Week 2 - waiting for the sun to shine

Monday was a book reading day for us.  The weather was chilly and calling for rain.  While the rain was on and off, it wasn't heavy but it was enough to keep us at the condo.  I spent the day enjoying my book and also went out in search of sharks teeth along the beach.  I had some success this time and found a good size tooth.  I also talked with some fishermen who were catching "whiting". They said the fish were very plentiful (caught 80 between two people the previous day). 

 

Tuesday turned out to be another cold day.  Ralph and I went out shopping to see if we could find a warm sweater.  No success.  Looking forward we are hoping that the weather will become warmer.  

On Wednesday morning we saw the fishing boats again.  There were two of them in front of the condo.  One had it's nets out while the other one didn't appear to be fishing. The amount of birds following the boat was incredible  You could really hear them all squawking.  

Here is a snapshot to compare weather between Myrtle Beach, Dutton and Rexdale.  We don't  have snow but we are comparable.

Later in the morning we went to Huntington Beach to enjoy the birds.  It was a 4 layer day to keep warm.  We saw two juvenile eagles as well as the adult but they didn't stick around for us to take pictures.  Because of the weather many of them have gone into hiding.  

Kingfisher

Kingfisher

Kingfisher

Great Egret

Great Egret

Great Egret

Great Egret

Great Egret

Great Egret

We golfed at the Pearl on Thursday.  The course was not very busy at all  We were impressed with the shape of the greens and really enjoyed our round.  We went to Sunset beach to see if any birds were around but it was pretty windy and cold and they were all in hiding.  

Double Crested Cormorant

Double Crested Cormorant

We went back to Huntington Beach early Friday morning hoping to see one of the two owls that have been seen.  We were unsuccessful but did get to enjoy the Eagle, Osprey and other birds along the causeway.  It was pretty cold while we were there and we're glad we had bundled up and made extra coffee.

Tri-Coloured Heron

Osprey

Osprey

Eagle

Great Egret

Ibis

Osprey

Eagle

The weekend was nice and sunny but we had been warned the the temperatures wouldn't last.  Golf courses were being closed in anticipation of colder weather on it's way.  The temperature dropped 8 degrees in an hour between church services.  We got to enjoy seeing the dolphins from our balcony as well.  They are been frequent visitors.

Dolphins

Dolphins

When I walked the beach I needed to come inside to add another  layer as it was pretty chilly.  During my walk I saw this Canon Ball Jelly fish washed up on shore.  They really are quite beautiful but I don't dare to touch it  

Canon Ball Jelly Fish

Settling in

This week is a time of settling in. We loaded up on groceries on Tuesday, got things fixed in the condo and unpacked our bags. I spent two hours walking the beach and enjoying the fresh ocean air. It had rained all morning but once we were done with groceries and chores it was nice to go out exploring. I didn’t find any shells or sharks teeth this time but I did find a smattering of acorns along the beach. What I really enjoyed was the different colours. I plan to dry these and do some kind of craft with them. 

On Wednesday morning we were greeted with a beautiful sunrise. It felt chilly standing on the balcony (6c with a real feel of 2c) but it’s suppose to warm up as the day progresses. 

If you look closely in the clouds you can see a flock of pigeons flying

We went to Huntington Beach State Park on Wednesday.  We had heard that there was a screech owl in the park so we wanted to see if we could find  it.  Unfortunately we weren't successful but we're sure we found the place that it likes to sit so we planned to go back the next day as we had a round of golf planned and it was in the same area.  We were also looking for spoonbills but we didn't see any. We did however see a Wilson Snipe (a new lifer for us).  That was exciting.

Female Kingfisher

Osprey

Great Egrets nesting area

White Pelicans

Mockingbird

Little Blue Heron

 

Great Blue Heron (in hiding)

Wilson Snipe

On Thursday we returned to the park around 7:30 a.m. to see if the owl was in the tree.  It wasn't and we didn't really have time to go looking as we had a round of golf booked for 8:30.  We golfed at Litchfield and were matched up with another couple (Rick and Cheryl).  They were both very nice and it was a fun round.  It started off a little chilly but warmed up nicely as the round progressed.

After our round we went back to Huntington.  This time we were successful.  Oh my - a screech owl is so beautiful and small.  We didn't stay long to photograph him as it's important to respect their habitat.

We spent a couple of hours enjoying the park before heading back to the condo.  It's so nice to be back enjoying the birds.

Pied Bill Grebe

Pied Bill Grebe

White Pelicans 

Courtship dance - Merganser

Showing off the full hood - Merganswer

Courtship Dance - Merganswer

Juvenile Ibis

Snowy Egret

Hooded Merganser

Ibis

Ibis

Dunlin 

On Thursday evening around bedtime we saw a fishing trawler go by and it will still around when we woke up on Friday morning.  It was pretty full of fish.  I thought it was cool that I was able to capture the fishermen working with the fish.

On Saturday we saw another fishing trawler going by.  I guess the fish must be pretty plentiful here.

I have been trying to keep up with my walks. Most days it’s just me and the seagulls. 

In between church services on Sunday Ralph and I went back to Huntington Beach.  I must say it was pretty cold out and we were both wearing woolen hats and many layers.  We only stayed for a couple of hours but it was enough time to enjoy seeing the Eagle and some of the other birds that were there.

Eagle and tricolour heron

Tricolour heron

Black crowned Night Heron

Little Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron

Myrtle Beach 2025-2026 Let the adventures begin

When we decided to move, we thought we might have a house built. Taking that into consideration we thought it would be cheaper to stay in Myrtle Beach than renting in the St Thomas area so we booked this trip for 4 months. We ended up buying a new home (which we really love) in Dutton, Ontario. Instead of shortening up our trip we decided to keep the extra month and celebrate our 45 years of marriage. 

We celebrated our anniversary with the family by going out for dinner on the Friday before leaving. It was such a nice evening which we all enjoyed. We ate at Chop Steakhouse. The waitress and hostess were both very nice. The hostess asked Ralph what the secret was to being married for 45 years.  He told her "Faith and Forgiveness" which she agreed with him on. 🩷🩷

We left just before 5:00 am on Saturday, November 29. The roads were clear of snow even though some areas had received some during the evening. Crossing the border went well and we had such a nice border agent. We were impressed that he addressed us by name. We shared that we had completed the i94 online and he was happy and let us go through. 

The first night we stayed in Fairmont, West Virginia. It’s a small area with not much choices for dinner. That was ok as we were both tired and grabbed a small meal and went back to our room for an early night.  Our 2nd day our travel started out well but by 11:00 am the weather became rainy and we drove through fog and it was quite at times. The traffic also became very congested with the Thanksgiving holiday travellers. It took longer than we expected but we were thankful that we had no issues and arrived safely at our hotel in Asheboro, North Carolina.  We saw lots of hunters this year which we have never seen before.  Many were sitting up in trees or in their blinds waiting for the deer to walk by.  

Today was the last leg of our journey.  We left later in the morning as we weren't able to get our room until later in the afternoon. It was a beautiful day to drive and the temperature reached 13c which was comfortable.  

Our room is on the 7th floor in the Cayman Tower. Room 708. It’s a newly renovated room with a nice view of the ocean. It’s nice to be here and now we can settle in and enjoy the next 4 months.