Vacation re-cap
So my parents gave us the trip to Myrtle Beach. The trip there took much longer than expected- left later then we wanted and 3 accidents on the way there. Oy. Plus you know, Dodge Neon, 3 kids in back-fun, fun, fun.
So of course we ate dinner MUCH later then planned. We finished around midnight due to the fact that we brought a frozen lasagna to make when we got in and the oven there was not great. All in all it was a nice condo and you know, gift horse.
The condo had two bedrooms, one with 2 double beds with a full bath right off it and the master bedroom with the king sized bed and its own bathroom and balcony. The living room/dining room were nice and there was another balcony off the living room. The kitchen was small but manageable. We were quite happy but by the end of our week we were looking forward to getting back home to full size appliances, bigger closets and better cooking utensils. I hated the stove because two of the burners didn't work so it made cooking more difficult. We did bring enough food from home for meals all week but still ended up having to buy things we forgot- coffee, sugar, etc.
Sunday was Tom's birthday. I made him eggs and bacon for breakfast and then we promptly went to the beach, of course after slathering the kids with sunscreen. We spent a few hours on the beach then went over and stayed in the pool until almost dark. Thomas and James liked the beach but at first the waves coming at them made them uncomfortable. We got a gift certificate to a local restaurant so we all went out. for dinner. We decided after wards that it was soooo not worth the money, even though we paid less than $20 there is no way we would have paid what our bill was before the gift certificates.
We went to fireworks at Barefoot Landing on Monday. We got some great pictures of them. We walked around some before the fireworks and decided to go back since everything was closed. We went back to Barefoot Landing and saw some alligators and turtle in the water.
We stayed at the pool and beach mostly until Tuesday probably. It was great spending all that time on the beach, swimming. We did the touristy things like visiting one or two of the tacky tourist shops. We picked up a body board for each of the kids, which they LOVED. Thomas was great on his, he really understood the physics of riding a wave.
James did not have a good time with his body board. He was a bit pink when he tried riding it and we think he scraped his chest I guess and the salt water made it burn. (this was Wed, I think) He really didn't go in the ocean more than knee deep the rest of the trip.
Tom was a sweetie and bought me a nightgown because it was driving me crazy to get dressed again after coming in from the beach and showering and I just wanted to lay back and relax or even just sit around and make breakfast before getting dressed and I forgot one. We had to go to the evil that is Wal-Mart. There was one less than 2 miles from our resort. It did not have nightgowns. period. It had pajamas, but I prefer a nightie. We saw on the area map that there was another Wal-Mart further up the strip so off we went. Yes it was after 11 but I wanted to be comfy so hubby wanted me to be comfy. We went to what we called "ghetto Wal-Mart" we called it that because the area it was in was noticeably less upscale- don't get me wrong it was nice, and clean, etc it was just that all the newer, high end resorts were near the other Wal-mart. But they were the best because they had nightgowns! lots of them to chose from. I found one I LOVE and wore it everyday after.
We went to Del Sol a few times because they had a coupon in several books for a free tote bag with $5 purchase so we went in a few times and got the "free" tote bag. It was canvas and big and worth the $5 purchase. Besides the stuff they sell changes color in the sun and is really cool. :D
De and went to Broadway at the Beach and decided we had to bring the boys back. We all went Thursday after a full day in the pool, etc and got there kinda late. After we shopped and walked around a bit we bought the boys some tickets to the amusement rides. Thomas HATES the Pirate Ship ride. He got off crying and ran straight to me for a hug. We didn't use many tickets before they closed so we decided to go back on Friday.
They had a bunch of kid activities at the resort on Friday. They had some everyday but this day there were so many that we hung around and they got to go to several. Ripley's Aquarium did an educational program that the boys had a great time with. De took them to a few others while Tom and I sat around and did nothing. Ahhh the life. Maybe not the best idea. They were packed. However the kids finished up the tickets and had a great time. They rode the catepillar ride a lot. It was their favorite ride. Unfortunately we decided to pack up because we were leaving early Saturday and didn't make it back before midnight.
I spent some time Friday doing laundry so we didn't have any dirty laundry coming home with us. When we got in everyone was exhausted so Tom put the kids to bed while I started packing everything. Including all the food we didn't eat-except for breakfast. All we had to do in the morning was eat and load the car. Not to bad and we did manage to get out before the 10am checkout.
The kids sleep patterns got really messed up if you couldn't tell.
The drive home sucked! over 8 hours to drive 389miles. We sat in traffic for almost two hours plus a stop for lunch and James needed to pee 3 times (yes one stop was for gas which we didn't quite need but.. one more we stopped for lunch for and the third we had to pull into this gas station in the middle of nowhere) I told him after the third stop I wouldn't stop again until we got home so he better get it all out. Of course De had to go for quite a while but wanted to hold out because she just wanted to get home. We also got stuck in 17 miles worth of traffic. I40 is down to one lane at the NC/TN line for about 7 miles. 10 miles before we got to this closer a large tow behind camper was broken down. So down to one lane for awhile there, plus rubberneckers and stupid people makes for long, long traffic jam. At times we turned off the car and coasted if we needed to move. We played some car games but... We did get quite a bit further up in traffic when I pulled through a rest area because some woman up ahead just made me so mad; every time we could move she left at least 3 car lengths between her and the car in front of her.
