Mystery Trip - Day One

I came in 'dragging my tail feathers' as the old saying goes. It was a very busy 4 days... that mystery trip was!! And, we did so much so I am breaking it down into several posts and I hope that you enjoy it all.

We had a marvelous Mercedes bus that seated 40. We had a great bus driver named Stefan. And, Donna, our tour guide, made sure we got our money's worth.

Day One....

I had it in my head we were heading north. Sort of thought maybe Lancaster or Gettysburg, Pa. But, nope.... the bus turned south on I95.

About midway through the state of North Carolina we stopped in a little town by the name of Coats. One of those sleepy little towns, population less than 2,500. What were we going to see here?

                                   They had a museum showcasing their town     
                            Small but informative and it was a pleasant stop.

                                           and also a cotton museum
                                                       

a cotton gin.

A bail of picked cotton

a 'crib' of sorts where babies and small children were placed while Mama could keep an eye on her brood while she worked in the cotton fields. 

        And, in this town was a restaurant where we ate our lunch.

How would you feel if 38 people showed up for lunch? They knew in advance we were coming but only had two waitresses and one cook to handle all of us plus any locals who might drop in to see what a huge bus was doing parked on their narrow street.

So, guess who got skipped over when the orders were taken? Yep, me and daughter Shirley. But, the waitress was charming and funny and she did apologize so we were fine.

Shirley paying the bill. 

                        We headed south again, still in the dark about our destination.

Finally, somewhere in South Carolina, we head toward the coast and Myrtle Beach.
                                                  My heart sank!!
We have beaches here in Virginia and none of us had packed clothes for a romp in the sand.
So, yes, big disappointment. But, you will see how it turned out as I progress through our journey.

                                  We reached our hotel (Dayton House Resort)

                                        and the view off our balcony is gorgeous!
                                                                   

            Soon we are on the bus again... this time headed to dinner.                                         Where will we go to dine?

                           It's Benjamin's Original Calabash Seafood buffet.

A pirate welcomed us, we had our pictures taken and then we ate until we popped. Every kind of seafood imaginable. Oh my.

     

We dropped into our bed, pleasantly stuffed and very tired, to sleep a few hours until we would take off again. Please join me in a couple days for the rest of the journey. It gets better and better!