Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge

A massive storm blew through the east coast earlier in the week bringing tornadoes, excessive wind storms, flooding, and sadly it even caused deaths and home devastations down here in the southern states.  We are living a block from the ocean so we only dealt with the rain and intense wind.  But out in the country, about 30 minutes inland from us, folks had difficulty.  There have been flood warnings all month for the Waccamaw River area and we were luckily able to visit the state park before it was too flooded.

Prior to the tornado, South Carolina was dealing with extremely cold temperatures.  At night, it would get as low as 17*F and during the peak sun of day it was usually hovering the mid-40's.  But as the days crept closer to when the tornado storm front hit, we luckily got 2 days where the "warmer" weather has finally permitted us to be outside without bundling in winter coats, hats, and gloves.  Yippie for finally getting to above 50*F during the day!!

Ever since our arrival we have been anxiously awaiting the ability to check out some of the beach across the street, local nature preserves, state parks, and so many available opportunities in South Carolina.  There are many hidden gems that we have found by mistake just by driving around on cold days to scope out the area, and we finally get the chance!

We prioritized our big trip out to Georgetown, SC to the Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge.  It was about an hour drive from the beach but so worth it to get away from the touristy area.  The country has the availability of more local markets and open roads that were a great cure for feeling trapped in the in-your-face advertising and busy life of vacationers in Myrtle Beach.  Once we arrived at the Refuge we quickly realized that with the flood stage at 13feet, hiking on the trails would be nearly impossible.  But with a toddler, visitors centers and a walk around a butterfly garden was more then enough to keep everyone entertained.  There was a live baby alligator and turtles to see in the visitors center, along with a great exhibit discussing the animal habitats along the Pee Dee River.  On our nature walk, Keiki discovered different types of pine cones and tree seedlings - such a little explorer!

With no other visitors, we had the park to ourselves!

Alligator Adventure

There are so many activities to choose from in the Myrtle Beach area that it can be confusing which entertainment options to choose from.  Being that it has been so unusually cold out we were just about to give in to check out Ripley's Aquarium when the sun started shining this weekend and we decided to enjoy some outdoor time and go to the zoo instead.  Alligator Adventure was better then we expected and so glad we choose it for our family trip.  We were so impressed by the exhibits!  Not only did they seem well planed out, but the exhibits were easily accessible for our toddler so she could run from place to place to see things without needing to be lifted up - a very unexpected bonus prize!  This "zoo" had more alligators and crocodiles then you could ever imagine, in such varied species as well.  There were typical American Alligators in floating ponds everywhere you turned, endangered Chinese Alligators, and rare Albino Alligators too! The variety of crocodile species was a treat, but the most incredible was Utan, the King of the Crocs, who is believed to be the largest croc in captivity in the United States weighing over one ton and length of 20feet! He was so impressively massive!  There were snakes, flamingoes, monkeys, parrots, lemurs, kangaroos, tortoises, and many other animals to see as well and more info can be found on the park website here. So glad we took the trip to see these wonderful animals, especially because our tiny tot had a blast!  I highly recommend it for bringing kiddos if visiting North Myrtle Beach...  we even got to pet a small American Alligator too - super cool!

Cold and Rainy Activities to do in Myrtle Beach

Living in North Myrtle Beach this month has been a treat for us so far, just look at that Atlantic Ocean view!! 

Instead of feeling like a vacation, we have been quick to move in and get to know the area.  North Myrtle Beach is about 25minutes north from Myrtle Beach (although I mistakenly us the two interchangeably) and feels more quiet and family friendly.  It is further removed from most of the activities and attractions, summertime action, and more crowds that seem to gravitate to Myrtle Beach proper. Depending on what vacationers are looking for, they might pick one or the other.  Add to that, it's away from the airport here so no flight noise and not a cloud stream in the sky!  I’m glad we picked Crescent Beach area in North M.B., and we are quickly realizing that being here in a non-vacation period that any of the areas (Cherry Grove, Windy Hill, Ocean Drive, or Crescent Beach) are all great beach areas to stay for relaxing and quieter areas.  Our family doesn’t eat at restaurants a lot or go shopping either for that matter, but a few short blocks away is Rt17 which has more places then you could even imagine.  It’s like a super highway for all things food and fun!  Mini golf, pancake houses, all-you-can-eat buffets, $5.99-and-under beach shops, outdoor shopping malls, grocery stores - you name it and it’s here and the funny things is that if you miss the turn into one, never fear!  There will surly be another one within a block or two.  It’s puzzling how they all stay in business with so much competition.

