Monday, May 17, 2010

Dragons, and Knitting, and Gifts from the Sea



That picture about sums up our recent trip to Myrtle Beach. It was awesome. There's really no other word for it. See how the water is the same color as the clouds? It was like that at twilight each night, it almost looked like the water was invisible except for the seafoam.

We stayed in a campground right on the ocean, took walks nearly every day, and swam. A lot. Also, there was this ever-changing waterway just down the beach, which we enjoyed immensely:







Ben took most of those pics up there. He also took several pictures of these dogs, having a blast in the waves:



Together, we took a sum total of about ten pictures on the whole trip. There was just so much else to do!

I brought all kinds of knitting books, and a couple of projects-in-progress, and got a whole afternoon to myself for yarn shopping. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I'd spend so much of my vacation thinking about yarn, but it worked somehow. In fact, it worked well.

And, when I wasn't knitting or frolicking by the sea, I was thinking about dragons. We all were, because Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is home to this amazing place called MagiQuest, where you get a wand, and it really works. This was extra-special since it was Owen's first time, and going on quests and adventures with him reminded me how truly magical things can be, even if they originate with an RFID chip.

Purely coincidentally, I brought the four amazing Dragons of Deltora books for Luke; we shared them back and forth over our trip. So, when I wasn't thinking about evil dragons and wizards and the runes of MagiQuest, I was thinking about the good dragons in the mythical land of Deltora.

These were the threads that ran through our vacation by the ocean. They were brought together into a lovely bright cloth by means of a book, written in the 1950's and loaned to me by a friend: Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. It's about being a wife, mother, and woman in modern America - it could have been written last week, it feels so relevant. Reading it at night, with the surf pounding outside, elevated a merely great visit into an amazing, meaningful holiday.

7 comments:

jugglingpaynes said...

MagiQuest looks like fun! Is it good for all ages? There is one very close to us. :o)

My son liked the Dragons of Deltora too. It was one of his first series.

Peace and Laughter,
Cristina

Karen said...

Owen is five, and he really needed help. Of course, I am thirty-nine, and I needed help sometimes too!

It's pricey, that is the only thing. It's like $30 for the wand, training and the "90-minute experience" per person - but it's less each time you go after that. Also, the Myrtle Beach one had a cool thing called the Garden Quest that we did, a free quest (you need your wand) where you search for clues out around the MagiQuest site. We did that on the one day of rain we had, and were 'rewarded' with the best, biggest rainbow we've ever seen - we could see the whole arc, and it was a double rainbow to boot! One of those things I will never forget.

Kerry said...

Wow!! I know exactly where you guys stayed...my boys have played in that same waterway more than once! We used to go to MB every year for Andy's b-day and we would sometimes stay at that campground!! Fun!!!

Lise said...

Sounds like a great time!! We're off on vacation next week, and I can't wait!!!

shannon said...

the new banner picture is beautiful!

Karen said...

Topsy - that is so cool, that you've been there! Oh, I have goosebumps. I wish we could have seen you while we were down there, but I know you live too far away.

Lise - enjoy your trip! Can't wait to see pics :-)

Shannon - thank you, I think it really sums up our whole attitude while on vacation.

Aimee said...

So fun...we just got back from a week at Holden Beach (30 minutes north of Myrtle) and I read "Gift from the Sea" every year as my beach tradition. Pure loveliness. And I brought my knitting too, but didn't touch it!