May 2018. We finally decided the kids were old enough to venture more than a few hours away from home for a REAL vacation. Honestly, I was so looking forward to this vacation as were the kids. None of us knew what to expect but I was looking forward to just spending time with each other.
There were a lot of firsts on this vacation: first flights for the twins, first time to the ocean for the twins, first trip to Myrtle Beach for all of us, and first very long road trip back as a family of 5.
When planning this trip, we went back and forth about whether we should fly or drive. Plane tickets for a family of 5 are not cheap. However, 18 hours of driving is also not cheap, (and could drive parents to insanity)! In the end we decided to do one of each. We flew to Myrtle Beach, rented a van to use while we were there and then used this van to venture home. Looking back, I think we are glad we did things this way. The flight there was uneventful and fun for the kids and the drive back, although long, allowed us to stop at some places we may have never had a chance to see.
Justin’s parents have a time share in Myrtle Beach and Justin’s mom has vacationed there many times, always telling us what a nice time she has when she is there. So we thought, what the heck, let’s check this place out.
Our flight was early so we had some tired, but excited kids during the drive to the airport. After a short layover we arrived in South Carolina early afternoon. Unfortunately it had been raining most of the day but there was a little break right after we arrived. We quickly dropped our bags off in our rooms and headed to the beach. We saw a beautiful rainbow that afternoon. We frolicked on the beach for a couple hours, soaking up the sun before it was scheduled to rain again. Actually, looking at the forecast there was a chance of rain EVERY day! Ugh we have horrible luck with weather when we travel with Justin’s family.
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The next morning, Ladonna and I took an uber to the closest grocery store to get some staples. We had 3 kitchens and I planned to use them! I know some people look forward to eating out while on vacation and to a point I do as well. However I am a creature of habit and my kids are as well so we needed to have some items on hand, especially for breakfast and lunch. It was pouring down rain this morning and we waited forever for our Uber driver to come back and pick us up from the store. Then he didn’t even help us get our groceries out of the back of his vehicle! No tip for you.
It looked like it was going to rain most of the day so we decided to venture out. We weren’t planning on getting our rental vehicle for a couple days so we had to get an Uber XL to take to an area called Broadway at the Beach. This is a cute area with an aquarium, stores, and other museums tailored for families. It rained most of this first day so we explored the aquarium and the stores in this area. Finally by the time we returned home from our adventure the rain clouds had moved away, giving us a little time to hit the beach, hot tub and pools!
DAy #1: We saw the rain was going to stay away so we decided to stay on the beach the entire day. After lugging some lounge chairs and umbrellas from our resort we set up shot. It really was an ideal location as the kids could easily go between the pools/hot tub and the ocean and the adults could lounge on the chairs, being able to watch them wherever they ventured. We also spent time this morning looking for shark teeth and we did find a few. It was a perfect lazy beach/pool day!
Day #3: We did more of the same. We decided to walk down to an area where there is a large sky wheel and more shops/restaurants. It was probably about 2 miles from where we were staying. The nice part about going to Myrtle Beach at this time of year is it wasn't very busy at all so we never had to fight any crowds. While we were waiting for lunch I took the kids to a nearby arcade. It is amazing how much kids love to play these types of games. A nice older guy came up to us with about 200 tickets he had won from playing games "during his lunch break." Of course the kids came away with a handful of random toys/candy that wasn't really needed...
When you are without a vehicle you have to get adventurous. We knew there was a dollar store and a couple other small stores within walking distance, (besides tourist gift shops which were EVERYWHERE), so we all went for a little walk hoping to grab a few things we needed. We didn't pack any sand toys for the flight so we bought some at the dollar store along with a boogie board for the kids to try out. (A bonus of driving home is we were able to bring these back with us!). Justin found a liquor store that was handing out free samples and he also snagged a couple free t-shirts. We never quite got the hang of the boogie board, but it is now a nice souvenir which is still hanging in my garage.
After a couple days of swimming we decided to do a little miniature golfing. I think Myrtle Beach is the miniature golf capital of the US. They have so many different course it is impossible to know which one to try! We chose the one we could walk to and it didn't disappoint. Besides losing a few balls and Justin having to go all the way back to the start to get new ones, it was a nice family outing in perfect, (but humid!), weather.
Our room set up was just perfect! We had 3 separate condos which were at one end of a hallway. The three rooms had its own door to the hallway which we could lock so we kept the doors between the condos open. Each condo had a living room, bedrooms, large bathrooms with jacuzzi tub and a small kitchenette. Most meals were eaten in Grandma S's room and the girls slept in her condo as well. Caleb enjoyed his own condo by himself which left Justin and I alone in the third one. It was amazing having all of this space!
Day #4: We got our rental van this day so we decided to use it. We ventured north to Wilmington, NC. They have a battleship there which we toured, (this was so neat!), then we spent the afternoon exploring this quant little town along the water. We took a little tour on the water while the kids napped. This was actually one of my favorite days of the trip. I love exploring new places and I think my family does as well, (Justin absolutely does). Laying on the beach is only something I can do for a couple days, then I want to go DO something.
