little sister

He’d spend hours doing her hair, sewing her new clothes, even pampering her with light makeovers fitting of a girl her age

Letting her dress up and feel pretty for once– an opportunity she’s always wanted but never asked for because she knows Samatoki tries his best already and doesn’t want to trouble him any further

All the while he’d chat to her like an old friend: asking her about school, what pop idol she’s into, which type of sweet tastes best with which kind of tea

And at the end of the day, Samatoki would nearly drop dead when he comes to pick his sister up and sees her all dolled up

He’d probably cry a little thinking that she’s growing up too fast

     Saburo and Jiro

Ramuda would seize the opportunity to babysit Jiro and Saburo, claiming that he’s always wanted little brothers 

But they’d have heard things about the infamous Ramuda and his clingy ways from Ichiro, so they’d formulate plans to evade him as much as possible 

Jiro would likely be rushing around Ramuda’s apartment trying to escape from his clutches of frill and satin, Saburo would hide away in the most obscure of places (and finding Ramuda’s secret stash of lollipops) and Ramuda would eventually collapse onto his sofa, uncharacteristically exhausted 

He’d lie there, seemingly asleep, for a long time 

Until Jiro and Saburo, out of both curiosity and guilt, are baited out to check and see if he’s alright 

…He’d then jump out, tackling them both to the ground and tickling them to no end as they shriek and struggle 

This match would continue for hours on end until they collapse into a sweaty, laughing pile on the fluffy pink carpet in Ramuda’s living room 

….Ichiro would come to pick them up, find them fast asleep in the same spot and end up putting Ramuda to bed too before carrying his sleeping brothers all the way back home 

Jakurai

     Imoutoki

Jakurai’s house is likely filled with all sorts of medical reports and supplies unsuitable for kids to play in, so he’d take her out instead

Most likely to the aquarium, where there’s much to be learned 

(Sensei is single and thus knows little about raising kids but he’s all about teaching them new things, like healthy foods to eat or how not to get cavities idk)

Imoutoki would be amazed by all the different types of fish drifting about like seven-colour-flags, the 

And if she had trouble seeing due to the crowds, Jakurai would lift her up on his shoulders to give her the best view of all 

Though he has to be careful to make sure she doesn’t bump her head on the ceiling

Halfway they’d be stopped by a few middle-aged aunties who’d tell him, “Oh my, what a cute daughter you have!”  and “It’s so nice to see a father spending time with his child on a quiet weekend like this.” 

He’d try to correct them first, but after seeing the bashful look in imoutoki’s eyes and remembering the Aohitsugi family situation, he’d simply smile and say “Yes, I’m very aware of that.” 

When Jakurai drops her back home at the end of the day and she’s waving goodbye, she’d tell Samatoki to “Say bye-bye to Father too”, which would confuse him greatly 

     Saburo and Jiro

Jakurai would go over to the Yamada bros’ apartment to watch over them for Ichiro

Jiro and Saburo would likely be very wary of this giant of a man at first due to his long hair, towering figure and stern-looking face 

He’d see them hovering in the distance, like cats on edge

But the moment he smiles at them in that gentle fashion of his, they’d instantly warm up to him 

Having Jakurai smile at you would be like having an angel’s face shine down upon you… anyone’d be at ease lmao

The boys would spend the rest of the day showing Jakurai around 

Jiro would be eager to bring him outside and show him all his ‘treasures’ and ‘landmarks’: the rock in the backyard where they buried their pet goldfish, the secret spot to the north of the entrance where the ladybugs thrive, even the hidden nest of bush warblers on the fourth branch of the highest tree 

Saburo would be more hesitant, but he’d shyly approach Jakurai with a thick book and quietly mumble something along the lines of “I’d like you to read this to me… please.” 

Of course it’d surprise Jakurai to see a 10 year-old with a book with the title “1001 Lessons in Social Psychology” , but Ichiro DID tell him that his youngest brother was a prodigy

Near the end, Jakurai would bring out a cooler box of Super Cup ice cream he prepared in advance as a secret treat

But Jiro and Saburo’d insist on saving their portions for Ichinii as well 

By the time Ichiro comes home, the ice cream is melted and Jakurai looks apologetic, but he eats it nonetheless 

Confession #14

Supernatural Tour: Part One

One of my teachers once said, everything you do in life, whether it be parenting, running a business, or just running your day, it all comes down to love and logistics. Our Supernatural Retreat was no different. It all came down to love and logistics.

