My husband really surprised me this year! Just before Christmas, he told me we were going to the beach for New Year’s Eve!!! Drumroll! Just the two of us! I went into shock. We haven’t taken a vacation in at least four years. Matter of fact, we haven’t been on a vacation that was just the two of us since I was pregnant with our firstborn child. That was 28 years ago, and homeschool conferences do not count!
How does time fly so fast? One minute we’re at the beach and I’m pregnant with our first baby and the next minute we have three adult children. It was definitely time to getaway. We were so excited! The beach is my favorite place to go and I couldn’t wait. Can you hear me squealing with excitement?
Todd took care of all the arrangements and booked us an oceanfront room at Crown Reef Resort and Waterpark in Myrtle Beach, SC. It was a really nice place and if you’re going to the beach an oceanfront room is the only way to go. Bonus! By going off-season, the prices were more affordable. I loved being able to wake up and go on the balcony to watch the sun come up in the mornings and at night, just listen to waves crashing on the beach. So relaxing!
Thankfully, we had amazing weather while we were there. I had to pack at the last minute and completely freaked out because I had no idea what to pack for the beach in the dead of winter. So I mostly packed jeans, cardigans, a few long sleeves, and short sleeve shirts, typical winter stuff. I didn’t even think to pack shorts. I should have packed shorts, I forgot how warm it is at Myrtle Beach in January. At least I remembered to pack a bathing suit for the hot tubs!
So, we hit the outlet malls on the first day there. It was awesome! I got to shop my heart out as we hunted for a pair of shorts which isn’t easy to find in the middle of winter even at the beach. Luckily, Levi’s Outlet had some and I found a pair that might be my new favorite shorts. They’re button-fly and so cute! Rule #1 of packing for a winter vacation to Myrtle Beach, pack the shorts!
We shopped till we dropped and hit Tanger Outlet Malls, Barefoot Landing, and Broadway on the Beach over the next few days. It was fun! I even went to my first tea bar and had the most amazing cup of chai tea that I’ve ever had. I highly recommend going to one.
We definitely made room for some romantic things like long walks on the beach and the New Year’s Eve fireworks show at Broadway on the Beach. It was beautiful and worth going to the beach for. Back at the hotel, there was also a firework show that went on for about an hour. It was fun! I’m not sure if the hotel did it, or some other vacationers. Whoever did it, they spent a lot and it was so pretty seeing fireworks on the beach. Very romantic!
We ate like crazy! We went to our favorite seafood restaurant, Dockside in Calabash. It’s a bit of a drive, but worth it. You have to go to a pancake restaurant, there’s a ton to choose from and they’re all good. We were looking for an ice cream place to go to and our waiter told us everyone goes to The Crazy Mason Milkshake Bar. If you haven’t been there, you must go! It was incredible and so worth the one-hour wait to order. I can’t wait for the new one to open in Charlotte!
We also just took some time to truly rest and reconnect. We talked more from the time we left till the time we got home than we have in years. We got to walk and hold hands. It was great! You have to have time to reconnect every once in a while and although I wish we could have done this sooner, the timing was perfect.
I took time each day to just sit on the balcony and be quiet and enjoy the quiet and the sound of the waves and the seagulls. Just to sit there and breathe in the smell of the ocean was so relaxing. It was a great way to start my day off with some quiet devotions. There is something that is so healing about the beach.
This trip was great for both of us. Todd works three jobs so he definitely needed some rest and relaxation. We’ve also entered a new phase in our lives that can be really stressful. So I think it was more important than ever that we had this chance to get away, rest, reconnect, and just enjoy each other. We had such a great time that we’re thinking about making this an annual trip. I’m already excited for next year!
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