The photo we took behind the condo before seeing the “No Fishing” sign. You know you’ve reached the good life when the kids are old enough to make breakfast for you! 🙌 We’ve all seen the memes and pictures on social media (and the news) about how blue the water is at Myrtle Beach. I gotta tell ya, I didn’t see it. Maybe it was blue the previous weeks? It was cleaner and definitely not as brown, but a far cry from Caribbean waters. We spent most of our time in the water. It was WAY TOO hot to sit in a chair. Kaiden, Preston & Cassie 5 (Sea) Star Dining ~ this was lunch on repeat the whole week. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love it. It reminds me of my high school days. Every single day, I ate a bag of Fritos and drank a Mountain Dew for lunch. There’s just something about a Coke on the beach. It tastes better! This pic will only make sense to Ocean Lakes Family Campground people. At night, everyone rides golf carts on the main “strip.” For hours. It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever seen. When I was Preston’s age, we “cruised” on carts, but nothing like this. Preston LIVES for it. Laurie and I pulled off to the side and people-watched. We love our Cassie. I CANNOT believe she’s going to be a senior this year! Preston and Kaiden made friends in the campground. They spent their days in the arcade, the lazy river, and walking the strip at night. I am so excited for him. I was his age when I met Heather in Ocean Lakes. We’ve already been informed of the week we “have” to book next summer. This was our evening scene. They hopped out of the car and we didn’t see them again till 11. I know what you’re thinking – 11 is too late for a 12 & 13 year old. In normal circumstances, you’re right. Ocean Lakes is not normal. Security is EVERYWHERE. Families are EVERYWHERE. It’s very safe. And we rode around some of the time spying on them. We had to hide. Naturally, we weren’t allowed to acknowledge them in any way. Heaven forbid. I’m pretty sure every beach towel at the resort was in a pile on our floor. We promised to take Kaiden to Buc-ee’s on the way home. He’d never been.
These are literally the only photos I took. Before leaving, I put up a poll on Instagram asking if I should carry my laptop and work on my manuscripts. The result was a resounding NO! I didn’t work at all. It felt so good.
The week was very low-key and relaxing. Given a choice, July is not when I would pick to go, but it’s the most fun for the kids. Nanny ended up staying home – probably for the best. The heat was brutal.
Preston got into middle school for the fall! He’s super excited. We have mixed feelings. Jackson starts preschool September 5th. I’m not going to know what to do with myself. While I’m not looking forward to car lines again, having free mornings will be amazing. Once my book comes out, I hope to spend a couple of days a week visiting schools.
That’s all for now. Hope everyone is having a great week!
Andrea Beam 