We went to Myrtle Beach about 2 1/2 years ago, before our 4th was born and our 3rd was only about 7 months old. We took my parents with us for Labor Day weekend, so it was just a quick trip to the beach but the first time AJ and Aleigh had ever seen a beach! They LOVED it and haven't stopped talking about it since! They have been to Disneyworld a few times (also with my parents to stay in their timeshare) and still say that their weekend trip to Myrtle Beach was their favorite vacation ever! All we did was hang out at the beach and the pool and maybe went out for dinner a couple of times. Isn't it amazing how a short and sweet, inexpensive, trip to the beach can make kids SO happy?! I honestly think it's because they have the opportunity to just sit back, take it all in, and get the quality time they desire with family! Disney is amazing, and still one of my favorite vacations, but can be very overwhelming! There is just so much to do and the best option there is to purchase park hopper passes so you go trying to make the most of your passes by hitting a different park everyday! I am sure to a little one it becomes very over-stimulating and hard to take it all in. So, I can see why a trip to the beach where they get to play in the pool and sand and spend time with family can be an unforgettable one...not as much to try to remember! Lol!
Since we are currently still living in the South, we thought we should take advantage and try a couple more, short trips, to the beach...short to make it more affordable! Truth be told...tolerable...mostly for me! I try, belive me I do, but I just don't love the beach! I am not a beach girl at all! I don't like the heat, the ocean water creeps me out, the sand freaks me out and makes such a gritty mess when it sticks to your greasy sun-screened covered body. I burn easily and don't tan so I don't see a point in laying in the sun. I have very very sensitive eyes in sunlight already but at the beach the air and water make them itch so bad that I wake up w/ swollen eyes every morning that were there, and I am not even a big fan of water and swimming! I know, I know, I sound like a HORRIBLE COMPLAINER! But for anyone who is reading and cannot even begin to understand how one can actually not love the beach, I ask you to ask yourself how much you would love being in the mountains, playing in the snow, cold, possibly wet, watching your breath escape into the cold mountain air? If you LOVE the beach, you are probably thinking you would HATE being in the cold snowy mountains! I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!! Give me some snow and mountains and put me in a ski lodge for a week, sipping on hot chocolate every night, bundled up in warm pajamas and blankets, sitting in front of the fireplace looking out into the beautiful white snowy mountains, sledding and skiing during the day, playing in the snow...it just doesn't get any better than that for me! I know there are people who absolutely love both the snowy mountains and the hot beach, but most prefer one over the other. I, obviously, just happen to STRONGLY prefer the mountains and snow over the beach! :)
I suppose if I were someone who tanned easily and enjoyed the water I would also love the beach. I do go and make the best of it for my family w/out complaining at all! I thoroughly enjoy seeing the joy on my kids' faces when they are at the beach/pool! I love watching them play in the sand and run into the waves! I enjoy sitting on a beachfront balcony watching and listening to the waves crash..I really do appreciate the beauty in that! With all that being said, we really did have a wonderful family trip to the beach! The kids enjoyed the beach everyday for a few hours, we took them to the boardwalk and let them win tons of tickets and turn them in for prizes at the arcades there, let them play in the pools and lazy rivers (both indoor and outdoor) at the hotel, and then went to this great place called "Broadway on the Beach" It's like a downtown Disney...w/out the Disney aspect obviously! They had a ton of great bars and clubs that would be loads of fun for just adults, great specialty gift shops, tons of amazing restaurants (hard rock cafe, planet hollywood, carlos and charlies, Jimmy Buffets Margaritaville), and some fantastic entertainment! We went to a place called Wonder Works where there were several things for the kids to do for fun and learn about science all at the same time! That was a blast and my favorite part of the whole trip! The girls got to build a bear, AJ got an Angry Birds T-shirt, we ate at Hard Rock Cafe where AJ and Aleigh were educated and quized on some of the greatest Rock Stars! Too bad we didn't discover this place until our last night! Go figure!
It was a great trip...but an eventful one...
I have learned that elevator doors just don't stay open long enough for a family of 6to load and unload...especially when you are trying to get a stubborn 3 yr old to move when you tell her to! She was all about jumping off the elevator when it wasn't our stop, but never wanted to move fast enough when it was our stop! It became quite commical actually...when the elevators were actually working...
