Before our family came to visit, we had been talking about a beach trip for when they came. Since they are coming all the way from Kansas, it only make sense to do the beach. Plus, we love the beach, so why not? But if you've been following the blog, you know we have actually already been to the beach once this summer, so because of that we needed to find something affordable. And preferably, some place different. So after some searching, Myrtle Beach seemed like the perfect match.
After talking it over with my family, along with Vassil, it was decided. Myrtle Beach it was. And after booking our hotel, I think we were all pretty excited! I know I was pretty stoked about being right ON the beach (check out our awesome view!), although our resort was actually "multiple" towers, so the really cool pirate ship and lazy river was a about 6 blocks down, which meant some walking. But considering the cost, it still seemed like it was worth it!
Vassil thought the best time to leave for the beach would be the same day he returned from his week conference up in Rhode Island. His flight would arrive that morning, and we could leave around lunch, and get in some beach time that afternoon/evening--which would mean he wouldn't have to take an extra day off from work. Sounded perfect. Right?
Unfortunately, this vacation was FAR from perfect. In fact, it was one of those vacations where everyone is in a bad mood and everything seems to go wrong. For starters, Vassil was exhausted the moment he got home and announced that he needed a nap before we could go. That didn't sit over too well with me. I'd packed the car the night before, and we'd been pacing all morning for his flight to arrive so we could get to the BEACH. We were SO excited. We'd already talked and planned weeks in advance regarding our itinerary, and how we wanted to leave before noon to get there with time to do some things that night. I'd even made space in the itinerary for Vassil and Liam to get naps each day we were there, since I knew it was important to them both. Vassil LOVED that part. But I hadn't planned on a nap BEFORE we left. I wanted to get there and do as much as we could in the short time we had. "Can't you just sleep in the car and I'll drive? Or if you can't sleep in the car, just wait a few hours and then sleep when we get to the hotel?" Nope. He couldn't. He HAD to have a nap. And he HAD to have one right then. I was irritated.
Now, normally, when family isn't in town, and we have little "disagreements," we talk about it and 5 minutes later we kiss and make up and get along just fine. We really do. But something about the mix of inlaws always makes for kinda a stressful environment. Maybe its because we are in close quarters and don't want to "air" all of our little misgivings, so we end up letting them sit and fester. Regardless, it's never pretty. So as you can imagine, a little tiff over a nap spiraled into 48 hours of being mad at each other, and no space or privacy to work it out as we were not only sharing a hotel suite, but also we had to divide up into two different cars. It was awful. And probably our biggest marital fight to date, which is just ever SO lovely seeing how it happened in front of my family. But that's life, right?
Well, on top of Vassil and I being irritated at each other, everything just seemed to go wrong. After we FINALLY arrived in Myrtle, Vassil decided to go parked both cars in the deck while we unpacked our luggage in the room. Not five minutes later we decide we were hungry and ready for dinner... but after looking on the map, figured we'd need the cars. The cars Vassil just parked. Ugh. Vassil, though, quickly decided we should just walk. The map we had for "Broadway on the Beach" made it appear as though it weren't far from our hotel. So with stroller in tow, we set off. Set off into heavy traffic, and no sidewalks, and a street that seemed to lead to an even busier road/highway. Combine this with the heat, and I'll admit, there were some tantrums had that night. And not by the children. Sigh. Mainly, one of us wanted to keep walking. The other didn't. We finally ended up deciding to just eat at the place near our hotel. Of course, by the time we got seated, we suddenly realized the cheapest meal on the menu was $25. I'm pretty sure none of us could enjoy the food at that price--well, except Liam who inhaled his hushpuppies.
Sadly, it wasn't much better.
We decided to head over to the other resort tower to check out the pirate ship and lazy river. Remember, this is the same resort, but our room was WAY less expensive because it was further down. Six blocks to be precise. Since we can't all fit into one car, Vassil thought it would just be easier to walk than to load up two cars. Six blocks doesn't sound that far, right? Maybe not to us... but don't tell that to a whiny 3 year old. After walking for what felt like an hour in the thick sand... we finally decided to finish the last bit of the walk on the main street so it would be easier to walk.
