Vacation

Last month we took a vacation to Myrtle Beach and Charlotte.  We had a wonderful time even though we had to contend with Hurricane Irene. 

Good morning Atlantic!  This was the view off the balcony from our room.  We also had a balcony off of the living room with the same view. 

We stayed at the Ocean Reef which is located in the northern portion of Myrtle Beach but south of North Myrtle Beach. 

Here’s a photo of the hotel from the back.  Looking at this photo, our room was on the tenth floor around the right side which is called the north tower.  The rooms on the side of the building are angled allowing for the ocean view. 

We stayed in a king junior suite so we had our own room and balcony.  It was nice to sit out there each night after the kids went to bed.

 

We had a nice kitchenette so we ate breakfast and lunch in every day.  The first door on the left is the bathroom, second door is the closet, and on around the corner is a hallway that goes to the main door.  Also down that hallway off to the right were a washer and dryer. 

The living area is where the kids slept.  Gavin slept on the fold out couch which made him feel like such a big guy.  We set up Abby’s pack and play every afternoon and night in the spot where the table and chairs are.  Things got a bit cramped at times but it was perfect considering we weren’t in the room but to eat and sleep. 

We spent our days at the beach and at the pool.  Hopefully you aren’t expecting to see a bunch of pictures for tourist attractions in MB because you won’t find them here.  The only other thing we did was go to a dinner theatre show which I’ll share on down the blog.  With Hurricane Irene headed our way we wanted to get in as much beach and pool time as possible.  We also set a goal, to relax as much as possible.  Everyone knows if you spend the whole time running from attraction to attraction not much relaxing happens. 

The kids had a great time on the beach, the first day.  For some reason, the following mornings we went to the beach, Abby had a major freak out.  She either had to be held or she would stand on the beach screaming and pointing at the hotel saying “ool!” because she wanted the pool and not the ocean.  

I suppose that maybe her displeasure with the beach could be related to the sand I found in her swim diaper. 

On the first morning we went to the beach laden with chairs for us, chairs for the kids, toys, a bag of towels and sunscreen, a cooler, and the beach umbrella.  Brandon said that he saw one guy laughing at him.  The following days we didn’t take all that stuff with us because it turned out we didn’t need it. 

 

He’s so cute in his shades.  Abby refused to keep a hat or sunglasses on. 

This is one of those pictures that I look at and can picture Gavin standing on the beach in 10 years as a teenager.  Maybe minus the bucket, but who knows, maybe he’ll still want to build sand castles at 14. 

Gavin had a blast jumping with the waves.  The waves became a bit strong as the week went on and by the end of the day on Thursday, the day before we left, the beach had been closed because of rip currents and rough surf.

I’m not sure who had more fun building the sand castle, Daddy or the kids.

A family self portrait on the beach.

We stopped by the pool on the way back from the beach before lunch each day.  Then we headed back to the pool after nap time. 

The kids loved the kid’s pool.  It was no deeper than 18 inches at any point and there was tons of spraying and dumping water. 

At some point Gavin decided he needed to wear his goggles all the time.  I should say it wasn’t all the time, more like any time we weren’t at the beach or pool. 

Red flag = Closed beach on Thursday afternoon.

We went to Pirates Voyage on Thursday night.  Two words…MONEY PIT.  It is a dinner theatre so you get dinner and the show in your ticket price.  However, the tickets are still outrageous.  There is a pirate village that you go into and they take your picture then try to get you to buy it later.  Everything in the pirate village costs money and of course when you first enter after getting aforementioned picture taken, the first area you are in is the gift shop.  Argh!  The final blow comes when you get to your seat and there are cards set up that say that a tip for your wait staff is appreciated.  I’m sorry, that wasn’t including in the absolutely absurd ticket price?  Good grief.  While the kids found the show entertaining, and for the most part it was, they didn’t touch their overpriced food.  Anyway, it was an okay time but I don’t recommending spending the funds on it.

 

 

See the sword pictured here…it’s now in Gavin’s room.  Thank goodness it was somewhat cheap. 

There was some entertainment in the village at least.  The seal did a few tricks that the kids liked.    

  

Two pirates did pirate sing-a-longs. 

The show was about the red pirates vs. the blue pirates.  We were on the blue side and this is our ship.

This is how things looked the day we left.  It was gray and raining.  We took the kids to the pool for a bit, had some lunch, packed up, and left.  Irene was coming in overnight and into Saturday morning and we were concerned we’d get stuck due to heavy rains. 

While we were driving back to Ashley’s house in Charlotte the bands of the hurricane had come in and we were caught in some wind and heavy rain. 

We made it back to Charlotte and spent the weekend at Ashley’s house enjoying blue sky and sun at the pool.

We also took the kids to play at the park in her neighborhood after dinner each night.  It was a good way to tire them out before bed!

Gavin has learned to swing and had so much fun swinging next to Ashley.

We had a great vacation and found it to be pretty relaxing.  Just the break we all needed….now about that vacation without the kids!  J