Unusually cold for this time of year, we have been forced to enjoy indoor activities more then we typically do.  It’s been barely reaching 40*F on average each day and in the 20’s at nights so we’ve had to wait on scouting out our outdoor adventures to the area state parks and places to explore.  Luckily we have found some really neat places!

1. Keiki played her first game at 710 Bowling and won with the help of bumpers and a bowling ball ramp shaped to look like a purple plastic dinosaur.  She even got to wear her very own first pair of black&white two-toned bowling shoes!
   
2. At the BassPro Shops at the North Myrtle Beach Mall is incredibly huge and has an incredible fish aquarium that is at least 6-8feet high filled with enormous fish like yellow snapper, tarpons, eels, and a very friendly puffer fish.  There are also stuffed wild animals all over the store for our toddler to become amazed at like bears, turkeys, moose, and deer.  And we visited over in their “vehicle” section so she could try riding the ATV’s (all terrain vehicles) and fishing, pontoon, and motor boats.  Overall a very fun store for kids and adults alike and we have already been back on a repeat visit.
   
   
   

   

   
   
3. North Myrtle Beach Library has great adult and kid programs alike.  There was a string quartet concert to kick-off the Valentine’s/President’s Day holiday weekend.  There are kids story and craft times on Wednesday and Thursday’s depending their age which we are looking forward to.  When traveling on the road, it’s hard to keep a regular play-date or stable friend for toddlers, and I find that library gatherings like these are the perfect way for Keiki to meet some new friends and see them on a routine basis throughout a month stay.
   
4. North Myrtle Beach Park and Sports Complex was the first place we found with a legitimate dog park to socialize Doodles.  On the one day it reached warmer temps about 42*F, we checked out this place to get her out to run around.  Most of the Myrtle Beach area we have found to be pet-allowed but only on leash.  This might keep people safe, but is unrealistic for bigger dogs or in our case smaller energetic dogs that need some ability to run around and get energy out.  This sports complex was amazing:  two dog parks, one for small and one for large (over 25lbs.) dogs.  No other dogs were in the smaller gated area, so we took the chance and succeeded to bring Doodles into the large area so she could run like crazy to play ball and socialize with the other dogs.  It was great for her and highly recommend this sports complex for it’s dog park if vacationing with your pet!  And bonus prize was the elaborate playground available for Keiki too!
   

So we are having lots of fun so far despite the cold.  We have even braved walking down to the beach all bundled up in winter coats to see the ocean.  We even took our dog Doodles so she could explore and chase after birds. (note that dogs need to be on leash though, so we brought a retractable one so she should get some space.)

First Week in Myrtle Beach

We have lived in our rental home in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for one week now and the time is flying by us.  The house is beautiful and like a typical winter beach rentals, it is much to large for our family.  The living space is actually up on the second and third stories, reserving the first floor for parking, pool, and storage.

Entering the second floor is the entrance way and a common game room area equipped with a very large TV, a foozball table, and air hockey.  There are also three bedrooms, and laundry available.

Upstairs on the third floor is a massive great room that dwarfs the 52" TV and overlooks the Atlantic ocean from two blocks away.  The enormous kitchen is something like 53 drawers and cabinets (most are understandably un-stocked so we are assuming it's just to create vast counter spaces?).  There are also two master bedrooms on the third floor, rounding the total bedroom count to five bedrooms and six bathrooms.  Yup, like I said, WAY to big for our needs!   But when this house was priced the same as most of the tiny condos in the are, we figured, "why not?!"  Once we picked out the bedrooms we wanted, we closed the doors to the others so as not to waste heat/air conditioning.