We were staying on the 11th floor and not once, but TWICE the fire alarms went off while we were there and shut the elevators down for hours! The first time was right after we had arrived and were ready to head down to the beach! We had all of our stuff, all of our hands were full, and we had to carry everything and our 18 month old down all those flights of stairs! Then back up the stairs when the elevators were still down after 4 hrs! We slept ok that first night with Ansley between Joe and I, Austin in a pack n play at the foot of us, AJ in a pull down wall bed, and Aleigh in a single sized sofa bed. The hotel wasn't the best maintained nor was it at all new but rather old with rusted fixtures and water sprinklers. There was a little bitty galley kitchen with a fridge, tiny stove, sink, and microwave that connected the two rooms. The first room was the one you entered in from and had a king size bed in it, just big enough for you to walk in and turn around, the bathroom was teeny tiny right off the galley kitchen and then the other room (living room area) was about the size of a very small bedroom. Just big enough to pull out the single size sofa bed and the wall bed. There was no room to walk when the beds were out. However, there was a balcony that overlooked the beach and had such a beautiful view! That was the main priority for us, to have a beachfront room. When we went a couple years back we stayed across the street from the beach, but it was a beautiful 3 bedroom condo that was brand new w/ two balconies...very nice!
This time we were on a tight budget and wanted to make sure we were both on the beach and at a hotel where there would be a lot of entertainment for the kids! There was a water slide, two lazy rivers, and several other water activities for them to enjoy. There was also both an amusement park and water park about 20 steps down the street from our hotel. I saw that the rooms looked nice from the online photos, the reviews seemed good, there were other amenities that seemed convenient, it had a kitchen so we could save money by bringing a little bit of our own food, there was enough room for us to all sleep, and it was beachfront. The cost was very reasonable, so that's why we booked it! Well, the water park and amusement park were closed the whole time we were there, and the waterslide was also shut down the whole time we were there. The room had a strange smell, it was an outdoor entrance (thought it was an indoor entrance from the photos),it was not very clean, and obviously a whole lot smaller than expected! We got over it quick by thinking we would probably not be spending much time in the room anyway. Well, we did spend a lot more time in the room than anticipated, but not too much! It worked out just fine. THEN...our second night there at about 1am the fire alarm goes off and a recorded voice comes over the intercom telling us to evacuate the room immediately at 1AM!!! SERIOUSLY...probably another false alarm and you want me to not only wake up all 4 of my kids but get them down 11 flights of stairs while were all half asleep!!! Yep...that's what we had to do! So we FINALLY get down to the bottom and, like we expected, it was a false alarm and they told us we were clear to go back to our rooms after 30 minutes of standing in a parking lot with a bunch of other people and children who were half asleep!
Here are a few of my kids sad, tired, and waiting to climb back up to our room so we could go back to bed!
It's 2am and our older 3 went right back to sleep. We put Austin in his pack and play right away but had to leave the room so he could fall asleep. After about 20 minutes we went back to bed to find that Austin was still awake! We just went to bed anyway but had to listen to him cry for 45 minutes because he didn't understand why we wouldn't get him out of bed if we were right there! That was so hard and we were so frustrated! After realizing we were not going to get him out, he gave up! At least the kids slept in until about 9:30am the next day!
SO....aside from the crazy events that took place...surely there is a lot more I am leaving out...like the 5 different trips I had to take to the bathroom in McDonalds within 30 minutes because Ansley had to go potty twice, Aleigh had to go, Austin had a dirty diaper, then just when I told Joe I refused to go back into that bathroom for a 5th time...I had to go! Anyway, we really really did have a good time! Even if there were a lot of things that weren't as pleasant for me, I kept those to myself and soaked in the joy I got from all of my kids excitement! At one point Aleigh said to me it was really her best vacation ever! Watching AJ on his little boogie board riding the waves for hours was so fulfilling for me! Watching Ansley play in the pool, build sand castles, chase the birds, and make friends was awesome! Then seeing my sweet little Austin discover sand and water for the first time was priceless! He did NOT like the ocean water at all, but everytime we took him in the pool he held us tight and rested his head on our shoulders the entire time! It was so sweet and I loved every second of that! If I can create fun and lasting memories for my kids, regardless of how many things might be a little less pleasant for me, my cup is full and I am doing my most important job right!!!
Photos of the kids and my hubby enjoying the beach:
Austin not too fond of the ocean water!
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