Day #5: We ventured back to the beach and pools as the weather was just too perfect. That evening we went to the Myrtle Beach Pelican's baseball game. The weather looked like it was going to rain but it ended up being an amazing night weather wise. There were not a ton of people there so we were able to spread out in our section and saw a great game! I love that my kids are at least somewhat entertained by sporting events as Justin and I definitely enjoy going to them.
Day #6: We were so sad this was our last day in Myrtle Beach. We decided to do what we enjoyed the most and that was just relaxing on the beach and in the pools. That evening, Justin and I had a fabulous dinner out together at Sea Captain's House Restaurant. This is a cute old house that was turned into a restaurant which is right on the water. The food was amazing and I will never forget the fresh hushpuppies we had.
Every evening after the kids would go to bed, Justin, Ladonna, and I would sit on one of our three decks and watch the buzz below us. There was a motorcycle rally going on during the week we were there which we didn't really notice during the day, but at night countless motorcycles would cruise the main street which was visible from our condo (literally right below where we were sitting). Music would be blaring from some bikes and colorful lights shone under some as well. Not an evening went by where we didn't see some motorcyclist or a car being pulled over by a cop. It was highly entertaining, while we enjoyed a cocktail or two to relax after a long day in the water. The weather was always perfect in the evening, sometimes needing a blanket on your legs to take the chill off.
Day #7: We said goodbye to Grandma and started our adventure West. We were hoping to make it to Gatlinburg, TN by mid to late afternoon so we could enjoy some of this town before it got dark. Unfortunately about 40 minutes after we left, we heard a weird sound on the busy highway and knew instantly we had a flat tire. We were in a busy town so quickly pulled over and called a highway helper. After about 30 minute he arrived and helped us put on our spare tire so we could drive to the nearest firestone. With this being a rental vehicle, we contacted Enterprise to help us get through this ordeal. The closest tire-fixing place, (or whatever you call them ;)), had about an hour or two wait before they could fix our tire. Enterprise had a building not far from us and offered to just trade us a different van. We went this route and were driving a new renal van about an hour and a half later. I took the kids to lunch while Justin worked on the small details of changing rental vehicles.
This little set back didn't allow us to get to Gatlinburg until almost dark. We had a late dinner at a cute steakhouse and then settled down in our hotel room, which was right along a river. Our deck overlooked it and the views of the Smoky Mountains were beautiful.
Day #8: This was our only full day in this beautiful town and we wanted to make the most of it. I love going for a run in new surroundings and ran along the river with views of the mountains off and on. It was picturesque. The kids enjoyed the pool while I got in a quick run and then we all ventured into this adorable little mountain town. The main road of this town is lined with restaurants, shops, TN whiskey shops and anything else mountain-like you can think of. I was in love. We found a miniature golf course set up in the mountains which we played as well as a mountain roller coaster that 4 of us tried out. Caleb sat that one out. After this we discovered a restaurant to have brunch at and unfortunately soon after we finished eating it started raining. The amount of visitors to this town is enormous! This place was busy but we were troopers and continued seeing the sights despite the rain. The rain didn't last too long and we were able to so some browsing in the stores before heading to the mountains for some hiking.
We found the closest hiking path and started up the mountain. After a quick stop at a waterfall we continued on our way. We were worried rain would come again so we wanted to get as much hiking in as possible. Of course, not long after we ventured past the waterfall it started to sprinkle. We continued to climb up. Despite the rain, the mountains were beautiful to see. Then the sprinkles turned in to a little more than a sprinkle, then we heard thunder and not soon after this it started to downpour! We ran down that mountain as fast as we could. The entire time I was yelling at the kids to not step in mud or puddles, (impossible by the way), as they were all wearing their new tennis shoes! Regardless we were all soaking wet when we reached the bottom and had to strip down in the van into dry clothes. We left Gatlinburg in the late evening and continued West, stopping at a hotel in Kentucky. This is definitely a place I would come back to and spend more time at.
Day #9: This is the part of the trip where we were all about ready to be home. Perhaps we should have stayed another day in Gatlinburg to help break up the driving. Our next stop was St. Louis. We contemplated staying the night here and going to the St. Louis Zoo but by the time we reached the arch, we were anxious to continue on our way. It was HOT this day! We parked and walked to the arch for a few pics before heading back in the van.
We drove North and made it to Justin's parent's house around 6 pm. After a quick dinner of Casey's pizza we drove 2 more hours to home. What a whirlwind! That was the longest vacation we have ever taken as a family. I love that it was a mixture of driving and flying and although the drive back was long, I am so thankful we were able to see some sights on the adventure back. Overall, our children are pretty good travelers, as long as they have snacks and occasional screen time. What a successful trip we had together! Now a year later I am finally finishing this post, (life got busy!). The kids still talk about the fun they had at Myrtle Beach and are anxious to return next year with their cousins. I know some people like to travel to different places and see new things but I am also looking forward to another trip to Myrtle Beach. There is just too much to do there and it is ideal for kids our age. This time, however, we will fly both ways :).
