Seeing the Old Year Out in Style

Such fun! We always have old favorite things to do, and places to go, and there are new ones to experience too. One of the first necessary visits was to our favorite Irish tavern in Myrtle Beach, Flynn's. We had an excellent corned beef dinner and a couple of pints. In this picture, Jim demonstrates the best position to be in after an evening at Flynn's.

In the afternoon, a fog, or low flying cloud, moved in off the beach and gave us this interesting view off our balcony. Looking straight out to the ocean from our balcony you could see nothing but fog, not even the beach below. Then down the beach, you could actually see it moving between the buildings. It came and went several times during the day, but the temps were mostly in the mid 60's and just beautiful.
We found a local winery, "La Belle Amis", that was hosting a bonfire event for the day, with these terrific Jazz musicians. They were just great, and one guy was making s'mores with Gheridelli chocolates and handing them out. What a marvelous taste! The wine was pretty good too, and what a great afternoon, to nibble on cheese and fruit, sip wine and visit with the people around us.
The winery had two dogs that worked the crowd and added to the fun. One was a border collie, Belle, who would herd any small child who came close, and the other Amis, just strolled among the relaxing guests, mooching snacks.One of our favorite stops is at a local seafood market, where we buy a whole bunch of fresh, never frozen shrimp. So delicious! Jim buys a half dozen oysters, and ceremoniously shucks them out, then sits down to eat them raw, accompanied by a bottle of dark beer. This year he had a special bottle of dark beer from Vermont, a birthday present from our favorite Vermonters. It's a treat he alone loves, and the rest of us just watch. This year he bought a couple extra dozen and we enjoyed them together in oyster stew, with scrambled eggs, and a couple in a brand new way, cooked in the half shell, with just a dash of hot sauce. Yummy. The shrimp gets parboiled and peeled, then we've enjoyed it in kabobs with the best fresh pineapple we ever tasted and other goodies, then just garlic and buttered, and with eggs. We have enough for one more shrimp meal, and it'll be great. There's something so very special about fresh shrimp. So sweet and delicious.

This shot is from this morning's sunrise, right off our balcony. So pretty and peaceful.

Happy New Year everyone.