Looking at a banner ad for Myrtle Beach, I found that it was sponsored by the official tourism department for South Carolina. The headline of the banner was what caught my eye, “South Carolina: Made for Vacation.”

Now, I do love South Carolina and I love North Carolina. I love Myrtle Beach for family vacations to the Atlantic, (although I think the Virginia Beach area is a little cleaner and nicer now that they got serious about being a family friendly destination).

According to this tourism site, South Carolina has these activities to offer for a girls getaway weekend:

• Beaches
• Shopping
• Outdoors
• Golfing
• Historic
• Wine / Cuisine
• Theatre
• Ghost Tours
• Spas

As much as I love to travel, I am always looking for new things to do in the major cities and I love reading web sites about travel. This morning I found a site that has information on the top attractions of each city, discount rates on good hotels in each city, and package deals, too.

For example, I go to Boston quite a bit but when I thought about it, I only seem to go to Boston as a pit stop on my way to someplace else. Almost all the flights to New England ski resorts have to stop in Boston so you can change planes. Next time, I should plan to spend a day and night in Boston and see the sights and the top hot spots before going on to the ski resort in Maine or Vermont.

If I want to go to Florida and spend time at Disney or other Orlando area attractions, there is a great deal at a 4 star Orlando hotel for rooms starting at $109. What I like about the Caribe Royale is that they have three towers, with two for anyone, including families, and one tower exclusively for adults. So if you want to go someplace to get away from the kiddos, with all their noise and running around, then you can get a room in the adult tower.

If you have ever been to Orlando, then you know how hard it is to get away from families and children. But there are plenty of adult activities – Orlando is not just for kids.

Tonight’s call from my wonderful grandmother was a nice treat. She is spending some time in Naples with a friend. Usually she only goes to Florida in the winter and early spring, but her friend is having some health issues so Nana decided to got back and help for a couple of weeks.

Nana invited the kids and me to come visit. She reminded me that we have the use of her lovely two bedroom condo any time we want to go the Gulf Coast. I think she forgot that school starts early here, so we can’t go away for a whole week any more. We do have a nice break in October for 10 days, so we might go then. Then again, maybe I’ll get away for a weekend while the kids visit their dad.

Reading over some of the fun activities on the Florida outdoor fun web site called iOutdoor.com, I’m beginning to think that an adult getaway should be in my plans. I could use a couple of days of water activities, like swimming with dolphins or snorkling.

If I go to Naples and stay at Nana’s condo, an air boat ride would be great fun. Naples is just north of the Everglades and there is a lot of fun in the Dollar Bay and Bartell Bay. It’s been years since I took a cruise through the western edge of the Everglades to look at wildlife. Maybe I’ll take my new camera and get some shots of the birds and alligators this time.

Going through my friends list, I discovered three more friends from high school and the old neighborhood that have joined the network recently. One of them was a very good friend that I met in the fourth grade when she came to babysit us, but we lost touch over the years. She married and moved away from the neighborhood and then her parents moved away, so I had no idea where she was.

I found her on the network and it turns out that she and her husband bought Wilmington NC real estate when they had both retired from their first careers, they moved there. They had sold their house in New York and both of them have a pension coming in. So now they can either live an active retired life or they can live where they want to and earn extra money doing something they enjoy. They chose Wilmington.

That sounded like such a good plan that I looked up Wilmington NC real estate on the internet to see what the market it like there. There sere several pages of really nice, affordable homes in a variety of settings, from gated communities to condos to suburban properties with a nice piece of land.

My mom loves to tell us stories about how, back in the day, women were not allowed to play golf on a lot of the golf courses. It was the last bastion of the good old boys network and was really hard to break through.Mom was one of the “woman’s libber” pioneers, as she loved to play golf with my dad.

Now women are welcomed on almost every golf course and my mom loves to play with her girlfriends. She is in Myrtle Beach for a mid-week golf outing with my Aunt Evelyn. I hear that she used the www.48hourteetimes.com web site to get their morning golf game arranged yesterday. That was pretty cool, because I am the one who told her about the web site. Also because my mom is not the world’s biggest fan of the internet, so the fact that she actually went online to a website that I told her about to get tee times is outstanding.

To be honest, my dad is the one who told me about 48 hour tee times in the first place. He found out about it when he went to Myrtle Beach for a convention last summer. But I want to take all the credit for getting my mom to use it.

The Smarter Travel website listed some more of my favorite beach spots, including:

• Provincetown, Massachusetts as the Best Beach Town For Shopping
• Wildwood, New Jersey as the Best Beach Town For A Classic Experience
• Myrtle Beach, South Carolina as the Best Beach Town For Golf, and
• Chincoteague Island, Virginia as the Best Beach Town For Wildlife

A web site that I like called, “Smarter Travel,” has listed their picks for the Top Ten Beach Towns in the U.S. according to ten different categories.

Their first pick is Carmel Beach, California, saying that it is the most romantic beach town. I have been to Carmel and really loved the town. I might have to agree with them on this top pick! Although, it might depend upon who you are with. When I was in Carmel I was madly in love with Glenn. *sigh*

The next best is Mackinac Island, Michigan, voted the best beach town for families. I haven’t been there yet. Going north for a beach has never been on my radar. But I might check it out next summer with the kids.

Talking to my brother this morning about the awful heat here and he says it has been just as hot all the way up in New York, too. Their heat wave makes national news and, unfortunately, people die from heat in the City. A lot of the buildings do not have windows that open, so if you lose your electricity or the air conditioning goes out, the indoor temperatures can rise to deadly levels.

Lots of things can help give a little relief. Seek out the shade if you have to wait outside for the bus or your ride, even if you have to carry an umbrella to make your own shade. Keep your drapes drawn and your shades closed during the day to keep out the sun and the heat that comes in through your windows. Use your ceiling fans to keep the air circulating.

I mostly feel bad for the guys who have to work outdoors, such as policemen, firemen, road crews, tow truck drivers, dock workers, roofers and anyone else who has to be out in the sun and the heat. Be careful out there, guys. Drink lots of water, take frequent breaks, and know the warning signs of heat stroke so you can get help if you need it.

Just heard about a big regional festival in Southwestern Virginia called, Floyd Fest. It looks like a wonderful time for families and people who love live music. The headliner this year is Levon Helm. That would be a fabulous show. I might try to get up there and even take the kids!