Vacation at myrtles

 

"The first step of humility is to cherish at all times the sense of awe with which we should turn to God." (Benedict of Nursia)

We spent last Monday to Friday morning at Myrtle Beach, SC. This was supposed to be our vacation last year - until covid hit. Well... what's a year here or there? It was worth the wait.

THE FLIGHTS

We flew Allegiant Airlines out of Fort Wayne Monday morning. I tell ya, people who don't like Allegiant are nuts. It was 1 hour 17 minutes from take-off to landing, direct from here to there. And we had no one in the seat next to us! Coming home it was 1:25, and we still had no one next to us!! There were plenty of people on both flights, but not near full. That was fine by me. Smooth flights both ways, though coming into Myrtle always seems to be a little rocky.

THE HOTEL/RESORT

We arrived in MB just after noon Monday. We stayed at the Westgate Myrtle Beach Oceanfront Resort, which was a mere mile from the Airport (but was still a $15 Uber ride). We checked in at 2 pm, but our room wasn't quite ready (Actual "check-in" isn't until 4). It was a bit chaotic (and really warm in the lobby) and the counter person said we could leave our luggage and they would call shortly when it was ready, so we walked down the way and grabbed a bite to eat. When we got back around 4 (without a call) it was even more chaotic. Our room still wasn't ready, and I swear almost everyone in the packed lobby area had issues with their room. I started to regret staying at this place.

We finally got into our room around 4:20. We were in another building - the taller one - on the 11th floor. I'm glad we opted for the ocean "view" room, instead of the ocean "front" room, because for a couple hundred less a night we had just as good of a view of the Atlantic Ocean and beach, as well as the street and neighboring amusement park. It was a nice enough room with a decent little balcony, and I have no complaints about that. The elevators were even quick and smooth and we rarely had to wait. It kind of seemed like maybe there weren't a lot of people there.

Overall I don't have any complaints about the "resort." It mostly catered to 'owners' (and I was glad they never talked us into attending one of their presentations), but it had a nice restaurant, a little general store, poolside bar during the day, and 3 pool areas. It was clean, the hallways were carpeted, and no one bothered us. Good enough for me! Here is the side view from our balcony.

 

THE VACATION

Our daily routine mostly consisted of:

• Get up when we woke up, and have coffee while reading on the balcony
• I think I had toast with peanut butter and jelly every morning for breakfast
• Tuesday & Wednesday we rented a beach umbrella and chairs and sat on the beach and read books and drank from 10-ish to 4:30-ish
• Jane got in the water both days, but Wednesday was the only day I really did. We spent quite a bit of time just bouncing in the waves and giggling like teenagers (and getting a slight sunburn)
• We ate supper in a restaurant either at the hotel or walked to one down the boardwalk every night
  
• Watched TV in bed until we fell asleep
• Thursday it rained most of the day so we just stayed on our balcony and read and drank all day

We were about 3/4 of a mile from the "boardwalk" area where we've usually stayed. We walked down there a couple times, and ate once at one of our "old spots." I guess we went for a run down there Tuesday morning.

Friday we had to check out at 10 am, so we just took a brief walk before doing that and then Ubering back to the airport waiting for our 2 pm flight back home.

 

OVERALL

It didn't seem like a very long vacation, but it was a much-needed break from work and home. We did what we enjoy, which is spending time together, reading, and just hanging out. We also spent a lot of time just looking at the sky, sand, water, and people-watching.

I will say, as far as Myrtle Beach itself, I'm guessing they are still recovering from last year. Some places weren't open, and the ones that were were struggling to find help and had menu items missing. Hopefully they can adjust eventually.

If we go back there I would probably prefer to stay more on the boardwalk than where we were this time. There just seem to be more restaurants on the boardwalk, but anywhere along there is going to be pretty much the same. I feel like MB is sort of a "poor-man's beach vacation spot." Not that it isn't nice, but there isn't much of a town (30,000 population), and no one would ever mistake it for the French Riviera or somewhere like that. Still, it has nice beaches, and an ocean, and it's a quick flight from home.

***

Psalm 104:24-25

"How many are your works, Lord!
    In wisdom you made them all;
    the earth is full of your creatures.
 There is the sea, vast and spacious,
    teeming with creatures beyond number—
    living things both large and small."