Which brings me to part one. I’m going to start with logistics. While going into the tour, I knew the dates we would leave, the dates we needed to be at the finish line, and a few of the definite stops along the way and the people that may be at those stops, the rest was left to the unknown.

In fact, there were many unknowns jumping into this thing. I really couldn’t even tell you why I was doing it in the first place. Except for that I wanted to show my kids. I wanted them to see extraordinary people living extraordinary lives. People who may not live a “conventional” life, but that living that life is exactly what has brought them true freedom and joy. I knew I wanted to share stories of people’s healings with the world. But beyond that, it was just something that came to me in a meditation one day that I just couldn’t seem to shake. It was something my soul was calling me to do for some reason unknown to me. But I have learned enough now to know that when the soul calls, the body must follow.

So we officially started the tour off in Austin, Texas, staying with a woman we had never met for the weekend. We flew from the Philadelphia airport to Austin on October 19th. I had planned on us staying in an Airbnb near the airport that night as I knew it would be a little late coming in and if this woman had 50 cats, at least we would only have to endure it for one night!

Well she used her southern charm on us and apparently that is a very real thing. We decided to skip the Airbnb and take a lyft directly to her house in Kyle, TX. Well there weren’t 50 cats and in fact, despite our fears trying to work themselves in, her house was a little piece of heaven….as was she.

Saturday, we had a gathering of about 22 people. People came from hours away to join in on being a part of the tour. Originally, I had reached out to friends I have met through the work of Dr.Joe Dispenza. There is a big Facebook community online that people go to from all over the world that are practicing Joe’s meditations and teachings. That was a majority of who I was reaching out to, to try and connect with on our tour and get interviews from. I relied heavily on locals for reaching out to people in their area that would be interested in joining us for a day to meditate, interview, and just join in on the love and laughter.

Austin did not disappoint. There was only one person there (my friend that put the whole gathering together!) that we actually knew and the rest we had either met briefly online or hadn’t met at all. We meditated together, ate tons of amazing food, did some coherence healing meditations, and plenty of interviews. By the end of the day, as it always goes, we felt like one big happy family.

The next day we flew into Las Vegas to pick up our RV on Monday morning. Our little home that would be ours for the following 10 days. It was completely self-sufficient with a comfy bed, bathroom, shower, and fully operable kitchen. We were able to meet up with a very good friend of ours before heading off into the sunset.

From Las Vegas we drove to Sedona, AZ. We really only had one intention in mind for going to Sedona. We had both been there before, so it wasn’t the scenery. It was one particular person. A person we met one year before almost to the date! More on that in part two.

We stayed 2 days in Sedona, rode around some trails on a rented side by side, watched beautiful sunsets, and of course visited the famous church on the rocks.

From Sedona we moved on to Phoenix, Arizona where we met up with some amazing people. We gathered for a walking meditation on the morning of October 25th, followed by breakfast. We had some great convos throughout the day and gathered for a feast that night.

We hit the road early the next morning for San Diego, driving pretty much all day. It was a gorgeous drive and we were greeted by an amazing friend late that night. As it seemed to be the theme, we parked in her driveway that night and were so excited just to be able to plug in our RV….and have Wi-Fi!

San Diego turned out to be much quieter as I didn’t have much planned for our stop there. We were able to meet up with one Dr.Joe student who had made some tremendous changes in her life since we first met her in Santé Fe in February. She preferred to keep her story to just us for now, but stay tuned

We also had the pleasure of meeting up with another friend we hadn’t seen in a year and her adorable doggies. It was definitely one of our most favorite stops. As soon as you walked into her house, you could feel such warm and happy energy. It took over your whole body and you didn’t want it to end. Even the smell of her house was amazing. Her private little outside oasis with the San Diego sun and warmth was heavenly. One hour there was nowhere near enough time!

We decided the smartest move would be to avoid Sunday morning traffic in LA and drive that night. We left San Diego after a great dinner with the friend we were staying with and headed straight for Ojai, California.

We arrived in Ojai in the wee hours of the night, sleeping with our heads pointed straight downhill. Little did we know our friend’s house who we were parking at that night was on a fairly steep incline. Well at least it felt steep after all the blood had rushed to my head by morning:-)

We spent 3 amazing hours at our very dear friends house. To say her house is beautiful is an understatement. It reminded me of a very old Spanish hacienda mission style, but something the deeply spiritual would build. As soon as we walked into her house, both our bodies were buzzing. Literally. The energy was beyond this world and every nook and cranny felt like it held a secret. In knowing her, I knew she would probably have a pretty awesome house, but it was 100 times that. I completed an interview with her, and, yet again, it was hard to say goodbye. But our longest haul of the trip was inching close.

