Myrtle Beach 2024 Day 1

Hey friends. Happy Thursday. It is almost the weekend. Anyone else feel like the first week back after having off for the holiday is the longest ever. My kids have a long weekend and a short week. Next week they only go Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. I am excited to spend more time with them, maybe I will plan something fun. What should we do?

Have you ever taken a relaxing vacation over the holidays? After this years trip to Myrtle Beach over the New Year, I so recommend taking a relaxing vacation. Spoiler I would pick some where further south so it is warmer, and not off season so some things are open. Don't always rely on hours that you see online because a lot of places (especially restaurants) do not update their hours if they are open at all. I also want to look into a travel stroller for Anna, she still uses our big jogging stroller at home a lot because my back can not carry her everywhere. Oh and pack better for the weather.

We had a wonderful, fun relaxing vacation. We slept in, hung out, played cards, did some sight seeing, playing in the ocean (yes more on that to come), and really enjoyed just being away and making a positive memory compared to last years sad memories. (Brian's dad was in hospice over the new year and passed a few days later)

Lets take a look at our trip.

Saturday December 30

We were up bright and early. My van got loaded the night before (and kept in the garage). Everyone was up by 345, and we left at 4am. Brian dropped the kids, his mom, and myself off at the airport while he drove to where we were parking our car for the week then took the shuttle back to the airport. While waiting for Brian, we checked the luggage we needed to then go into the very long security line. Once they opened up another line security went pretty quick. We didn't have to take off our shoes or take anything out of our bags. I went with the kids and Brian went with his mom. This was Audrianna's and Brian's mom first time flying.

We flew Southwest so we got family boarding since they don't do assigned seats. We ended up behind the wing but all together in two rows. Anna picked the window seat for the first flight.

Austin also picked the window seat.

The flight was very smooth and Anna and Grandma did great. Our layover was in Nashville. We grabbed some Chic Fil A for breakfast then watched some planes and waited until our next flight.

Flight two Ella got the window, and so did grandma. Anna spent most of her flight drawing. I will share what all the kids packed in their carry on's, what extra I packed on carry ons, and what was actually used in another post next week.

We had another very smooth flight into Myrtle Beach. Anna had fallen asleep the last 10 minutes of the flight and I ended up carrying her through airport to baggage claim. We grabbed our luggage then waited for our rental car. This year we used Turo. We had an amazing experience. If you are not familiar with Turo, think Air BnB but for vehicles. You are renting from a person not a big company. Sam was our car host and was amazing. Not only did he help Brian load the van, show him how to use the important stuff, he gave recommendations, texted Brian to check on us during our stay, had bottles of water for everyone in the car, and was just the nicest guy.

Check in time for our resort wasn't until 4pm. It was almost 1 and we decided just to stop in and see if the room was ready and it was. Our resort is part of Wyndham Resort timeshare, Grand Palms Resort Villas. Through Brian's work he can win a week vacation through RCI (a timeshare exchange company). (this is also how we usually go to Disney.

Our resort was 3 miles south of the main part of Myrtle Beach and a mile from the ocean. It was actually in a neighborhood and not by all the other resorts which made it quiet but you needed a car to get anywhere. Our room was a 2 bedroom loft suite. The pictures below I took while I was cleaning up to leave.

Living room with sleepover sofa, and the most comfortable chairs.

A large tv and access to the patio.

Dining room

Full kitchen

Main bathroom with a stand up shower

One bedroom with a king bed and a lot of space. I did my workouts in the area at the foot of the bed.

Up to the loft.

Two full beds, a tv, closet, and full bathroom with a tub.

Outside our balcony was a water retention pond that always had ducks or geese in it. On the other side of the pond were houses but not much activity. We may have no been on the ocean but it was still relaxing with the pond.

After checking out the hotel we went grocery shopping at Walmart for the week. Mostly breakfast and lunch foods, snacks, and a couple of dinners. Then Brian wanted to stop by the beach. It was cold and windy but the kids and I still ventured onto the beach, Brian and his mom stayed towards the top not in the sand.

The sand was cold to walk on but the kids didn't mind.

We only stayed for a few minutes, we didn't touch the water.

In the van on the way back to the resort. Anna is in the backseat with me (or Ella) on a inflatable booster seat. At home Anna is still in a 5 point harnessed car seat. The inflatable booster seat is legal, and is meant for a kid over 40 lbs, Anna is not. We only took small trick and someone bigger was always with her. This seat would have been great for Austin to be tall enough to look out the van windows, but wasn't ideal for Anna. Next time we will be figuring out a different car seat situation.

After dinner was the real vacation as Anna calls it. Swimming. The hotel has an indoor pool and hot tub. There is also an outdoor pool and hot tub that is heated by solar power so it was cold. My kids are such fishes and love to swim.

I will sharing more out of trip next week. Come back tomorrow for some Friday Favorites.

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Mom Life with Adrienne