Day 1: Thursday, June 26, 2008
18 ANNUAL CHER'S FAMILY RETREAT
SHERATON MYRTLE BEACH CONVENTION HOTEL
Thursday, June 26
2:00-5:00: Registration
6:30-10:00: Ice Cream Social (dinner on your own)
Friday, June 27
7:30-9:00: Breakfast
Buses will begin loading at 9:30. We will be going to the aquarium and then staying at Broadway at the Beach, which is loaded with fun places. Buses will run throughout the day to take you back to the hotel. Lunch is on your own.
6:30-10:00: Family Night with Talent Show and Chance Raffle (dinner provided) & CCA Teen Luau Party (at the hotel)
Saturday, June 28
7:30-9:00: Breakfast
11:00-4:00: Beach Party
Boxed lunches will be served at the hotel from 11:00 to 1:00. Buses will start taking families to the Beach at 11:00 and can return them to the hotel throughout the day.
6:30-10:30: Dinner/Dance with DJ
Sunday, June 29
7:30-9:00: Breakfast
Thursday morning, I woke up at 3:30 A.M., dressed, and called Lora at 4:30 A.M. We left her house at 6:00 A.M. It was still too early for the kids, so they all went back to sleep.
I ordered a hamburger with unsweetened tea, Lora and Madison split a hamburger with fries, and Marcus and Madison both ordered milkshakes.
Meadow ate some of my hamburger, and she drank a cup of milk.
We again loaded into the van and onto I-20 toward Atlanta.
We stopped to fill up with gas and ordered a sandwich at Subway, which was in the same building as the service station.
We ordered two twelve-inch subs, each of us ordered a Coke, and Madison ordered three sugar cookies.
I spent seven dollars.
Marcus was starting to get restless from all the riding. We had been on the road since 6 A.M., and he kept saying, "Are we there yet?"
Finally, we arrived at Myrtle Beach, but the GPS system had taken us to the wrong address.
We will be staying at the Sheraton Hotel on Twenty-first Street, and the old one was along the Atlantic Ocean.
While Lora had gone inside to get the correct address, the kids got out of the car, threw the sand, and jumped into the Atlantic Ocean.
I took Meadow out of the van, and we sat in the sand along the Beach.
When Lora came out of the hotel, she started looking for u. She saw that Marcus was soaking wet, so she made him take his clothes off and wrapped him in a towel. That is how he was dressed when we arrived at the Sheraton Hotel.
Lora checked us into the hotel at 7:00 P.M. After freshening up, we took our luggage to the room. Then we took the elevator to the lobby, where a social gathering of families attending the cranial facial convention was underway.
Everyone gets tickets for Ripley's Aquarium and a CCA T-shirt to wear when we visit.
We spent a few hours getting acquainted with some of the families.
We were exhausted from the trip, so we went back to the room and went to bed.
Madison slept with me, and Marcus and Meadow slept with Lora.
Day 2: Friday, June 27, 2008
Breakfast was served outside from 7:30 to 9:30 A.M. at the Sheraton Hotel and included cereals, bagels with cream cheese, and fruits such as strawberries, pineapple, muskmelon, cantaloupe, and grapes. To drink, there was orange juice.
At 9:30 A.M., everyone dressed in matching CCA tee-shirts, and we took the bus to Ripley's Aquarium, located at Broadway on the Beach.
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| The Sheraton Hotel, where we stayed |
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| Standing behind the hotel |
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| Waiting for the bus |
We saw Sandtiger sharks, nurse sharks, southern stingrays, cow nose rays, sawfish, sea turtles, snapper, tarpons, goliath groupers, moray eels, green moray eels, schooling jellyfish, seahorses, squirrelfish, and octopus inside an 87,000 square foot aquarium filled with 750,000 gallons of water.
We were guided along on a moving sidewalk.
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| Marcus is holding a horseshoe crab. |
The kids pick up the horseshoe crabs at the Sea-For-Yourself Discovery Center.
In the freshwater Rio Amazon exhibit, we saw piranhas and other exotic species unique to the Amazon Rainforest. We saw octopuses, sea anemones, Jellyfish, and weedy sea dragons in the Living Gallery.
Once outside the aquarium, we walked to Pavilion Park, where Lora bought t20tickets for the kids to ride the attractions.
Marcus and Madison rode the flying pirate ship.