After leaving Ojai we were in for the longest stretch of driving. Ojai to San Francisco, driving up the old Pacific Hwy (hwy 1) the whole time. If you have never drove up that highway, I would most definitely add it to your bucket list. The views were something I have never seen before. The colors of the sunsets were so vivid and breathtaking. Literally it took my breath away. You can’t not believe in something beyond us when seeing sights like that. It truly is a spiritual experience.

We made it to the Nepenthe restaurant right outside of Big Sur late that evening and decided the parking lot would suffice for parking the RV to sleep that night.

We were to meet a group in Sonoma at the Benziger Family Winery at 2 pm that afternoon so another early morning rise and long day drive for us. From Big Sur to San Francisco it was again, spectacular views.

I have never been to wine country before, but it was BEAUTIFUL. The particular winery we met our group at is a biodynamic winery, which if you don’t know what that is, I definitely recommend you look it up. Pretty cutting-edge stuff and so inspirational!

We had a group of about 15 people to do the wine tour with and a short meditation before the tour. I only completed one interview while at the winery, but it was amazing. As was the theme, there was only one person there I had previously met and was friends with and the rest met for the first time.

We had dinner after our wine tour in Sonoma and shared some amazing stories and laughter. It was the perfect group with the most perfect people!

We parked that night in the driveway of the lady and her husband’s house that put the gathering together. And I am so happy to say now that they are both soul friends. After dinner the great conversation extended to their house and then again in the morning before leaving. As the theme became very common, it was hard to leave that morning.

It was supposed to be a short jaunt over to Sacramento to stay the night there but as it goes, traffic, side of the road naps, and finding a gas station that takes American express (in other words, the unknown!) seemed to throw some wrenches in that plan.

We arrived at my very very dear friend’s house in Woodland Park around 5 pm on Tuesday, the 30th. This was especially exciting for me because I had been waiting to see her and her family for over a year. She cooked an enormous meal for us and some other friends that made it over for dinner. It was a meal for God’s! Not to mention the amazing conversation and the closeness we all felt. So much so that I was too enmeshed in the moment to do any actual interviews.

Once again it was a very early rise before sun up and on the road again. Our last long stretch of the trip. We drove through the Redwood forest in northern California only to be greeted by the Pacific Northwest rain upon entering Oregon. We made it to an actual RV park in Port Orford Oregon and were beyond excited to stay somewhere with FULL hookups. It definitely wasn’t anything to write home about, but hey, after living in an RV for over a week, and sleeping in parking lots and driveways, the little things counted.

We got up the next morning and hit the road. We had plans to meet some friends in Olympia for dinner and it would be our last long day of driving. And even though it was nearing winter and we were driving half the day on the Oregon coast and the other half through central Oregon and then into Washington, it was beautiful sunshine and towering pine trees. While it’s no California coast, it is beautiful in its own Pacific Northwest way.

We met our friends for dinner in Olympia and of course, another great meal, great conversation and tons of laughter.

After dinner, we had yet another night spent in a parking lot and our last before sunrise the next morning to hit the road. We had to have the RV to northern Seattle by 10 am that morning and then it would be on to our final stop of the tour. Our big ending to our big trip.

After dropping off the RV we headed straight to the Airbnb we would be spending the weekend at. See, I knew from the beginning of our trip, Seattle would be more than just the final destination. It would be something magical. We would be surrounded by not only our closest friends but some of the most amazing people I have ever met in my life. But more on that in part 2.

We stayed in an Airbnb in Seattle for 3 days with 12 other people. The weekend was beyond words and after 2 weeks of being surrounded by complete love and light and then ending it like that, Monday night was a complete culmination of all of it. We had 2 of our closest friends stay with us Monday night at a very strange Airbnb near Olympia, Wa. We had dinner once again with some other good friends that lived nearby in Yelm Washington. But it didn’t matter where we were…it just mattered we were together.

