Myrtle Beach Oct 2007

We just came back from a long, fun weekend in Myrtle Beach. The kids had a 4 day weekend due to teacher workdays, so we took advantage of the cheap condo prices in Myrtle Beach and hit the road! This was our first time visiting and it was great! We have always heard that Myrtle Beach is over-commercialized and too expensive, but to be honest -- we didn't feel that way. Maybe we are just used to everything being bigger in Texas (smile), but we had an awesome time.

When we were driving in to town we stopped at a Tourist Center in hopes of getting some discount tickets to the Dixie Stampede dinner theatre. Little did we know, it was a timeshare company offering hugely discounted tickets, but you had to go sit through their 90 minute presentation. If we would have purchased tickets at the gate, it would have cost us $120. By sitting through this presentation, we would get all 4 tickets for $40. So we decided to do it. But while we were there, the kids picked up every brochure imaginable and one was for a Ripley's Haunted Adventure. Ally was dead set on going. Josh was not too thrilled with the idea, but he was talked in to it by his little sister. (something is wrong with this picture, right? the baby sister talking the big brother in to going to a haunted house? lol)

So after we left Broadway at the Beach that evening (tourist paradise!), we headed to Ripley's Haunted Adventure. There was a group of people at the ticket desk who were waivering on going in, but once they saw the kiddos they decided that if kids could do it, so could their group. So we all headed in together. Well...let me re-phrase that. Once we purchased the tickets and began walking in -- both kids decided that there was no way in the world they were going in. SO it was more like we carried them in (only to be told after entering we had to put them down). To sum it up in a short sentence, it was the longest 20 minutes of my childrens lives. lol. Josh and another person from the other group were hanging on to each other for dear life, Ally was crying "When is this going to be over?", and I couldn't stop laughing at the pure madness of it all. It was DEFINITELY a haunted adventure! And I'm pretty sure that it will be the last time our gang heads to a haunted house. Although, believe it or not, when we joked again on Sunday about going back, Ally was all for it again - rationalizing it to Josh "We know what is going to happen!". He was NOT taking the bait.

Saturday after our painful 90 min presentation, we went down to the beach. It was perfect weather. Believe it or not, it was about 85 degrees and we all 4 swam in the ocean. We had a great time! We picked up some cheapo boogie boards for the kids, and they had a blast. It was a moment that I had to sit back and realize that my kids are getting older. No longer were they hanging on to my legs scared of the waves, but it was me calling them back because they had ventured out too far. After they had had enough, we ventured in to the 3 indoor pools. They had a lazy river, a regular pool, and a hot tub. I never did venture in to the regular pool, but the hot tub (of course) and the lazy river were really enjoyable.

That evening we went to Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede. If anyone ever has the opportunity to attend this, GO! It was great fun! There were live buffalo, horses, acrobatics, "battles", contests, etc. They divide the theatre into a "North" and "South" and you have various contests to see who wins the most. In our show, we were Yankees, but the Rebs won. They don't give you silverware, so be ready to get your hands dirty!

Sunday we woke up, went to IHOP for breakfast (if you haven't tried the Pumpkin pancakes - I highly recommend them!) and went for a round of put put golf. It was a huge 3 story course with views of the ocean. Kent beat us all, but everyone had a good time.

We were all sad to head out, but we had an awesome time. We can't wait to go back. Ally even says she wants to move there!