Spring Break 2008

The kids and I took a few days of Spring Vacation to spend at Myrtle Beach, SC. I did some research and made a list of hotels that took pets so we didn't have to worry about the animals. Tuesday evening we started packing and finished up Wednesday morning. With the rig loaded, we headed out at about 11am.

Less than an hour into the trip the kids noticed Timmy the cat acting very funny. They said he was drooling nonstop so I had them put him in the kennel. Not two minutes later we were all overcome by a horrible smell. Poor kitty had doo-doo'd in the kennel. With windows down and kids moaning, I was stuck in a construction area with no way to pull over. Luckily within a mile we came to a rest stop where I could pull over and clean up with the Clorox wipes I had brought along, just in case, lol. Amazingly enough, I had also brought a can of air freshener!

Mess cleaned and everything secure, we continued along. About halfway there, we stopped for some lunch. It was pretty hot that day, so we just hit a Micky D drive-thru so we could leave the A/C running for the animals. My mom called, so I pulled into a parking space first to finish our chat. The kids were going bonkers and my call was winding down, so I pulled up to order and had to say good bye to mom. Orders placed, I drive around to the next window and grab my purse to find my bank card, BUT IT WASN'T THERE! AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! I had enough cash to pay for the food and pull over to eat. I searched my purse, but still couldn't find the card. Since I had no other way to pay for a hotel or have access to any funds, we'd have to go home. Unbelievable! After finishing my salad, I frantically searched one more time and found the card slid between the pages of a notebook. Whew!

It's about a four hour drive to Myrtle Beach from our place and the rest of the trip was smooth sailing. I drove Ocean Blvd to check out the hotels and the kids picked one out. We got a oceanfront room with double queen beds and a full kitchen, cheap (woohoo).

The kids couldn't wait to get out on the beach, so we quickly unloaded and went out for a walk. We all got hungry, so we went a few blocks up the road to Friendly's (home of the commercial jingle Emily had been singing for days). We had a great meal and went back to check on the animals. After a little more time on the beach, we hit the pool. We had fun swimming and splashing around. It was late, so we headed up to bed and set the alarm so we could catch the sunrise.

The sunrise was working up to be a brilliant show, but got taken over by fog. Blake had really been looking forward to seeing the sun rise up from the ocean...maybe another time.

At 9 am we were out on the beach, but it was a little chilly, so we decided to go sight seeing for a bit. The kids talked me into doughnuts and hot chocolate from Dunkin Doughnuts along the way. We went to check out Broadway At The Beach, a big attraction, but nothing was open yet. We decided to go back to the beach for a while. Loaded up with sand buckets, inflated toys, kites, bubbles, and towels, we headed out. The fog had already burned off and it was beautiful! The kids played tag with the waves, collected shells, dug, dug, and dug some more in the sand. Hours just flew by.

Hot, and ready to eat again, we went back to Broadway. We decided to try Hard Rock Cafe. We waited 15 minutes after being seated and were never even offered drinks, so we left and found Senor Frogs. We were seated and had drinks pronto. The waiters were a lot of fun and the food was great.

Renourished and recharged, we walked around and looked at all the sights. The kids wanted to do MagiQuest and I obliged. What a fun place. You get a magic wand that when waved at certain objects activates them (like a treasure chest opens). There are quests you can chose to do that are sort of like scavanger hunts. We spent an hour playing and were still having fun. You get to keep your wand and all your information is saved. If you ever return to any MagiQuest center, you can continue your magi training. Really cool stuff. We even discovered several magical spots throughout Broadway shoping areas.

Before we knew it, it was 7:00! Time to head back and check on the animals. We ordered a pizza and then went swimming again before calling it a night.

The fog was thick again Friday morning, but it was still warm, so we went back out to the beach for a while. Checkout was at 11, so after a couple hours, we went in to rinse of, and load up.

The trip home was a breeze, and we can't wait to go back!