2021 Surfside Beach Trip

I grew up going to Cherry Grove, SC near Myrtle Beach every summer with my dad’s side of the family. Those are some of my favorite memories from my childhood…playing in the sand and ocean with my cousins, walking to the pier for ice cream, and playing “golf” (the card game) with the family. (It was always very competitive!). I think our last trip to Cherry Grove was when I was in high school, and ever since then we have gone to Fripp Island, Navarre Beach, or Isle of Palms for our annual beach trips instead.

This year, we tried to find a beach along the East Coast that would be easy for Jenn and Chandler to drive to from NYC and not too far away for the rest of us. After a lot of research, Mom settled on Surfside Beach, which is just south of Myrtle Beach…so not too far away from where we grew up going every summer. It was going to be a longer drive than down to Navarre, but I was really excited about taking the girls for their first ever trip to the Grand Strand. Our trip this year was July 10th-17th, and we couldn’t wait for the week to arrive!

We had a bit of a rough start to our trip. We were so organized Friday night, the night before we were going to leave. We had the whole van already packed except for a few last minute items, and we even had breakfast ready to be eaten in the car. We were planning to leave town by 6 or 6:30 AM, but the van wouldn’t crank. We tried and tried to jump it off, and we never could. Travis ended up having to go buy a new battery and put it in before we could leave. While we were waiting, the girls played outside on the swing set and rode bikes/scooters.

At least it was a good opportunity for Savannah to practice riding her bike without training wheels. We finally left the house at about 9:20 AM and hit the road.

It was a long day of driving! We ate a quick lunch at Subway and ate Chick-fil-a in the car for dinner. We finally got to the beach house at 9:45 PM (Eastern Time). Whew!

The next day was Sunday, and we went to church that morning. I got a kick out of this announcement slide :)

Travis realized he had forgotten to pack his flip flops, so after church we made a quick stop by one of the many beachwear stores before we headed back to the beach house. It stormed off and on a few times, so we ate lunch while we waited on the sky to clear. The back porch was a great spot to eat. The girls couldn’t wait to put their toes in the sand.

Jenn and Chandler brought Champ with them for the week, and the girls loved playing with him…and pretending to be dogs :)

We finally got down to the beach around 3 PM. The girls had a blast!

Brooklyn and Savannah enjoyed trying to outrun the waves to the shore. All 3 girls, even Abigail, went out into the water to jump waves. Brooklyn loved the ocean, even though she kept getting knocked down by the waves.

It was so cool being at this beach because it is so similar to Cherry Grove where I grew up going every summer. The girls loved the tide pools (especially Abigail and Savannah). You don’t get those at the beaches on the Florida Panhandle. I also love how big and wide the beach is. Plenty of room for everyone to spread out and play.

Today the weather was windy but so nice! Not hot at all on the beach…it felt more like the fall! We had a great first afternoon.

On Monday, we went to the pool in the morning for a little while. This year, we were staying in a beach house instead of a condo. The house shared a pool with several other houses around it, but it usually wasn’t very crowded at all.

The girls had fun playing with Daddy and swimming around. Brooklyn liked jumping in and practicing her handstands. Savannah showed Aunt Jenn and Rae Rae some of the things she learned during swim lessons this summer, and Abigail floated around in her puddle jumper.

After lunch on the back porch, we headed to the beach…

Travis and I took the girls on a walk to see what was further down the beach.

It turned out that they were in the middle of rebuilding a big pier. We couldn’t tell what it was until we got up close.

Today was our first time taking boogie boards to the beach this week. The house had a big closet full of beach gear, including boogie boards, which was perfect. Brooklyn absolutely loved boogie boarding. Travis took her out for a while, and then I took a turn. Even Rae Rae boogie boarded! It was my first time since I was a kid…haha. You never forget how once you learn…I could still catch the waves, but you just don’t go as far when you’re adult size ;)

The girls loved playing in the tide pools and digging in the sand.

Abigail even took a turn on the boogie board :)

This picture is grainy, but that’s Travis, Brooklyn, and Rae Rae out there trying to catch a wave!

Brooklyn tried to bury Champ in the sand, but he wouldn’t stay still after she started dumping it on his back. He was a good sport and very patient with the girls this week.

The sand on the East Coast beaches isn’t as pretty as the Gulf Coast, but it’s just as much fun to play with!

Brooklyn dug a “pool” for Champ, and he sat in it for some pictures ;)

Brooklyn and Champ also raced each other by the water!

They wore each other out :)

Savannah and Abigail got in on the races too. We had a great afternoon!

After we went inside, the girls got cleaned up and in their PJs. Abigail fell asleep waiting on dinner to be ready…

She couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer ;) So cute!

That night, we got a kick out of Champ sitting right next to Travis on the couch. They were buddies that night.

 On Tuesday, we took our time getting up and ready for another day of fun. Brooklyn and Savannah played checkers with Paw after breakfast.

We ended up getting down to the beach around 10 AM and staying until about 3 pm. I loved how this picture of the girls turned out!

They took their box of sand toys down near the edge of the water, and some kids nearby wandered over to play for a few minutes :)

They all had fun jumping waves at the water’s edge…

…but Brooklyn’s favorite thing to do was go out into the deeper water with Daddy to jump waves.

Brooklyn also starting building a “volcano” in the sand and recruited Savannah to be her assistant. She had Savannah fetching water and working for her. She told her she would pay her with shells…haha.

Here is their creation!

The girls also had fun running in circles and giving Paw a high five.