Outside on the first floor is an amazing outdoor entertainment area.  Since it's winter weather for folks in South Carolina, none of the furniture is out of storage for us, but below is a few photos from the HomeAway listing.  Once it warms up I think we might drag out some of the furniture to enjoy some outdoor time, but right now it's just too fridgid for us as well  We're hoping for some warmer weather soon so we can hopefully at least enjoy the hot tub spa - ahhhhhhhhh, relaxing!

Despite how big and beautiful this house is, it does come with a bunch of mishaps.   The house wasn't occupied for almost two months now and unfortunately, a professional cleaning crew was not hired post the previous renters.  The first night we spent mopping the floors and cleaning the bathrooms - yuck!! - and let the owner know (who was clearly disappointed in his property manager.)  It's also unfortunate that the heated pool and hot tub aren't actually heating (or clean for that matter) because the pool maintenance crew couldn't come out for another week.  Like I mentioned before, it was ok for us since it has been unusually cold (barely 40*F during the days and below freezing at nights-brrrr!) but once it warms up, I hope we can utilize the amenities!  And of course the grill was moldy and missing the bottom try so the open flame was practically on the propane tank - yikes!  So we couldn't use it for Super Bowl weekend, and we have a funny feeling we won't get a replacement anytime soon.  After communicating with the owner, and a little patience and elbow grease cleaning the house for ourselves, the house is may not be working like a vacation rental, but is finally functioning for our month-long living needs.

We are finding that things happen much slower in the south, if not at all.  We have learned quickly that up in the north east these are things that folks get angry about and demand fixes.  Down here, it seems there is a laid-back acceptance that even if you wanted to complain, no one is really willing to do anything about it.  It's humbling to learn that it's not out of laziness, but out of lack of motivation.  Brian's father works in the condo rental business and said these are common occurrences and usually accepted as "it is what it is."  He explained that cleaning crews are paid less then $6/hour and are expected to finish cleaning within an hour.  Retention must be a big issue for these companies because employees just fail to come to work instead of properly quitting so it's not uncommon for rental properties to go uncleaned until a renter finally complains. (This is what made us want to launder our own sheets and towels right away!)  It's  sobering to not get angry to complain on the condition of such a beautiful home and humbling that so many people who work in this area can be poor.  We kept it simple and just notified the owner of the status of the rental when we arrived so we wouldn't be accountable for things we didn't do/didn't break once we leave.

Anyway, I would still recommend this house to folks, especially large groups! This house is in a great location for walks to the beach, an insane amount of restaurants and shops in the area only a few blocks away along Rt17, and only a 5-10minute drive to multiple grocery stores and post offices for mailing February Valentine's!  This week we have been lucky to find multiple playgrounds and even a dog park for Doodles to run off-leash (not that most places are labeled with "dogs on leash at all times"). 

Move to North Carolina

If you have been following along on our adventures over this past seven months, you've probably caught on to a little trend that I need to overcome: abandoning the blog during moving week.  It truly is when most of the magic happens for shifting our family adventures and has the most action-packed activities going on which is exactly why I should be sharing during that time.  But alas, it's also the busiest for us and I barely have enough time to move into our new location and get some groceries before shockingly a week or more has gone by, oops!  And then I'm overloaded with all the exciting things I've been dying to share with you all and don't even know where to begin...

How about I start with how we've moved again - yippie!!  For the month of February, we have now relocated to North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  And it seems we left just in time... how is everyone from the northeast doing with all the snow?  I bet kids are all having fun sledding and making snow angels on their no-school days!  It's very cold weather for this far down south, but still much warmer then our last place in Connecticut.

So how did we get here?  We drove of course!  Last time we visited down here in May 2015, we came like typical vacationers flying from Boston, MA to Myrtle Beach, SC and rented a car and a condo in a high-rise building.  It was just us and our daughter for a week and we treated it like a vacation, complete with enjoying the water parks and outdoor restaurants and shopping centers.  But since we are here for almost 4 weeks, we used HomeAway* to book a house three blocks from the beach in a quiet residential area.  And added bonus, it is a really dog- and kid-friendly house too!  I"ll do another post on the house we are staying at another time, but for now let's catch up on how we even got down here.

