FIRST trip to the BEACH!

Wednesday, August 11th

This evening we set out on a five hour road trip to Myrtle Beach, SC for our FIRST BEACH TRIP with Kamden! We were all packed up and ready to go after I got off work. We left at 6:30pm, and arrived at 11:30 that night. We only stopped once, for dinner and gas, so we made really great time. The traffic was smooth, the whole way down. It was so peaceful, because Kamden decided to sleep the entire time we were on the road. The first night, we stayed with Kamden's Granny, Terri, since we were arriving so late. Since Kamden fell asleep, two hours before his normal bedtime-- he was not sleepy when we got there! Especially since Granny fed him a few bites of a glazed donut from Krispy Kreme. We couldn't resist.... the "HOT" sign was on! Kam tossed and turned until almost 1am. He was so confused because he was off his normal routine and in a strange place. He whined until we finally got him to quieten down. It was so funny because he kept throwing his bottle and paci out of his play pen/travel crib, onto the floor. Just so I would doze off, and then have to get out of bed again to give it back to him. He did this several times. The last time I got up, he was just sitting there, with his legs spread out, back against the side of the play pen just staring at his glow sea horse, with a pouty face on. Spoiled much? I think so. haha. I was so tired from the driving that I was getting frustrated, but I was laughing on the inside at how cute he was just sitting there in the dark looking all pitiful. He finally went to sleep, and we were all able to get a little shut eye.

Thursday, August 12th

Kamden was up bright and early the next morning. I was so exhausted, that I didn't even realize the boys (Keith and Kam) had left out before I could even wake up! Keith took Kamden for a short walk on the beach at 8am. This was his FIRST time seeing the ocean! Afterwards they brought us back breakfast in bed. They are so sweet. I was really grateful they let me sleep in. By the time we got going, about mid morning, our room was ready. We stayed at the Sheraton Convention Center, which was really nice. We booked a suite, because my Aunt and cousins were heading down the next day. The suite was huge. It had a double room, two bathrooms, a spacious living room and Kitchen area. Keith joked and said, "this place is bigger than our house!" haha. The best part was the huge round window from one side of the room to the other over looking the oceanfront. Kamden loved to sit in the window the whole time, so he could lookout and see everything. He was really intrigued by the people, cars, and all the action going on down on the streets. We were about three blocks back from the beach (which made it more difficult to go back and forth to the beach part, because of all the stuff we had to bring for the baby). As soon as we got settled into our room, we drove down to the beach, just before lunch.

Kamden's FIRST day at the beach was rather interesting. He didn't react to it the way we had pictured it in our minds. As soon as his little toes hit the sand, he started freaking out. He kept picking his feet up like he didn't want them to touch the ground. He kept giving the sand dirty looks, like: get off me! haha. Since he wasn't too fond of the sand at first, I took him to check out the ocean. Again, he did not want to put his feet down and kept lifting them out of the water, every time I would dip his legs in. I carried him out into the water a little further. Every time the waves would crash into us, he would cry because it startled him. Finally, after a few minutes, we broke out all the sand toys. We sat him at the edge of the shore and let him play. He was content with that. Still wasn't too crazy about the sand. Every time it would get on him, he would whine. We stayed out for about three hours. The last thirty minutes, we snuck into the lazy river at the Sandcastle hotel. haha. No one even noticed, and the baby loved it! The pool was much more calm and pleasing to him. By then, we were all tired and hungry... especially baby Kamden.

We stopped at Jimmy John's gourmet sandwich shop. The food was good and fresh. We headed back to the room, and all of us (including the baby) took about a three hour nap. I was the first to get up and get ready. The boys were still knocked out after 5pm. I had to get them motivated so we could go eat some good seafood! We decided to go to Keith's favorite seafood restaurant in Garden City called "Sara J's." Keith had the stuffed shrimp, and I went with the crab stuffed fish. It was scrumptious. There was a little wait, but the baby did so good the whole time. We were there for a while, and he didn't fuss the first time! I let him try a few tiny bites of my fish and he loved it.

After dinner, we went to the Garden City Pier. The last time we were at the beach, two years ago in 2008, we stayed at the Condos right beside there. We loved it. They had a live band and bar at each end of the pier. The whole thing was lined with people of all ages. The air was windy and salty... a picture perfect night at the beach! Kamden was people watching. We showed him the water, buildings lit up at night, and the people fishing. There were fireworks on both sides of us, lined down the shore line. Kamden was so enthused with everything, he could hardly blink an eye. We finally headed back to our place around 10pm, which was about a 10-15 minute drive back.

Friday, August 13th

With a late night yesterday, we were slow moving today. We headed to breakfast at Paradise Pancake and Omelet House around 10am. We were hoping to kill some time, so that Kamden could squeeze in a nap before a long day at the beach. Besides dozing off a few minutes in the car, that didn't really happen because he was so excited about all that was going on. Around lunchtime, we headed down to the beach. We were able to find public parking across from Bummz Beach Cafe, so were just across the street from the beach access. Not too far of a walk, but with two beach bags, a baby tent, a float, a cooler, and a baby-- we had our hands full! It was a lot of work going back and forth to the beach. We needed some shade for the baby and didn't really want to buy two chairs and an umbrella, to use one time at the beach. We had no room left to haul it back home, even if we wanted to. Our only option was to rent the chair and umbrella sets from the Lifeguard. They cost a pretty penny! Originally it was $30 per day... but since we did two days, we got them for $25 per day. So it ended up costing us $50, to basically use them for 6 hours. We had to keep the baby out of the sun, so it was worth it.

