Myrtle Beach, SC

For the first time in a number of years, I took a REAL vacation. Jaime, Jennifer’s sister, and her family (Stevie, Christopher, Matthew, Hayley and Emily) had booked themselves in for a vacation to Myrtle Beach, SC. Cindy, Jennifer’s mum, and her husband, Greg, had decided to go as well and wanted Lilyana to go as well so she could experience the beach for the first time. So, naturally, if she wanted Lily to go – we got to go too! YAY!

Jaime had booked us a room at the Breaker’s Resort on the beach front at Myrtle Beach. We got up at like, 5AM on Sunday, July 18, so we could get the car loaded and be on our way by 6AM. We drove to London, KY with Greg and Cindy and met up with Jaime and Stevie at about 7AM. After getting something to eat, Jennifer, Lily and I transferred to one of Jaime’s vehicles.

We left London at about 8AM in a three car convoy, with Jennifer driving Jaime’s Durango. On the way down, we stopped in Knoxville, TN, Asheville, NC and Columbia, SC before arriving at Myrtle Beach at around 6PM. As soon as we arrived, we unloaded and parked the vehicles while Jaime checked us in. We were in our rooms by about 6.20PM and on the beach by about 6.40PM. I didn’t want to go swimming so I just walked along the shore a little and took in the sights and smells of the beach. It was nice to be at a beach again. It had been more than two years since I’d been to a beach.

The first day or so was VERY quiet really. I went down to the beach and swam a little. They had what they called a lazy river pool, which is a pool that just flows continuously in one direction – all you have to do is relax and enjoy the ride. It was only 3′ deep so it was safe for the younger kids and plenty deep enough to drop down to your neck and just relax.

We took Lily down to the ocean and she enjoyed the lapping of the waves at her feet, but she didn’t exactly like being IN the water. I have to say, the water was SO warm, I could have stayed in for hours. The surf was a little tragic though. Lucky if the swell was more than a foot or two. Oh well, you can have it all right?

By day two, I was a little bored. Thankfully, that’s when Christopher and I discovered Capt Hook’s Adventure Golf! We played a round and came out dead even, so we wanted to play again the next day, which we did. We back to the same place and played their second course. This time we took Stevie, Matthew and Matthew’s friend, Chase. This time, I won! YAY! So the following day, we went again. This time, Stevie and I teamed up with our wives, and the boys teamed up together. This time, I drew with Stevie, but Jennifer beat Jaime, so we won the team thing, but Christopher absolutely whooped us, beating both me and Stevie by some 4 or 5 shots! On Friday, we went to a completely different course and played a free for all. This time, Stevie beat me by 3 shots I think. So my putt-putt record for the week was 1-1-2. Not bad, at all!

On Thursday, Jaime and Stevie decided to buy a cheap volleyball net, which we promptly set up down at the beach. The net only stood about 6’8″, which is considerably lower than the usual men’s height of 8′, but it was better than nothing. After about 3 games I was starting to feel a little gassed, so I went to get something to drink. Thankfully, at that point things were starting to cool down and we managed to pick a few more numbers, with 3 sisters and another guy joining the fray, allowing us to play 4 vs 5, rather than 2 vs 3, so there was less work to do. We managed to play something like 7 games in about 2 hours or so.

That night, I walked down the strip with the boys where Matthew and I had decided to get our ear’s pierced. I had actually been wanting to get both ears pierced since I was about 18. Some how, I just never got around to it. So when the boys said they were going to go down to get their ears done, I decided I might as well. I’d waited some 12 years, why not right? I have to say, I expected there to be a little more pain than there actually was. A pleasant surprise 🙂 Unfortunately, 4 days later, my ears are a little swollen and possibly a little infected. I’ll have to get some alcohol from Rite Aid or something. I don’t want to have to take them out because of infection.

On Saturday night, Jennifer and I decided to head down to the arcade and play some skee ball which was pretty fun. The arcade reminded me a lot of the old video arcades I wasted many hours in in my youth. There were video games in one corner, gambling type games in the another and skee ball and other games like it at the other.

Yesterday, Sunday, July 25, we made the return trip from Myrtle Beach, SC to Hazard, KY. We checked out at about 10AM and arrive at about 9.30PM. That’s a LONG time to be a car when you’re TIRED! LOL! It was nice to be home though.

I’m sure there is a lot of stuff I’ve forgotten. I enjoyed the trip very much and will hopefully get to go back again some time in the next few years. Myrtle Beach is definitely a place to visit. My only complaint is that there were just way too many people there. You couldn’t walk anywhere without having to dodge people every few steps.

It was great to spend some time with the some of extended family and get to know everyone a little better. Unfortunately, we don’t get to see Jaime and her family all that often, so to spend a full week with them was a real treat. Hopefully, it won’t be the last time we vacation together. It reminds me so much of so many vacations in my childhood. I would hate for Lily to miss similar experiences in hers.


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