Myrtle Beach, South Carolina!

[Aletheia*]

Hey guys!

Time to give you guys a heads up about how my first vacation in 7 years went!

Even though I had to wake up at 3AM to get dressed and head to the airport, I was fully awake. I hardly got any sleep since I was so excited, and I couldn't believe how bright eyed and bushy tailed I was when I woke up. Of course, I was nervous. I hadn't been on a plane in 14 years (I was 7 the first time I can remember flying). But, we got to the airport, flew threw the bag check, and security and before I know it, our plane was boarding. I was a little nervous during take off, and we hurt some turbulance along the way, but we landed safely in South Carolina at around 9AM that morning (their time!). Our bag came through right away, for which I was thankful, we rented a car, and we were on our way.

The only snag we hit during the trip was the fact that our airline didn't book our hotel. We did a hotel/flight package, but for whatever reason, that didn't go through. I was disappointed. I was hoping for a stress-free day, only to come to the hotel with this. Luckily, our hotel had vacancies, and we got the room we originally had wanted: with a view on the ocean (for which I was seeing the for the first time in my life!) The amazing hotel people gave us a booklet with different places we could go, with discounts since we were rooming with them. Our first destination: The Sea Screamer Dolphin Tour. We drove about 40 minutes North of Myrtle Beach, to Little River, grabbed a drink from the bar and went on this GIGANTIC speed boat. I was under the impression we wouldn't see anymore more than the gorgeous ocean around us, but luckily, dolphins were spotted and we followed them for a little while. It was amazing to see them in their natural habitat! It was a huge pod too, and there were even baby dolphins. It was gorgeous.

After our dolphin tour, we ate at Jimmy Buffet's 'Cheeseburger in Paradise' restaurant, which was amazing. Probably one of the best burgers I've had in my life, and my boyfriend and I shared a delicious Skyye Blue Vodka drink with natural coconut milk! I would make them myself if I knew how . Afterwards, we went back to the hotel, and went to the ocean. I was a little nervous about it, but I went right in and after a while, had not a care in the world. The boardwalk wasn't too far, so we decided to go ahead and walk along the beach, and along the boardwalk and then back to the hotel. We spotted a few washed up jellyfish, which were pretty cool to see up close. Thankfully, I didn't step on any or run into any of them in the ocean. I would have been terrified.

The rest of the night was uneventful. We went back to our room, napped and then sat on our balcony for a few hours before finally going to sleep. When we woke up the next morning, we awoke to the beautiful sight of dolphins swimming from our balcony. It was amazing to see them, and even though there were plenty of people on the shore line already, I think we were the only ones to spot them from where we were. This day was the day we wanted to go to the 'Ripley's Believe it or Not!' Aquarium, which was gorgeous and amazing. A little small for an aquarium, but they had a variety of fish, sharks, eels, and other marine life to look at. The best part was probably walking through the dangerous reef tunnel, where everything was on the sides AND above you!

After the aquarium, we visited Jimmy Buffet's 'Margarittaville', where I enjoyed a lovely margarita, with teriyaki steak! I'd definitely go back there for the amazing service they provided and the wonderful detail, and their delicious drinks! Not much happened after that. We went back, and while my better half napped, I decided to sit on the balcony and do puzzles and read. It was a bit windy and cold, but it was worth it. When he woke up, we walked along the beach so I could take home some souvenir sea shells for my mom, and then we went to the 'Ripley's believe it or not!' museum they had at the pier. It was crazy in there, and I took plenty of photo's. We decided to eat at a seafood buffet that night, since we were in beautiful Myrtle Beach after all. The grub was good, and after, we went back to our room to finish up the case of beer we had bought, and watched a little TV and sat on our balcony. Unfortunately, it was too cold to stay out there for long, but it was still nice to see the ocean from where I was sitting.

Today though, was a long day but I have no regrets. We arrived at the airport a little earlier than I would have liked to return our rental car, we sat around for a bit and went through security. Our flight was supposed to leave at 3:45, but it ended up leaving an hour after that, and we got home around 6:11 our time. My wonderful mother and grandmother were there to greet us when we got in.

I had such a wonderful experience, and even though it was only a two day long vacation, it was much needed and appreciated. I definitely recommend Myrtle Beach to anyone who loves the ocean, or has never seen it!

[Le bonheur*]

Wow! Sounds like you had a great time. I'm glad it was overall a good experience for you.

[Nicole!]

Hey Shannon, I moved this over to Good Days! Since you wern't asking for advice.
It sounds like a fun vacation! I would love to go there sometime, traveling is always an exciting thing to do! That sounds so amazing seeing dolphins first thing when you wake up! I'm glad you had a good time

[Revolution]

Sounds so awesome! I've never been to any beaches on the east coast, sounds so amazing! I've also never seen dolphins, it sounds so relaxing and amazing. You really needed the vacation, no vacation in fourteen years? If you work as hard on real life stuff as you do in TeenHelp, which I assume you do, you needed like 10 vacations inbetween.

Did you take pictures? You should post some if you did. If you already did, like, liiink meee.