Which leads to part 2. Love…

source https://thefreedomproject222.com/confession-14/ source https://thefreedomproject222.blogspot.com/2020/07/confession-14.html

13.03.17

Saying goodbye to the girls was a hard thing to do.  At the same time, I’ve been so excited to hit the road with Jake that I don’t think the reality of it all will hit me until later on.  The few days leading up to my big departure, both Julianne and Madison were constantly telling me “I’m gonna miss you so much when you’re gone”.  I was given hoards of snuggles and kisses!  When saying my final goodbye I could tell both girls fully understood what was going on.  Juju went very quiet and hid away for a few minutes, too shy to come out and actually say goodbye.  When I told her it would be her last chance, she eventually creeped out and gave me a big long cuddle and many kisses all over my face.  Madison jumped up in my arms right away.  She held my face in her hands and put her nose on my nose.  I very nearly cried.  Both those girls have been my solace (not literally - they’re a crazy noisy pair!) for the longest time.  Two whole years!  Even though they had no choice and didn’t really know it, those girls were there for me throughout some very difficult times and were always there for a snuggle and chat.  BUT as much as I’ll miss my Weir family memories… I’m beyond glad that I am now able to travel the world with my husband and create some more unforgettable memories... together.

Well, we’re on the road right now and I’m reeling in the freedom!  Thursday night we drove out to Charlottesville, which is in Virginia state.  Only an hour and a half from DC.  It took us slightly longer than expected to pack the car and say our goodbyes to friends and family.  

WELCOME TO VIRGINIA!

By the time we arrived at our Air BnB in Charlottesville there wasn’t enough time for a wander through Shenandoah National Park, which is what we’d originally planned to do.  When I say “we” I really mean “me”.  Jake lets me go off into my own little world when planning our trips and only wants to play a part if there’s special things in particular that he wants to see or do.  Which suits me perfectly!  On our way to Charlottesville, we feasted on Wendy’s Baconator burgers and fries covered in ranch, cheese and bacon.  Nom nom nom.  We have a chilly bin full of food in the back seat of our car but we’re treating ourselves to dinner out each night, either on the road or in a restaurant we find that’s recommended in our array of travel books!  The Air BnB in Charlottesville was more than perfect for what we needed.  It was nothing fancy but we knew that, from the description.  The man who owned the house lived downstairs and we had a private entrance to his attic.  It was more like a mini apartment.  There was a full kitchen, 2 bedrooms, a living area and a bathroom.  Much more than we expected from an attic!  Since we would only be there from 9:30pm until 3am we only made use of the bathroom and bedroom, with the exception of the fridge which we used to chill our 2:30am iced coffees!

3am Friday morning we began the longest straight drive of our entire trip.  12 hours!  We were driving the entire Blue Ridge Parkway which is one of the two long scenic drives we’ll be taking.  I started with 6 hours of driving, Jake is not a morning person - especially at that hour!  He slept pretty much all of those 6 hours while I belted out the lyrics to Walking On Sunshine, filled with a cocktail of energy and excitement.  One time I woke him up by slamming on the brakes to protect a skunk who was about to be roadkill.  He laughs at me because I slow down for a lot of small animals.   Don’t worry, there was literally no one else on the road, us and the animals had the whole parkway to ourselves.  It was a very exciting drive and I saw a wide variety of wildlife!  Birds, skunks, raccoons, deer and even a fox!  It was super cool because he ran into a big open field and I was able to watch him for a good few seconds as I drove by.  There was a crazy amount of deer and it was lucky we didn’t have any accidents while driving the parkway during the dark hours of the morning!  Jake took over a few hours after our breakfast break and I stayed awake to entertain him with reading, singing and banter.  I made yummy chicken and beef sandwiches at a rest stop around lunch time, which we quickly ate and then continued on.  

WELCOME TO NORTH CAROLINA!

Unfortunately we weren’t able to complete the entire parkway as the very last section had been closed down.  I’m guessing they’re doing some road work on it.  We detoured and made our way to the Biltmore Estate, which is where Ben and Becca had paid for us to stay as a part of my Christmas present!  It was such a beautiful place which so much land all around!  The Biltmore house was owned by the Vanderbilt family many years ago but we’re not sure whether they still own it or not.

After checking into the Village Hotel at Biltmore, I pre-made our egg salad sandwiches for the following day, then we showered and got ready to head to the Biltmore winery for a complimentary tasting!  We stood at the bar and tasted 7 different wines in a variety of whites, rosés and reds, then purchased our 3 favourites - 1 white and 2 reds.  Afterwards we ate at the hotel’s restaurant which was pricey but delicious!  Jacob had a dish called Frogmore which was basically a stew with lobster, clams, shrimp, sausage and a few vegetables.  I had a burger (of course) that was cooked to PERFECTION.  I asked for medium rare.  When I bit into the burger the juices basically burst out all over my plate.  It was such goodness and Jake was jealous!  We then decided we wanted to buy another bottle of wine to take back to the room and open that night.  I was exhausted and headed back up while Jake went to make the purchase.  By the time he got back and we started to drink a glass each I was finding it difficult to keep my eyes open!  I got halfway through the glass and decided to tap out around 7:30pm - it had been a long 17 hour day for me!