Marcus, Madison, and I rode the caterpillar and the merry-go-round.
Marcus and Meadow rode the boats, and Lora, Madison, and Marcus rode the swings.
Lora had 9 tickets left and said we could use them tomorrow at the NASA Park. Marcus, Jr., wanted to ride the go-carts.
(843) 448-5455
Lora and I split a Caesar salad and the Catch of the Day, which was Mahi Mahii, grilled with fresh vegetables, island rice, and mango salsa.
Marcus and Madison ordered grilled Mahi from the children's menu.
Wendelyn from Faces came with us; she ordered the cheeseburger in Paradise. Lora and I both ordered unsweetened iced tea and the kids' sodas.
In Jimmy Buffett's Restaurant, we sat at the first-come, first-served table, just below the brewing hurricane that held a large orange bottle of margarita.
When the hurricane hit, it caused a gigantic pitcher to fill up with margarita. It was more than enough for everyone to drink his or her fill.
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| Brewing a hurricane that contained a large orange bottle of margarita. |
We went through Jimmy Buffett's gift shop, but we did not buy anything.
We stopped at River Street Sweets, tried their samples, and bought some chocolate-covered pretzels.
We went to the Disney store, and I bought a Minnie tank top, a pair of shorts, and a Tinker Bell tank top.
Lora bought Marcus some pajamas, which he put on and wore all day, and she purchased Meadow a Finding Nemo one-piece suit and wristband.
Disney Store 1308 Celebrity Cir # B. Myrtle Beach, SC 29577 (843) 626-2610
We rode the bus back to the hotel and swam in the pool on the third floor.
We talked with Brittany, who has Nager syndrome, and Harlena, her mom, who are from Philadelphia, Pa.
Supper will be from 6:30 to 10:00 P.M. with a talent show and a raffle.
Tonight is pizza night, where we can choose from several varieties of pizzas, along with a salad, fruit, and sweets.
Juliana's birth defect is called Treacher Collins Syndrome.
The doctors said it was the worst case they had ever seen.
Juliana has no upper jaw, no cheekbones, no eye sockets, and she is missing the corner of her ear.
In the lobby, I talked to Samantha Klinger's parent., Samantha has Apert Syndrome and is from Convoy, Illinois.
Olivia Sandborn has Pfeiffer Syndrome, and her parents, Mark and Laurel, are here from Richmond, VA.
Our room is on the fourth floor with an ocean view. It has two plush double beds, a shower in the bathroom, a coffee maker, a television, and a refrigerator.
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| View from our room |
Marcus Jr and Meadow slept with me.
Day 3: Saturday, June 28, 2008
Breakfast will be from 7:30 to 9:30 inside.
They are serving eggs, bacon, biscuits, fruit, jelly, and orange juice.
It is almost 9:30 A.M. Madison and Marcus are still in bed, and Lora takes them to breakfast.
Boxed lunch will be passed out from 11:30 to 1:00 P.M.
The box lunches include ham, roast beef, and turkey sandwiches, along with apples, chips, cookies, water, or Pepsi.
Everyone is going to the Beach, it is within walking distance.
We walked a few blocks, but it was too hot, so we walked back to the hotel, loaded the van, and drove to the Beach.
I played with Meadow in the sand while the older kids played in the ocean.
When we were ready to go, Madison started jumping up and down because she had gotten into the bottom of her swimsuit and it was burning her butt.
We rode back to the hotel, where everyone showered to wash off the sand.
We loaded back into the van and rode to NASA Park, where the kids used the remaining 9 tickets. Meadow rode the Ferris wheel, Madison rode the cups, and Marcus rode the go-carts.
A strange man gave Meadow & Madison a necklace and a picture.
We went to the 3-D IMAX to watch the Sea Monsters.
We watched the stunning photo-realistic, computer-generated animation that transported us back to the late Cretaceous when the great inland sea divided North America into two.
The film follows a curious and adventurous dolichorhynchops f, also known as a dolly t, that travels through the most dangerous oceans in history.
Along the way, she encounters long-necked plesiosaurs, giant turtles, enormous fish, fierce sharks, and the most dangerous sea monster, the mosasaur.
This was a forty-five-minute show with special seating at the top for wheelchairs. The cost was $11.50 each, no cost for Meadow.
We walked back to the Disney Store, where I bought a pair of Tinker Bell shorts and a Tinker Bell T-shirt.
