Army Marriage-What a ride!

I think the title says it all…over the weekend Chris and I attended a married couples reunion retreat in Myrtle Beach sponsored by the Army. The retreat was focused on bringing couples who had been separated by deployment together for some relaxation and inspiration to build a “forever love”, as the Chaplin called it. It happened to be “Bike Week” at the beach so there were lots of motorcycles and bikers around, it also lead to the theme for the retreat. We checked into our ocean view hotel room on Friday around 6pm, went to dinner and then attended the welcome session for the retreat. After that, we were free to enjoy the evening as we pleased so Chris and I took a walk on the beach and listened the sound of the ocean.

On Saturday, we had a morning of sessions focusing on love and respect, followed by a BBQ on the beach and then were free for the rest of the day. Chris and I packed our beach bag and spent the afternoon lying in the sun, walking on the beach and playing Frisbee. We even ventured into the ocean to do a little wave riding and splashed around a bit. It was awesome to just hang out together in such a beautiful setting and enjoy each other’s company. Chris and I both sunscreened up before going to the beach but we didn’t do a very good job of making sure his fair skin was covered completely and he ended up with splotchy sunburns on his arms, chest and neck. After getting cleaned up a bit, we ventured out to the outlet mall and both ended up with a pair of shoes…the Puma store got us! Chris got a pair of golf shoes which I’m sure he will put to good use as he’s been golfing quite a bit lately and I got a cute pair of run-around shoes. After doing our part to stimulate the economy, we went to Melting Pot for dinner. For those of you not familiar with Melting Pot, it’s a fondue restaurant where you cook the food at your table. The booths are cozy and private, perfect for a romantic dinner for two. We ordered the Signature Dinner which included a Gouda cheese course with vegetables and bread, salad and a coq au vin (chicken and wine) broth to cook our meat course in. We both really enjoyed the dinner and we had a great waiter who walked us through the courses.


Sunday started with breakfast and catching up with a couple that we met on our Pre-Cana Course that we took before the wedding, then a worship service and wedding vowel renewal ceremony. That was the end of the retreat part of the weekend so Chris and I packed up the car and decided to spend a couple more hours on the beach before the 2 ½ hour ride home. Overall, we really appreciated the retreat and the time we spent at Myrtle Beach.

At the Melting Pot...you can tell we've both been in the sun!

At the Beach

At the hotel