Saturday morning we made an early start before 7:30am, I’d had an amazing sleep in the comfy king size bed and even slept in longer than Jake who had woken up a good hour before me!  That NEVER happens!  It took us a long time to pack the car back up.  We had taken most of our belongings from the back seat upstairs with us on one of the hotel trolleys.  After panicking about possibly having lost my wallet (!!!!) and ordering a couple of coffees to go, we checked out (thankfully with said wallet being found down the side of the drivers seat!) and drove 2 miles over to the Biltmore house and gardens.  Yes, they had so much land that it took us 2 miles of driving across it to reach another of their buildings!  Tickets to walk through the Biltmore house were just shy of US$50 which we thought was ridiculous!  Although we did get some beautiful pictures at the top of the stairs which led down to the house.  It was an amazing building up close, with a lot of detail!  The gardens were free to explore so we wandered off to have a look.  Obviously we haven’t quite made it to spring yet so there wasn’t much in bloom… but it was still a relaxing walk and we did find a greenhouse at the end.  The greenhouse had many things in bloom and a lot of big huge plants, all in pots.  It inspired me and by the end of our gardens adventure I had made the decision that I would develop green fingers once we settled down in Washington state.  We took a toilet break before heading to the car for breakfast and couldn’t resist taking a peek inside one of the many stores they had, which were located in the ‘stable’ where the Vanderbilt’s used to keep their horses.  Inside the store we found various little tables with taste testers of drinks and dips to try.  We tried a few different salad dressings, drink mixers and cheese balls.  Before leaving we bought a delicious salad dressing which I think, from memory, was a mix of poppyseed and strawberry!

After a quick breakfast in the car from our chilly bin, Jake began our 5 hour drive to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina - which is when I wrote half this post!  I kept forgetting that a lot of places we stay won’t give me access to the internet from my laptop.  I’ll be writing bits and pieces as I go and post them in chapters so that you’re not overloaded with pages of blabber!

WELCOME TO SOUTH CAROLINA!

After checking into our little cabin, we were supposed to begin our fun in Myrtle Beach with a musical at the Palace Theatre.  I hadn’t bought tickets in advance because I couldn’t figure out how to do that online.  It turned out that the reason I couldn’t figure it out was because Palace Theatre had been hit pretty badly by Hurricane Matthew and wouldn’t be open again until February NEXT year!  We were bummed out about it because the building looked awesome from the outside.  We decided to park the car in the Broadway at the Beach car park.  This is a beachy style area with a boardwalk lined with stores and attractions that surround a lake filled with catfish and ducks.  We went for a wander around, took a look in a retro store and saw the Big D IMAX movie theatre.  They only play one movie a day at various times and that day it would be Logan (one of the X-Men/Wolverine movies).  I’ve only seen bits and pieces of these movies so it seemed odd for me to go and see it, but we planned to do that anyway - since it was IMAX.  The movie didn’t begin until 10:15pm, so we played a couple rounds of mini golf.  There are a tonne of mini golf courses in Myrtle Beach!  If I had known this earlier I would have planned a whole day of mini golf touring for Jake and I, because we had so much fun during those two games!  Of course I lost both times… But did better my score the second time around!  We ate dinner in between the two rounds of golf at Joe’s Crab Shack, a cool place on the water that serves seafood.  We snagged two seats at the bar, ordered a couple of beers and took a look at the menu.  I’ve never been a huge fan of seafood, but I guess our tastebuds change as we get older, plus, eating seafood is FUN!  We ordered a big bowl which had 1/2 lb of crab, 1/2 lb of shrimp and 1 lb of crawfish.  I had such a great time learning how to crack them all open and collect the meat.  Our final round of golf was followed by a walk back to the car and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream on the way.  Turns out we were too tired to stay up late for the Logan movie and ended the evening in our cabin watching American Horror Story on Netflix!

Sunday morning we went to Waffle House for breakfast.  We both ordered a big hash bowl.  Essentially it’s a bowl of shredded hashbrowns with melted cheese, scrambled egg and breakfast sausage on top.  We also had a waffle each - Jake had pecan… chocolate peanut butter for me.  Of course an American breakfast is never complete without cheap bottomless coffee!  With today’s agenda I was about to face a big fear of mine - heights!  I was feeling confident!  