All in all it was a great trip and I would LOVE to go back. There are so many things I didn't get to see/do.
So of course we ate dinner MUCH later then planned. We finished around midnight due to the fact that we brought a frozen lasagna to make when we got in and the oven there was not great. All in all it was a nice condo and you know, gift horse.
The condo had two bedrooms, one with 2 double beds with a full bath right off it and the master bedroom with the king sized bed and its own bathroom and balcony. The living room/dining room were nice and there was another balcony off the living room. The kitchen was small but manageable. We were quite happy but by the end of our week we were looking forward to getting back home to full size appliances, bigger closets and better cooking utensils. I hated the stove because two of the burners didn't work so it made cooking more difficult. We did bring enough food from home for meals all week but still ended up having to buy things we forgot- coffee, sugar, etc.
Sunday was Tom's birthday. I made him eggs and bacon for breakfast and then we promptly went to the beach, of course after slathering the kids with sunscreen. We spent a few hours on the beach then went over and stayed in the pool until almost dark. Thomas and James liked the beach but at first the waves coming at them made them uncomfortable. We got a gift certificate to a local restaurant so we all went out. for dinner. We decided after wards that it was soooo not worth the money, even though we paid less than $20 there is no way we would have paid what our bill was before the gift certificates.
We went to fireworks at Barefoot Landing on Monday. We got some great pictures of them. We walked around some before the fireworks and decided to go back since everything was closed. We went back to Barefoot Landing and saw some alligators and turtle in the water.
We stayed at the pool and beach mostly until Tuesday probably. It was great spending all that time on the beach, swimming. We did the touristy things like visiting one or two of the tacky tourist shops. We picked up a body board for each of the kids, which they LOVED. Thomas was great on his, he really understood the physics of riding a wave.
James did not have a good time with his body board. He was a bit pink when he tried riding it and we think he scraped his chest I guess and the salt water made it burn. (this was Wed, I think) He really didn't go in the ocean more than knee deep the rest of the trip.
Tom was a sweetie and bought me a nightgown because it was driving me crazy to get dressed again after coming in from the beach and showering and I just wanted to lay back and relax or even just sit around and make breakfast before getting dressed and I forgot one. We had to go to the evil that is Wal-Mart. There was one less than 2 miles from our resort. It did not have nightgowns. period. It had pajamas, but I prefer a nightie. We saw on the area map that there was another Wal-Mart further up the strip so off we went. Yes it was after 11 but I wanted to be comfy so hubby wanted me to be comfy. We went to what we called "ghetto Wal-Mart" we called it that because the area it was in was noticeably less upscale- don't get me wrong it was nice, and clean, etc it was just that all the newer, high end resorts were near the other Wal-mart. But they were the best because they had nightgowns! lots of them to chose from. I found one I LOVE and wore it everyday after.
We went to Del Sol a few times because they had a coupon in several books for a free tote bag with $5 purchase so we went in a few times and got the "free" tote bag. It was canvas and big and worth the $5 purchase. Besides the stuff they sell changes color in the sun and is really cool. :D
De and went to Broadway at the Beach and decided we had to bring the boys back. We all went Thursday after a full day in the pool, etc and got there kinda late. After we shopped and walked around a bit we bought the boys some tickets to the amusement rides. Thomas HATES the Pirate Ship ride. He got off crying and ran straight to me for a hug. We didn't use many tickets before they closed so we decided to go back on Friday.
They had a bunch of kid activities at the resort on Friday. They had some everyday but this day there were so many that we hung around and they got to go to several. Ripley's Aquarium did an educational program that the boys had a great time with. De took them to a few others while Tom and I sat around and did nothing. Ahhh the life. Maybe not the best idea. They were packed. However the kids finished up the tickets and had a great time. They rode the catepillar ride a lot. It was their favorite ride. Unfortunately we decided to pack up because we were leaving early Saturday and didn't make it back before midnight.
I spent some time Friday doing laundry so we didn't have any dirty laundry coming home with us. When we got in everyone was exhausted so Tom put the kids to bed while I started packing everything. Including all the food we didn't eat-except for breakfast. All we had to do in the morning was eat and load the car. Not to bad and we did manage to get out before the 10am checkout.
The kids sleep patterns got really messed up if you couldn't tell.
The drive home sucked! over 8 hours to drive 389miles. We sat in traffic for almost two hours plus a stop for lunch and James needed to pee 3 times (yes one stop was for gas which we didn't quite need but.. one more we stopped for lunch for and the third we had to pull into this gas station in the middle of nowhere) I told him after the third stop I wouldn't stop again until we got home so he better get it all out. Of course De had to go for quite a while but wanted to hold out because she just wanted to get home. We also got stuck in 17 miles worth of traffic. I40 is down to one lane at the NC/TN line for about 7 miles. 10 miles before we got to this closer a large tow behind camper was broken down. So down to one lane for awhile there, plus rubberneckers and stupid people makes for long, long traffic jam. At times we turned off the car and coasted if we needed to move. We played some car games but... We did get quite a bit further up in traffic when I pulled through a rest area because some woman up ahead just made me so mad; every time we could move she left at least 3 car lengths between her and the car in front of her.
All in all it was a great trip and I would LOVE to go back. There are so many things I didn't get to see/do.