By the time we finally arrived to the other resort area (6 blocks in the scorching heat) we were pretty grumpy, but determined to enjoy the rest of the day.
And I think the kids really did! Liam LOVED the pirate ship. And Elizabeth did everything--pirate ship, pool, spray ground, lazy river. Only she wouldn't sit on a floatie on the lazy river... she just kinda floated along in her wings. Nana and Maddie helped watch Elizabeth, and daddy watched Liam, while I got to sit back and read a little. It was nice. But I could tell Vassil was still grumpy. And I think having our family around meant that we didn't really have the privacy to talk about what was eating at us... so instead, we both let it fester. Lots of tension. Lots of little snipping at each other. It wasn't pretty. In fact, it was awful. And SO embarrassing.
When we returned to the hotel for the kids to take their naps, I asked my mom if we could have some privacy so I could talk to Vassil. It literally took 5 minutes of talking, and we were good. We both said our apologies, and promised to enjoy the rest of the vacation and make the best of it. We did, but I think we were both pretty embarrased that we'd had this big fight in front of my famliy--so I think we were both just ready to be home.
Well, after having made up, and after the kids woke up from naps, we decided to load up (in the car this time) to check out "Broadway at the Beach" for dinner. The perfect fresh start to our bad vacation. But as we were getting dressed (and I was ironing some clothes), in a split second, before I could do anything, Liam reached over and touched the hot iron. He only touched it for a split second, but let me tell you... it HURT!
And I know it hurt because he let me know it hurt for the next hour and a half. My mom even had to call Grandpa Clay to see what we should do because he just couldn't stop wailing. Papa recommended the Jelly Fish spray they'd packed. But even that didn't help. He cried and cried and cried. I told my family we might have to skip the Broadway thing since we couldn't get him to stop.
Finally, Vassil took him down to the pool to see if the cool water might help. He was right! He instantly stopped crying and was so happy playing in the baby pool and showing us how to "swim."
And since it still wasn't too late... we quickly dried him off and loaded up and headed out for some dinner.
We decided on Hard Rock Cafe. I thought it would be good food, and loud enough that if Liam started crying again, it wouldn't be a huge deal. Fortunately, his finger felt fine the rest of the trip. In fact, he was in such great spirits, he started HEAD BANGING (I kid you not!) to some of the music that was playing!
Above: Sis with her creme brulee.
And Liam finishing off the last bit of the brownie ice cream.
After dinner we walked around a bit.
Then we headed back to the hotel. We were DETERMINED to have a better day tomorrow.
There are SO many neat things to do in Myrtle Beach, besides the beach. That was one of the reasons I was irritated with Vassil when he was insisting on a nap, since it was going to ruin our itinerary and mean we could do less. And since we weren't staying too long, we really couldn't do much to begin with. And after a day or two that felt wasted, we didn't have time to do too much else. BUT, we all somehow agreed that we wanted to check out the 'gaters at this neat local zoo, called Alligator Adventures.
I've gotta say, I was pretty stoked about this. I'd never seen alligators close up (except behind glass in our zoo back home). So I knew this was going to be neat. Plus, the website looked SO cool!
Unfortunately, we spent close to an hour just trying to find the place. It was supposed to be this big zoo in "Barefoot Landing" (a big shopping district) not too far from where we were staying, but we circled and couldn't find any signs and were close to giving up. Finally, we saw this LONG board walk, and a VERY small posting that read "Alligator Adventures"... to top it off, there were ZERO cars in the parking lot. Was this IT? My excitement was quickly deflating.
It turns out, we'd found a back entrance, and somehow missed the big signs and main entrance on another side of the mall area.
Anyway, the park was pretty neat, although, maybe not quite as neat as I'd imagined. But I'm still glad we decided to go.
Mom and Sis got to touch a snake during the show.
And everyone got to touch a baby gator! How cool is that?! Elizabeth cracked me up she was SO fascinated, she kept holding his claw, and rubbing his belly, and didn't want to leave the line.
Thankfully, there were some indoor exhibits to help with the heat. A Tiger, some bats, a camel, lots of lizzards and snakes--and even the largest Alligator in captivity (along with about 500 other gators swimming around the big river/lagoon area around the park).
