Pawley's Island, SC

Eric and I just got back from a trip to Pawley's Island, SC with our pastor and his wife. It was designed to be more of a retreat than anything else. A chance to get away with your family with some teachings in between. Our last getaway of the summer! Sad. (And yet, happy! Fall is clearly the best season of the year. Who agrees with me?)

Our church is working with 3DM Ministries, based in Pawley's Island (by the way, if you haven't heard of them, you need to check out their site! Amazing!) So, Mike Breen spoke every morning and I came home feeling refreshed in more ways than one. More about what I learned here.

I needed that short week away.

We had a blast with Nora! The retreat was right on the ocean, so we took a walk down to the beach and chased a massive pelican that was chilling on the beach, then we came back and relaxed in an inner tube drifting down the lazy river at the resort. We ate out at a restaurant on the marsh - and thank goodness there was a fence all the way around because all we kept reading/hearing about were the alligators! On our resort pass, they even had a warning not to "feed or molest the alligators". What?! Nora would have been the perfect sized snack for a hungry alligator so I kept a very close watch on her. Easy to do since she can't exactly get around very well yet at only 9 months old. :)

The highlight of the trip though, I think, was our bike ride down to the beach! It was Nora's first!

Just so you know, riding into the wind on the beach was quite possibly the hardest thing I've ever done... After hiking down and back up the Grand Canyon. Okay, after contractions. Okay, after labor...

I may be exaggerating a bit on how hard it was to bike into the wind. But still. In that moment, it was impossible. And my crazy husband made me go the whole way down the beach, telling me, "Think of how easy it will be when we turn around and head back!" That was supposed to make me feel better?

Apparently he thought so!

Look at that little smile! 

Not too happy with that helmet on.

So we took the helmet off once we got to the beach, thinking that would
make her happy... Not so! Not a fan of the seat apparently either. 

Once we got moving, she was happier. And then she spotted a doggy
on the beach and was ecstatic! Yay for furry, four-legged friends!

There I am, fearlessly biking into the wind! We went all the way to the very end. As far as you can see!

Loving that tongue of hers.

Look how comfortable she eventually got! Lounging with her feet up.
She eventually fell asleep - something about the wind in her hair,
the breeze on her face. Or so I am imagining.

Riding off into the sunset.