Myrtle Beach, Day 6: Dolphin Tour

Not zoomed: we were this close to the dolphins.

Friday was a sunny and gorgeous day in Myrtle Beach. The temperature was on the cool side, barely hitting seventy degrees, but the boys were very excited to go on the planned dolphin tour. We didn't want to be on a gargantuan boat with over 100 other people, so we chose Blue Wave Adventures out of Murrell's Inlet - this small dolphin tour company provides close encounters with dolphins in a smaller boat - perfect for our two kids.

We drove to the Crazy Sister's Marina in Murrell's Inlet and ate a picnic lunch at one of the tables there. Our tour was set for 11:30am, and we didn't want the boys to get too hungry while we were out at sea.

A quick picnic lunch.

We checked in and met the crew, then walked down the pier to the boat. The boys actually ran the entire way down the pier to the dock - they were so excited they could hardly contain themselves. We boarded the Osprey, and settled into seats in the center of the boat.

The Osprey: our dolphin tour boat.

Matt was thrilled as the boat revved its engines and we darted out into the Atlantic. The captain did a fast circle in the water and told us that was our "morning doughnut." The boys were laughing and really enjoying the trip. I am glad we brought their sweatshirts, however, because the wind was bitingly cold out on the water!

Matt experiencing the joy of speed.

We saw several dolphin pods and many jellyfish that floated right next to the boat. The boys really found this interesting, though near the end of the hour Nolan did proclaim that he had to use the bathroom. Thank goodness the tour was only one hour long, because I don't think our little one would have held out for much longer!

Cannonball jelly. They don't sting. 

Nolan at the end of the dolphin tour.

After the dolphin tour, we hopped off the boat and started to drive back to Myrtle Beach. We discovered that we were suddenly quite hungry, so we pulled into a place that had an advertisement for "BBQ." As soon as we walked in, I realized this wasn't quite what we were looking for. The restaurant was more "high school cafeteria buffet" than "Barbecue." Dennis, however, was thrilled - there was vanilla pudding in a big bin that had bananas in it. He was sold.

The rest of us picked at an assortment of fried food, including some fried shrimp. This comes into play later in our vacation story (hint: food poisoning). We filled our bellies and headed back to our condo to hit the beach for one last time.