Back outdoors there was a big boardwalk that lead to all sorts of neat exhibits. At one point, we could see the House of Blues in the distance. This is where I'd originally planned for Vassil and I to go on our "date night." Alas, it was not to be.
How strange is this statue?
Maddie braved the jaws of this gater! While Sissy opted for a ride on his tale.
It was around this point that my flip flop broke. Yes. It broke. Broke beyond repair. To make matters worse, we were on the far end of the park, and there was VERY little shade, and the pavement was HOT! I stumbled around with one shoe on, and one shoe half way on for the rest of the trip. It was not fun. "Barefoot Landing" turned out to be quite literal. Sigh.
I was VERY excited to see a live feeding. So I tried my best to scoot as quickly as my one foot could take me over to the feeding area. Those guys were HUGE, and it was by far my favorite part of the zoo! Here's some cool video:
Back at the hotel, our plan had been to spend the rest of the afternoon and evening at the beach. But of course, right then a thunderstorm decided to roll in. The life guards were making everyone get off the beach.
Thankfully, it did blow through quickly. And around dinner time, we decided to brave the last bit of sprinkles.
The kids just LOVE the beach.
The water, the waves, the sand. They could spend all day every day at the beach. Despite the snafus, we were blessed to have TWO trips this year. And even if one didn't quite turn out as planned, I'm just happy the kids enjoyed it! It's really quite sad when the grown ups throw more fits than the kids. But, we somehow all came around in the end. And I think we learned a lot for next time... if there IS a next time! Lol!
My sweet Liam.
My sweet Elizabeth.
And so, as the thunderstorm rolled off, we soaked in our last bit of the beach.
And we chilled out by the pool some more before headed up to our room.
That night, we decided to head out for dinner again. Mom and Sis said they wanted to stay back at the hotel, so we ended up going back to "Broadway on the Beach" one more time, just us. We walked around, it was drizzly, we shared a funnel cake, and let the kids play at the arcade (which, btw, is hilarious, because at this age they think they are playing the games when you don't even put in any money).
The next day, we had time to do some things before heading home. But after all our "adventures," we were ALL ready to be home and back to our old routines.
At any rate, I hate being a "complainer" and I hope this post didn't come off as one giant complaint. I am SO blessed that we got to see the ocean for a 2nd time this year. Growing up in Kansas, we went to the beach ONCE. I was in third grade. So, I'm SO glad we got to go twice in one year.
And I think, in the end, despite all the little disasters, we learned a LOT...
Such as: A) when traveling with family have a car that can fit EVERYONE, even if that means a rental, it will save you SO much stress; B) spend more money to get two separate rooms (or enough to fit everyone adequately), or find a cheaper hotel so two rooms are more affordable, that way everyone has their space and privacy and aren't getting on each others nerves (which WILL happen even with your closest friends/family); C) do NOT schedule a beach trip in the blazing heat of the summer and expect everyone to be in jolly spirits; D) always pack an extra pair of flip flops in your purse; E) Keep children and hot irons well away from each other; and F) always, and I mean always, allot for a nap BEFORE setting off on your journey ;)
Anyway, that was it.
I wish we could get a do-over.
But it is what it is.
And maybe one day we'll all laugh about our disasterous trip to Myrtle Beach.
Well, maybe.
And I think, in the end, despite all the little disasters, we learned a LOT...
Such as: A) when traveling with family have a car that can fit EVERYONE, even if that means a rental, it will save you SO much stress; B) spend more money to get two separate rooms (or enough to fit everyone adequately), or find a cheaper hotel so two rooms are more affordable, that way everyone has their space and privacy and aren't getting on each others nerves (which WILL happen even with your closest friends/family); C) do NOT schedule a beach trip in the blazing heat of the summer and expect everyone to be in jolly spirits; D) always pack an extra pair of flip flops in your purse; E) Keep children and hot irons well away from each other; and F) always, and I mean always, allot for a nap BEFORE setting off on your journey ;)
Anyway, that was it.
I wish we could get a do-over.
But it is what it is.
And maybe one day we'll all laugh about our disasterous trip to Myrtle Beach.
Well, maybe.
