On Sunny Lane: Riding the Waves
- Editor
- Jun 14
- 2 min read
When Sweetheart and I go traveling, I like to check out the local thrift shops.
It’s not like we don’t have thrift shops where I live. I like to go to shops in different locales to see what they have to offer. Of course, they all offer pretty much the same basic things, but it so happened that the ones in the Myrtle Beach area carry a lot of beach stuff. Go figure.
Since Sweetheart and I don’t live near a beach, I wasn’t interested in any of the beach stuff. Although, just an item or two would have been nice. Being the pragmatist that I am, I didn’t want to clutter my house or yard with something I didn’t especially want. Instead, I got my nephew a cookbook, titled “Quick and Easy Cooking.” His partner had just left him and my nephew said he thought he should learn to cook. I thought quick and easy was just what he needed.
The next adventure, and the last, that we had was a pontoon ride on the Waccamaw River, leading out to the ocean. We were out for four hours, but we had already got a sunburn from being on the beach the day before, so Sweetheart and I sat in the shade of the canopy.
A person gets the full enjoyment of vacation when he or she can sit back and relax on the beach or in a boat and not think about the trials and tribulations in the outside world. Trouble is, the boat didn’t go fast enough to suit me. Oh, sure, I enjoyed seeing the pretty scenery and the beach houses of assorted shapes and sizes, but I wanted to whizz past them.
What I mostly enjoyed was when we got close enough to another boat to ride along in its wake. I guess I’m just a thrill seeker at heart. I didn’t know that until then.
Our nephew pointed out some attractions along the trip and told us what kinds of boats were on the water. One of them was a shrimp boat. It reminded me of that old song from 1957, sung by Jo Stafford, “Shrimp Boats Is A-Comin”.”
Some of the lyrics are, “Shrimp boats is a-comin’, their sails are in sight. Shrimp boats is a-comin’, there’s dancin’ tonight.”
I’m thinking that, years ago, some people in the south depended on the catch of the shrimp boats for food and as a commodity to earn their living. A full boat would bring joy for a full stomach and money to live on--not to mention the joy of seeing their loved ones after being gone on the river for a long time.
Speaking of a long time, Sweetheart and I decided to take two days to drive home, instead of the one day we drove down. It was still a long trip.
And it took us two days to rest up from our adventures.
Dorothy is the author of two books—“Miles and Miracles” and “Getting It All Together “. You can purchase a book or send a comment by emailing her at dorothybutzknight@gmail.com
