Folly Beach: Beach Bums

Our first day of vacation at Folly Beach was packed full of fun!  We started off the morning eating at The Lost Dog Cafe just a few streets from our condo.  The food was so yummy, and Cooper's pancakes looked like a dog.

My french toast was as delicious as it looked.  Everyone enjoyed the yummy breakfast.

The kids outside the cafe.

After breakfast, we walked back home to our condo.  The Spanish moss trees made it picturesque, and almost unbelievable that we were actually here on vacation.

Of course, no family vacation is complete without a trip to the grocery store, so while Camyll, Jaisie and I headed to Wal-Mart to stock up for the week, the boys ventured out to the beach, since the kids couldn't possibly wait another minute to see the ocean.

This was Calvin's first time seeing the ocean.

We met back at home for some lunch, and the kids enjoyed theirs out on the screened-in deck.

We were all geared up and ready to go. Can you believe we added four adults to this already loaded golf cart?!

It was a PERFECT day for the beach.  Folly Beach has some nice surf, and we played in the waves and boogie boarded.

This was Cooper's first time boogie boarding, and after a few tries, he'd picked up a knack for it.  He couldn't get enough.  There was only one time where he was knocked into the surf and was bowled over pretty bad, but knowing how to swim, it didn't freak him out too much, and he was right back at it.

Jaisie enjoyed running around in the water and on the sand.

Camyll and Calvin had fun playing in the waves.

 Jaisie and her Daddy explored the water,

and so did Calvin.

Cooper was busy running around having fun.

Pretty soon it was time for a break and a snack.

But it wasn't long before we were playing again, this time making sand castles.

We had such a fun day at the beach!

That night for dinner I wanted to do a "Low Country Shrimp Boil," a traditional Southern dish, and one of my favorites when I can have fresh shrimp.  Camyll and I drove about a half mile and found a little store where a guy sold his own freshly caught seafood.  His boats were tied off in the water just off shore from the store.  With the sun setting, it was beautiful.

Poor Camyll hates seafood, but was a good sport going to the seafood market with me, and eating dinner with us.  It was delicious!

And what better place to eat it than this?

At Folly Beach there is a large fishing pier.  The end of the pier has a big gazebo at the end with multiple decks to overlook the water.  Where the pier begins on shore, there are restaurants, gift shops, ice cream parlors, etc.  It is a pretty cool place.

We visited the pier that night with the kids, letting them run around while we enjoyed the sound of the ocean waves beneath us.

At the end of the pier, while Camyll and her family went into the gift shop, our little family stayed outside to listed to a local musician sing and play guitar.  We were standing there listening, and Coop ran over and tugged on my arm, and said, "Mommy, dance with me!"  So Coop and I danced on the pier in the dark while the guy sang.  It was one of those moments I'll probably never forget.

All in all it was a long, exhausting, but very fun day.  And it was only day one--we had four more to go!