By the second day, Kamden was starting to warm up to whole beach idea. He was trying to eat the sea shells and didn't pay as much attention to the sand. He played for hours. Feeding him lunch out there, was quite the experience. I'm afraid he ate more sand than he did sweet potatoes. haha. Other than that, his snacks kept him happy. We hit up the lazy river again today, and also the swimming pool. We had a ball. A storm started to roll in later in the afternoon. There was another young couple and their friend, that offered to help us carry our stuff back to the car. I thought that was so kind of them to offer. I guess it was that obvious, we had a full load on our hands. I had to strip the baby down naked to rinse all the sand off him. He had it from head to toe, literally! In his ears and every place you could have it. The wind started to sand blast us, and the rain didn't make it any better. I wrapped the baby in a towel and we made a run for the car!

By the time we made it back, it was nap time once again! It was later in the day, so I went ahead and got dressed. My aunt, uncle, two cousins, and her friend arrived. We visited with them for a while, before heading to dinner. We decided to go to "Drunken Jacks" in Murrells Inlet. I've been there many times, years ago. It's my favorite place to eat seafood. We didn't arrive until 8pm, and the wait was an hour and forty-five minutes! We highly doubted that little man would hold up that long, especially since it was already past his bedtime. But we took the chance anyways. We walked along the boardwalk on the marina. We got some cute pictures along the way too! They had little artists tables and such all around as well. We headed back over to the deck to have the best fried calamari I've ever tried. By then, our table was ready. Keith and I both got fish, Salmon and Tilapia. It was scrumptious! I really wanted to try the sauteed shrimp... it looked delicious! The baby had some french fries... his new little snack food. The restaurant is pirate themed, complete with pirate hats for the kids. I loved them so much, the waitress even gave me one! Keith told her, "if she don't get a pirate hat, she might kill somebody." haha. I was so embarrassed. Kamden had so much fun though... and he even stayed awake until the 20 minute ride back to the hotel.

Saturday, August 14th

We had hoped to go to the beach early today, but the weather was just not cooperating. The whole day was cloudy with overcast. We went across the street to the Bagel Factory for breakfast, bright and early at 8am. By the time we made it back to try and go to the beach, a storm was rolling in. I wanted to take Kamden to the aquarium, but we thought he might still be too young to enjoy it. We still had a blast walking around "Broadway at the Beach" shopping at all the little stores.

For lunch, we stopped by "Johnny Rockets" old fashioned style diner at Broadway. It was awesome! They bring out your order of fries first, for the table to share. Our waiter even put a smiley face in the ketchup bowl for little Kam. They gave us funny diner hats to wear too. Kamden wouldn't keep his own his head for more than 2 seconds, but he thought it was hilarious. He kept paying attention to the kids at other tables, more than he did anything. The baby really loved it when the wait staff got up and danced a jig to "Let's Dance." It was a fun filled lunch. To top it off, it was the best cheeseburger and milkshake I've ever had!

We walked around all afternoon, and the baby finally dozed off for a nap. One of the coolest stores was "IT'SUGAR" it was like a department store for candies! They had every sweet thing known to man! Keith got a chocolate covered Twinkie. I stuck with my two favorites: Chocolate covered raisins and pretzels. You could even make your own candy bar. The baby finally woke up while we were in there, and he was mesmerized by all the bright colors and action. I'm sure when he gets older, he will really enjoy a store like that!

When we got back to the hotel, I had to get ready to go to a Pageant downstairs. The boys stayed in for the night, and the baby was able to go to sleep at his normal time, for the first time since we got there. Later that evening we spent time with my family.

Sunday, August 15th

We had to pack up to head home this morning! Wish we had just one more day on the beach with little Kam. After we finished packing, we took the baby for some last minute pictures on the shore this morning! At first, we thought it wouldn't happen because my camera kept fogging up in the heat, from being in the air conditioning so long. But after a few minutes of frustration, we were back in business! It was worth the wait, because I was able to get some amazing pictures of baby Kamden.

When we left, we went back to the hotel to load up the car. We got on the road around 11am, and stopped by the Tanger Outlets for some last minute shopping, on the way out. They didn't really have a lot for adults, but we were able to get some cute things for Kamden. His birthday is just around the corner, so I got him a few clothes and two new pairs of Stride Rite shoes. I can't believe how much his foot has grown this summer... a whole size! He was a 3.5 around June-- and now he is a 4.5. I got a 5.5 wide, so hopefully they will last until Christmas... I hope!

The ride back, was not as pleasant as the ride down there. After an hour on the road, we ran into a terrible rain storm. It was pouring down so hard you couldn't see. By the time we made it to Columbia, SC there were so many wrecks that traffic was bumper to bumper on and off for almost two hours. We stopped for lunch at Fazoli's Italian Restaurant. The baby slept the first three hours, but he woke up to eat with us. We changed him, and got back on the road. I broke my umbrella trying to get the baby to the car. It was hectic. Kamden played for a little while longer, but he was ready to get out of that car seat the last hour. I don't blame him! He had been in that thing all day practically! He whined some the last hour, just because he wanted out. But it just wasn't safe. I did let him get out while we made our last pit stop for gas. He tried to drive us the rest of the way home!

We made it back just before 8pm. We unpacked for about an hour, and got it all knocked out. It wasn't nearly as bad as packing was. Kamden got back in his routine, after he had dinner in his high chair and a nice bubble bath before bed! It was a lot of work vacationing with a little one, but we had a good time! I think Kamden had the most fun. I can't wait for our next family vacation!