Myrtle Beach Family Getaway

I spent the last few days taking Seven to Myrtle Beach. Jon had to stay home and work, so it was just The Boy and I. He’s three, but he knows every single button to push, every heartstring, every smile to get just what he wants, without even asking.

That, of course, makes me want to do more than is even humanly rational.

We arrived on Sunday, in the middle of a rainstorm, but as promised, I took him immediately to Krispy Kreme to pick out a dozen doughnuts to get us through the vacation. He’s not a plain boy – chocolate covered crème filled. Plus some with sprinkles, some lemon, some cinnamon bun flavored. From there we headed on to our hotel – the Compass Cove Resort on South Ocean Boulevard.

First impression – wow. It’s huge. It’s about 3 hotels combined into one, and each building seems to have it’s own pools, inside and out, although all are open to any guest. Our rate included buffet breakfast at the Compass Rose, which was a wonderful treat, as it was a full buffet, with everything from fruit to waffles to biscuits and gravy. We ate there each morning, and it helped kick our day off right. I will go on record as saying I think the servers were a little thin – it took a LONG time to get drinks, or a bowl, or pretty much anything you may need. There appeared to only be two servers. Ours always called everyone sweetheart, which I find annoying. I used to be a waitress, and I knew the other waitresses that used the terms sweetheart and honey. Sure, you’re sweetheart until she goes around the corner, then she has another name for you, and it doesn’t rhyme with honey.

Just saying.

Our room was really great – a King Suite in the Pinnacle Building. We walked into a bedroom with King bed, through a small kitchen, and into a large living room with wonderful oceanview balcony. Full on Atlantic outside the door. It was so nice to have all of that extra space to play, work, and color – and to just relax. The furnishings were very simple, nothing elaborate – fairly typical hotel quality. The bathroom was on the smallish side, but did the job. My only real complaint is the shampoo. It smelled like men’s shaving cream, so I spent the next few days getting whiffs of a man every time the wind blew my hair. It must be a tough job, though, choosing a shampoo that smells neutral enough for a man or a woman…but I think they missed the mark this time. Then again, maybe I’ve become a hotel snob, ever since my last few have been stocked with L’Occitane. I’m spoiled. Sue me.

The real reason for staying at the Compass Cove was the pool situation. Indoor kids pools, outdoor kids pools, a huge beachfront – perfect for a mom and her rambunctious little boy. Because it rained a lot of the time, we spent countless hours in the “hot pools”, the indoor mushroom pool, and the lazy river. When it was sunny though, we hung out on the well kept beach, digging holes, splashing in the surprisingly warm surf, and finding treasure, like shark teeth. Seven loves the sand, and the weather was so beautiful on Tuesday, it was a treat to just sit there and watch him play.

And when it was raining – which was much of the time – here are the many things we did:

• Ripley’s Aquarium (I’ll be posting a special review of all the Ripley’s Attractions over the weekend)
• Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum
• Ripley’s Mirror Maze
• Ripley’s Motion Theater
• IMAX Theater
• Pavilion Arcade
• Cheeseburger in Paradise
• Hard Rock Café
• Build-A-Bear

As you can see – lots of fun and lots of attractions, all in 3 days. It was great to be able to take him to all of these things and watch him experience them…he’s so inquisitive, and what a little learner! He’s still talking about the things we did, from SkeeBall to riding his Plasmacar in the empty parking garage, to winning tickets at the arcade to building his “Super Dino Pinkfoot” at Build-a-Bear. I hope one day he will look back on our trip and know how special it was to me.

And when he has his own child – he’ll know how much he wore my old hind end out.

Plus, I hope he has a boy, and it rains both to and from the beach for 6 hours, and he is forced to stop eleventeen times because his kid has to pee. Each way.

But, no potty accidents. I guess that counts for something.

And I’d do it all over again tomorrow…

I love that kid.

PS – If you are still here, maybe you want to watch him “Duck Dance.” Don’t ask me what brought it on, but as we were leaving the Hard Rock, he started this bizarre dancing to Depeche Mode. At least he has his mother’s taste in music. He rocks.