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| Disney Store |
Lora bought Meadow a Minnie one-piece suit with a matching wristband and a bubble blower. She bought Madison some pajamas.
In the Disney store, we got separated. I looked everywhere for Lora and the kids, but I couldn't find them.
I walked to RideMakerz because I knew Tarcus wanted to build a car, but they weren't there.
I thought to myself that they might be at RideMakerz and had walked back to the van, but they were not there.
I called Lora on her cell phone, but she did not answer.
I decided to sit down at the waterspout near the IMAX and the exit.
I sat near the waterspout for about an hour. I thought to myself that Lora and the kids had more than enough time for them to walk around Broadway on the Beach, but they were nowhere in sight.
While I was sitting at the waterspout, I watched several kids running, jumping, and playing in the water.
I saw a man with his two daughters, they were getting ready to leave when I heard him tell his girls to make a run for it to beat the water.
The man took off running, slipped, and fell right on his butt.
No running signs are everywhere.
I decided to walk to RideMakerz, where Marcus was just finishing up making his car.
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| Marcus and his Ridemakerz |
We rode back to the hotel. Dinner was from 7:30 to 9:30 P.M., and dancing lasted until 10:30 P.M.
We were running late and couldn't find a handicap parking spot, so Lora parked along the side of the hotel.
Dinner was a sit-down event where we were served grilled chicken, chicken fingers, fries, potatoes, green beans, salad, and carrot cake, with tea and iced water.
TADJ played a variety of music until 10:30 P.M.
The dance floor was full of people dancing. Scott was in his hover dancing.
Everyone joined in making a train on the dance floor.
Jaci did a solo country dance.
We went to our room at 10:30 P.M. after a night of dancing and socializing.
Madison turned on the TV. Marcus and Meadow went to sleep. I read Song of the Exile, and Lora went upstairs to meet with other CCA parents, staying until 12 P.M. Madison slept in the bed with me.
Day 4: Sunday, June 29, 2008
We missed breakfast because we slept until 9:00 A.M.
We checked out, loaded the van, and headed to Broadway on the Beach.
Marcus picked what he wanted to do yesterday. Today, Madison gets to decide what she wants to do.
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| Hard RoCaféafe |
Madison says she wants to eat lunch at the Hard RoCaféafé.
The Hard RoCaféafe is designed like an Egyptian Temple.
The front of tcaféafe has several stone steps leading to the top. Once inside, you have to climb down several stone steps to get to the dining area of the restaurant.
The side of tcaféafe is wheelchair accessible with an elevator once inside.
For lunch, we ordered the Jumbo Combo appetizer, which included Santa Fe rolls, hickory-smoked chicken wings, onion rings, potato skins, and Tupelo chicken fingers served with four different sauces.
Lora and I split a 7-oz. Angus beef HRC burger with fries. Madison orders a kid's hamburger with fries, Marcus eats all the hickory-smoked chicken wings, and Meadow eats the chicken fingers.
Lora and I ordered unsweetened tea, and the kids ordered sodas.
Hard RoCafé é 1322 Celebrity Circle Myrtle Beach, SC 29577 843-946-0007
Lora and Marcus are at RideMakerz, where Marcus is getting a wheel for his car.
Madison and I are walking to the Build-A-Bear Workshop, and Lora, Marcus, and Meadow are going to meet us there. Madison chose a Panda Bear, which she named Yoyo. The clothes she chose for him were a pair of khaki shorts, a Myrtle Beach Tee, and brown sandals.
Build-A-Bear Workshop is located at 1301 Celebrity Cir, Myrtle Beach, SC 29577 (843) 445-7675.
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| Madison and Yoyo |
We then walk to River Street Sweet, where we buy some saltwater taffy, chocolate pretzels, and the kids each get a bag of candy.
I spent $5.95 on taffy, $2.50 on chocolate-covered pretzels, and $2.00 on an orange drink.
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| Senior Frogs |
At 2:00 P.M., we leave Broadway on the Beach and start the long ride home.
Somewhere in Alabama, we stopped at McDonald's for supper, where Lora ordered a couple of chicken wraps, two apple pies, and a tea.
Before we leave McDonald's, Lora spills her tea and walks inside to get a refill.
Lora drives until she says she is too tired to continue, so I take over at 10 P.M. and drive us home.