Wonderworks is an interactive museum in Myrtle Beach, it’s made for kids but we had a lot of fun too!  We found lots of different things like a machine that tests how hard your grip is and a bicycle swing that can spin you all the way around if you pedal hard enough - we didn’t do that!  I felt a little silly considering a bunch of young girls were doing it and after watching for a few minutes I left the line!  Although, I did wait in line for a little roller coaster simulator.  You jump inside an enclosed booth that’s attached to a mechanized arm which moves you up, down and upside down.  I screamed so much that the ride operator laughed afterwards when mentioning how she’d heard me!  We played a game of free for all laser tag too!  Jake’s strategy was for us to hide in the corner behind a wall and shoot at everyone from there.  We were versing two adults and 8 children so it wasn’t very difficult to get the top two scores!   I can’t believe I did, but I went on a ropes course at the very end of the visit.  It took all the courage I had to get all the way up there.  All the kids were breezing through it and I was the sweaty palmed, near crying woman who’s legs were wobbly and couldn’t do the super unsteady ropes because of my lack of confidence.  We did a second ropes course outdoors which was above water.  For some reason I had a lot of confidence when completing this one and completed every challenge they had!  We decided it was because of the environment.  The indoor ropes course was above the crowds of people, it was dark with neon lights all around and VERY noisy.  I couldn’t concentrate.  On the outdoors course I was above the water.  There was noise but not as much and the environment was much more peaceful.  I was very proud of myself for completing all the challenges and it gave me a huge confidence boost for the zip line that we did next.  Pre-boarding the zip we had to wait with a group of 10 others for what seemed like hooouuurss.  It did make for some entertaining conversations with the other dudes getting ready to zip.  One black guy decked out in his Chicago Bulls attire had us in fits of laughter.  He was even more nervous than me and was making sure that was clear to all of us!  He did not like heights and did not like the thought of being over the water.  Jake kept making jokes about Final Destination and the zip getting stuck in the middle mid-flight.  Surprisingly I wasn’t super nervous and was actually more excited to do this!  I had been watching many others zipping across while we were completing the nearby ropes course and I guess that had put my mind at ease and made it look super fun!  We’ll be ziplining again in Vegas and I can’t wait!  Generally when you take a zip line you go one way and return back on another zip, which is what we did.  People kept stopping just before the end of the first zip - hence all the jokes about stopping in the middle!  Our Chicago Bulls buddy was one of the many who got stuck, Jake and I were right after him so we were back over the side laughing our asses off.  Thankfully I JUST made it far enough.  The dude at the other side threw me a rope which I was able to catch.  He then pulled me in further and I had made it!  Jake didn’t get quite close enough to catch the rope so he had to have one zipped out to him!  Chicago Bulls buddy thought that was hilarious, especially when I told him how hard Jake had been laughing when it happened to him only minutes before!  The return zip was extra fun as it went a lot faster than the first!  I was going so fast that I thought he wouldn’t be able to stop me!  All-in-all, a successful first-time zip lining experience which I’m sure there will be many more of!  We saw signs all over for a $20 helicopter ride.  I had never been on a helicopter and Jake hadn’t been on a civilian helicopter (only osprey, the military ones).  We decided since it was super cheap we’d give it a go!  They drove us 50 meters out to the little red helicopter and we jumped in, put on our headsets and took off!  It was a very short ride, only about 5 minutes, but totally worth the experience.  We had awesome views of the area we had just spent our day.  The pilot asked if we liked rollercoasters and when I said I like them a little but I’m not super fond of them he sped up just a little and banked the helicopter so that we turned sideways and had an even better view of below!  Deciding to finish off our big day with some more seafood, we went to the Duffy Street Seafood Shack which was just a block away from the beach.  It was a “throw-your-peanut-shells-on-the-floor” type of place, basically meaning it was messy dive bar which is the type of place Jake and I love!  We ate peanuts from the shell while waiting for our pitcher of beer, 39c shrimps, nachos and chicken wings… delish!  Just before calling it a night we drove to the sky wheel, which was located on the beach which gave us the opportunity for some epic late night beach views.

We’re currently in Dallas catching up with our buddy Critta (Austin) and soooo much has happened since all of this!  I’ve got more stories coming so stay posted.  We are having the most incredible adventure and LOVING life.

With love from TEXAS! xx

P.S. “When the cabin’s a-rockin’, don’t come a-knockin’!” - JTB