Packing up the car in the pouring rain

Five days ago (last Thursday) we were supposed to check out of our Clinton, CT rental but because snow was coming and we wanted to shave some driving time off our relocation, we decided to leave the night prior and drive to my parent's house in New Jersey.  Here we stayed over night, dropping off my husband's car and a few things we obviously did not need to bring all the way down South with us like ski jackets, snow boots, my pre-maternity clothes, and half of Keiki's toys.  The back of my SUV was packed with overnight bags and a pack-n-play crib, and the other luggage and necessary items were stored in the car carrier on top of the car.  This gave room in both the front and back seat for the three of us and the dog to have some space.  Space is really important not only for wiggle room but for diaper changes or eating in the car.  Taking a pit stop at a restaurant isn't the easiest with a dog when traveling in cold temperatures.  Warmer areas usually at least offer patio dining, but for a trip like this in cold February, it's a safe bet to just get a salad or sandwich at a place like Subway** and eat in the warmth of the car.  Plus, it's an added bonus that it's quick and easy to get back to driving on the road.  Most tiny tots take naps in car rides, but our little Keiki must be too excited to see whatever we are driving past because nap time in the car is incredibly hard.  So we just opt for quiet time with soothing lullabies for as long as she'll tolerate before asking for another book or snack.

Eating in the car: our trick to cutting down on rest-stop time
when it's cold and you're traveling with a dog 

For this longer car ride, we decided it was a good idea to bring along some book-on-CD help because there is only so many books you can read until you are ready for a little break.  A variety of snacks are key, I felt like boredom stirs the need for snacks in most of us, but especially for growing toddlers strapped down in a car seat.We decided to break up the drive into a small 3hr drive from CT to NJ after dinnertime for a good nights sleep at my parents house, then break up the 625miles into two days.  In past car trips, we have found that seven hours day-driving is pretty much our maximum and overnight driving doesn't seem to do anyone much good, so we figured for this 10hour east coast road trip, averaging about 5 hours maximum per day seemed very reasonable.  Leaving after morning commuter traffic was best so as not to get caught in Philadelphia, and by lunch we already in Washington, DC.  Luckily for us we had at least 3 people in the car to use the 28mile HOV (high occupancy vehicle) lane and zipped past all the afternoon traffic too!

We were south of Richmond, VA by the time we all started to get antsy so instead of pushing it, we found a LaQuinta Inn** to stay overnight.  The hotel was under construction but priced to fit our needs (i.e.: dog-friendly for no extra fee.) Hot breakfast was included, but nothing special.  We decided to stay safe and only eat the pre-packaged yogurt and cereal before hopping back on the road.  The key to getting a family in and out of a hotel quickly is to pre-think of what comfortable clothes you will want to wear in the car for all people in your family.  We decided to pack one bag for all three of us and a separate bag for the dog (can't forget her food!).  This way we really only technically needed to bring two bags and a pack-n-play crib inside and pack up in the morning for check-out.  This completely simplifies life!


We thought we'd hit morning commuter traffic when we checked out of the hotel on the road by 8:30/9am, but we are continually reminded that traffic is pretty much nonexistent around here when compared to the upper northeast!  Clear-sail driving, aided by entertaining rest areas, great lunch, and a toddler that only complained (ok, more like one melt-down) and we pulled into the driveway of out North Myrtle Beach rental home by 4pm check-in.  Overall a pain-free, successful road trip!











*I'm not sponsored by HomeAway.com at this time, it just seems to be the best tool for our family when renting places as a home-away-from-home. I almost wish someone from the website would reach out  because I could write an entire book on all the great adventures our family has been able to take because of the service that HomeAway.com and VRBO.com provides!  If any readers have utilized their services, let me know, I'd love to hear how it has worked for you!

**Again, not sponsored by Subway or LaQuinta Inn