Samantha's first blog

Posted By pamelamyers on July 24, 2017

We just got back from Myrtle Beach! We had such a good time. It is the first time we have ever been on vacation as a family in an actual hotel! Or really, the first time we have taken a non-Jersey Shore vacation. We never would have even considered it, probably, but my boss Dan, and his wife Eileen, go every single year and they just really wanted another couple to vacation with. Dan travels so much for work, that he has a million (literally, I think) hotel points for Hilton, and since the Embassy Suites where they stay is a Hilton property, he said he could get our room for free if we wanted to go. We have known each other forever and have gotten to be friends, so Mark and I decided that we would have been crazy to not take him up on it, since we only had to pay airfare.

Packing is never fun, and the cats were not too happy to see suitcases come out. As you can see, Zach was doing his best to keep us from leaving!

Leave we did, though, and we made it to the airport in plenty of time. Sam absolutely loves the airport and I have no idea why. I guess just because it’s different. Does anyone love the airport? Just our kid I think.

I swear, her fascination with skeletons kills me. She found one! I think this was a Kiehl’s store or something. Crazy.

When it was time to board, Sam got all settled in to her window seat. She had her new travel Spirograph out and ready to go! She has been dying to use that on the plane. We came ready with lots of coloring and drawing materials, and of course, her Kindle.

I actually got time to read my magazine while Sam played. She just loves the beverage cart. Apple juice, please!

Here is where we stayed, or rather, the view from the elevator lobby. I am in the hotel overlooking the property which had two pools, two hot tubs and a water park. More on all that later…

The view from our balcony. Ahhhh….the ocean!

Sam liked our suite and that we had multiple rooms. Mark and I loved it too – at least when Sam fell asleep at night, we had some privacy to talk.

We hit the beach the next day and Sam immediately set out playing with Barbie. I was a little worried that she would make us crazy. I could only pack so many toys since we were flying, a few collapsible buckets, a few shovels and her Barbie, but she was so good the whole time. She never complained she was bored. There were a million perfect seashells to collect, so we did a lot of that, of course.

Sam tried boogie boarding for the first time. I can’t believe it! I never thought she’d be so brave. She didn’t love it, mostly because water kept splashing up her nose, but I think with a nose clip, she would be pretty good. At first she wouldn’t let Mark let go of the strap, but then she finally went on her own!

Do you love the goggles? She asked me to buy her a pair in the hotel shop to keep water from getting in her eyes. They were super cute, and cheap, so why not?

Sam and I did our usual wave jumping. I don’t know what I will do when she is too big for me to lift!

We wanted to send Grandmom a postcard through an app I have on my phone, and this is the picture she chose – her starfish pose. She is a nut.

We all loved our lounge chairs and umbrella, sitting waiting for us each day. What a way to relax at the beach!

I buried Sam, but not all the way. She was happy though. The sand was so different than in New Jersey. It brushed right off and didn’t stick at all (thank God).

Every day after being on the beach a while, we’d head to the pool. One day, a little tortoiseshell cat came walking by. It reminded us of Penny. 🙁

When I told Sam she could get in the hot tub, she was so excited. She’d never been in one before. This is her first time, and she was loving it! I told her we need to convince Daddy we need one for our backyard. 🙂

Hot tub selfie!

On this trip, even the pool water was warm so Sam was really willing to try a lot of swimming. She improved so much! I couldn’t believe it. She tried swimming above water by moving her arms, which she never wants to do, and even tried to master a handstand, just like her Daddy.

We borrowed Dan’s underwater camera for these shots!

I was so proud of how well Sam did with her swimming. She went underwater to dive in 5 feet of water, which is way more than she ever did before.

They had a kid’s activity tent and one day Mark took Sam to do tie dye shirts. It was a fun distraction for her and she got a great souvenir!

There was a lot to do, and one night we went to what is called Broadway at the Beach. It is as close to boardwalk-type activities as you can get for Sam. She really liked it, and it was a fun place to stroll around.

We found one of those penny machines so she got a new one for her growing collection.

Ha! This one is for Mommy. 🙂

There is a lake filled with fish sort of in the middle of everything, and machines that give you food so you can feed them. Sam loved that. Anytime we can feed animals, she’s all about it.

There were a lot of firsts on this trip for Sam too – her first cotton candy (thumbs down)…

and her first Hawaiian shaved ice (semi-thumbs up).

I think Sam’s favorite thing was this pick your own pearl thing. Basically, there is a tank full of oysters and you pick one and get to keep the pearl inside. The pearls are not perfectly round, but they are pearls nonetheless. The pearl could be white, pink, black or blue. I didn’t think she was likely to get a white one, so I warned her that we were doing it ONE TIME. Whatever she gets, she gets. She promised to not be disappointed no matter what.

She got a white one! The woman running the stand said it was only the second white one that day. Sam picked a mermaid necklace to display it in. She felt like the luckiest kid ever.

On the way home, we had to stop to let a flock of geese cross the road. Geesh guys, you have wings, fly!

We stopped for ice cream one night after dinner. It wasn’t Sam’s beloved soft serve swirl, but she rolled with it.

Back at the hotel, there is a lagoon/lake sort of thing next to the property. We went over to check it out one night and boy, was it full of ducks! They are nowhere to be seen until you come over. These ducks are not stupid. They know that human voices equals food! Sam was thrilled!

Her very, very favorite is baby duck. It was the only baby duck we saw, but boy, was Sam enamored with him or her! Baby duck made the whole thing, as far as Sam was concerned.

We walked the length of the lake and discovered a black swan also lived there! Crazy! None of us ever saw one before. It was so beautiful. Other than ducks, we only saw one goose and a whole lot of turtles. Lots and lots of turtles!

But boy, were there ducks! Mark actually ran to the store and bought Sam crackers so she could feed everyone. She had a blast. We were back there every single night so Sam could see and feed her little friends.

Grandmom asked Sam to write her a message in the sand, so she did. We framed it for Grandmom when we got home.

I don’t know how he does it, but Mark certainly has a knack for finding hermit crabs. He found her some!

Sam made a friend, Chloe, and they played for a while. It turns out they were from Lancaster. Small world…

More of Sam’s little friends, a lizard we saw over by the pools. There was a baby lizard, or a skink, we were told it was called, but he was too fast to photograph.

When we finally hit the water park one day, Sam tried the slide. She only went down twice, and the second time she hid her face so she wouldn’t get water in her eyes. I think I’d be freaked out going down blind, but she loved it.

Day after day, night after night was packed with activity. At dinner one night, the restaurant’s resident piano player let Sam sit with him. He even gave Sam his CD and played her some songs she would know (like from Beauty and Beast). She felt very special.

Here we all are after dinner. Someone was nice enough to take our photo.

Dan and Eileen. 🙂

After dinner, you guessed it, back to the lake. The ducks cracked her up.

They were very friendly birds, even the goose, which is odd. Geese can be kind of mean. This guy was friendly though.

The swan was super friendly! We quickly figured out he was very gentle and would take crackers out of your hand!

We were in South Carolina, and thus, fireworks stores abound. One night we stopped in one just to see what you can buy. Stupid Pennsylvania! You can’t buy anything. Mark was tempted to buy a few things and set them off (we were given info about where we could), but instead, we just got some super long sparklers for Sam to light on the beach. She was happy. It doesn’t take much. We did see some beach fireworks one night from our hotel window. That was awesome.

More photos to come!

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