Wild Dunes - not so much and oh so much

Our annual Behringer/McMullen vacation took us back to the Charleston, SC area but this time to a resort a little north of Isle of Palms. We stayed at Wild Dunes. And the poor economy allowed us to stay in a gorgeous, spacious condo...reeaalllyyy nice.

The interesting thing about Wild Dunes is that it's not so wild. Well, except for the weather, but more on that later. The dunes have not only been removed but replaced by a golf course. Yes, a water hog golf course on top of sand. Can you imagine the amount of water needed to keep it green? And without the protection of dunes it is constantly exposed. In fact, while we were there they were repairing one of the holes that had been damaged by a storm last year.

However, did I mention that it was a reeaalllyyy nice place to stay? It was and I'd stay there again, for sure.

Olivia and Popka relaxing and enjoying the view. It only rained the day we arrived and the day before we left.Grant and his truck.Grant and his humor.Olivia and her friend.
Each year she meets a friend. Usually she plays with them all week but this year it was for just one day. I don't think this little girl liked to swim or boogie board which is ALL Olivia wanted to do. So, a lasting friendship was not meant to be.Ben and his sports.
Ben and certainly Uncle Matt (aka "PPLC" - Pied Piper of Little Children) were very patient in allowing Grant to "play" paddle ball, football, baseball and every other type of ball that Ben was into. Often, he best served as ball boy...Sand Castlers:Full View. Matt and I put in our time as well, digging those moats and channels. But apparently there was some hierarchy in place where we were labeled lower tier sand castlers and I believe that did not allow us to be photographed.Nate's Castle... just before Ben knocked a wall down, inciting a small brawl.We all know the beach wears kids out. Little ones especially.But they each took their turns to just relax.

Ben and Olivia preferred towels and shade.Nate preferred the surf at his feet.Grant preferred a hole.Ouch! And you should have seen it the next day!!Our last beach day proved to be the most eventful. It's late afternoon and most of us were in the condo finishing up lunch, leaving Mimi and Popka to enjoy some quiet beach time. On our way back out, we noticed the big beach tent had toppled over and tumbled down the beach. And there was Popka on his knees looking dazed and confused. Apparently a gust of wind had picked up the tent and slammed him, on the face! As some were inspecting the wounded, others were collecting the tent.

But it turns out, it wasn't over yet. Just as Popka and Mimi started heading in, the winds picked up again. And we aren't talking just a slight breeze -it went from 0 to 15 then immediately 15 to 60. Our stuff started blowing everywhere. Tubes sailing down the beach in a blink of an eye, rain falling, sand whipping our legs and faces and worst of all, drinks spilling. Mimi and Popka started herding kids to the walkway while Don/Matt/Donna and I started collecting our things. No one could grab much because of the sand blowing in our eyes and mouths but I grabbed Olivia's beloved boogie board and Grant. The other kids made it to the walkway, but not him. He seemed frozen in place. So just as I had him secured behind the boogie board, I heard Matt yell "WATCH OUT FOR THE UMBRELLAS!" We all turned to see 4 -5 beach resort umbrellas (those big ones attached to chairs that people can rent) tumbling at us. It was a bit like being in a live video game, dodging them as you didn't know which way they would spin or turn as the wind moved them. They had literally snapped off and were flying at us.

And just like that, it was over. The whole event felt like it lasted for 10 minutes but it really was only a minute or so. And there we all stood staring at each other - covered in rain and sand, Popka dripped in dried blood, standing in a graveyard of limes.

Epilogue:
Popka got several stitches and a sticker for being a good patient.

The rest of us enjoyed a gorgeous remaining afternoon. And we even found an unclaimed boat that blew our way. So the PPLC and kids enjoyed it...

...for only a short time. I looked up one moment and saw Olivia far down the beach. As I went to retrieve her, she hopped out of the boat and started to walk in. But as she grabbed for the rope, the boat blew away from her and tumbled away. Maybe it is sailing with the lost inner tube somewhere.