They all played hard today! We ate lunch under the umbrellas and Daddy bought us frozen lemonade from a cart that gets pushed up and down the beach. It was just as good as I remembered it being as a kid.

We had an early reservation at Wahoo’s for dinner that evening. It was over in Murrell’s Inlet. The food was delicious, and they gave us huge portions. I loved the crab cakes!

The girls enjoyed their food and the view of the water from inside the restaurant.

After dinner, we all played mini golf at a place called Gilligan’s.

It was really crowded, so we were trying to rush to get through so the people behind us weren’t waiting. I was one of the last to play in our group, so I didn’t get to really see how everyone else did.

Abigail was still holding the club funny like she did in Dothan, and there was no point in trying to correct her ;)

This course was really challenging compared to the one in Dothan, but somehow Brooklyn got another hole-in-one and was so excited! Rae Rae got a hole-in-one too. Rae Rae ended up having the best score of the night!! :)

On Wednesday, we had another slow start to the morning. Travis played Savannah in checkers. Jenn and I did water aerobics with Rae Rae at the pool while Travis was cutting up peaches for our homemade ice cream. He apparently tried to boil water in a metal bowl while we were at the pool (He said he thought it was a pot. I told him if it were a pot, it would have a handle…haha. We got a good laugh out of that. It never would boil…wonder why!) After lunch and turning the homemade peach ice cream, we headed down to the beach. Travis had some helpers while we were making the ice cream :)

“Come on, Paw! Let’s go down into the tide pool.” Abigail sure does love her Paw.

Brooklyn and Daddy started out jumping waves with Rae Rae. I went out there for a little while, and then did a little body surfing after that. It was so much fun! I actually caught a wave and rode it all the way to the sand!

The bigger the waves, the better–in Brooklyn’s opinion!

Travis also carried Savannah out into the waves for a few minutes. She enjoyed it because he was holding her the whole time and said it was fun. She told me, “Some big waves even came over our heads!” :)

The girls had fun making a pizza restaurant in the sand. Brooklyn and Savannah went on a walk with Travis, and Abigail made “pizzas” with Aunt Jenn while they were gone.

Of course, we always make time for a pop-ice on the beach!

Boogie boards make a good seat during snack time :)

Savannah got brave toward the end of the afternoon and decided she wanted to boogie board. She told me while we were out there, “I’m glad I decided to boogie board.” So proud of her for trying something new!

Abigail had fun riding the waves on a raft near the edge of the ocean with Chandler holding her.

I have a feeling it won’t be long, and she’ll be out in the deeper water with Brooklyn!!

Champ is the coolest surfer dog…

It was so funny to see him floating on a boogie board and raft in the ocean…haha. He was so chill!

Later that evening, Abigail fell asleep before dinner again!! She played so hard. Funny story: She picked out her own pjs after her bath, and it was something Travis didn’t recognize. He asked her, “Is this a top?” and she replied, “No, it’s a nightgown. It covers up the whole thing!” Haha! We had ravioli and homemade peach ice cream for dessert. Afterward, we played Wizard after the kids went to bed. It was a really fun day!

On Thursday, Travis played golf with Jenn and Chandler. They said the course was really hard and it was very hot, but sounds like they had fun! They saw a bunch of wildlife – turkey, deer, and even an alligator!

They were gone for several hours, and I’m glad they had a good time!

Savannah drew this picture for Rae Rae that morning :)

I took the girls to the beach with Paw and Rae Rae around 10:30 AM. Savannah got even braver today with her boogie boarding…she liked getting out there and trying to ride the waves. She didn’t quit even when she got knocked off her board! Brooklyn wanted to jump the big waves and did some boogie boarding too. Abigail liked floating on the raft near the edge of the water and riding it in. The big girls tried riding the raft too…it was hilarious to see them both trying to stay on it while the waves kept coming. Big fun! Paw only stayed down at the beach for a little while because he was meeting his cousin for lunch, so most of the time it was just Rae Rae and me with the girls. It’s definitely more challenging being outnumbered out there. I felt like I was scanning every 30 seconds to make sure all 3 girls were accounted for. I didn’t take many pictures today because I was busy trying to keep eyes on all the girls.

Rae Rae brought lunch down to the beach for us. She also bought frozen lemonades for the girls…yum! The girls buried my feet in a big “volcano” while we were waiting to eat lunch. The waves were strong today! We stayed down at the beach playing until about 3:30 pm. Right when we were about to leave, Savannah got either some sand or sunscreen in her eye, so we ended on a bit of a sour note. It bothered her the whole rest of the day, but it was feeling better by the next morning.

Mom and I took the girls to Whales after their bath, and they picked out t-shirts and a souvenir.

Brooklyn and Abigail picked out Myrtle Beach cups, and Savannah got a small stuffed animal (of course!). After the girls went to bed, the adults played another game of Wizard. I was tired by the time I went to bed that night!

Friday was our last full day at Surfside Beach. The girls decided they wanted to go to a water park today and skip the beach, so we took it easy all morning to conserve energy. The girls spent some time playing with Champ–they were pretending to be dogs, and Champ was teaching them how to be dogs ;)

We ate lunch on the back porch, including some yummy leftover ice cream…

…and the girls watched a movie in our room. One nice thing about our beach trips is that they are usually having so much fun that they aren’t constantly asking to watch TV.

We waited to go to the water park (Wild Water and Wheels) until 3 PM because they offered discounted tickets ($10.99 per person) for the last few hours of the day on Fridays. It was pretty crowded!! I guess everyone wanted that discount ;)

The girls enjoyed the wave pool and lazy river! Brooklyn rode with Rae Rae, Abigail rode with Daddy, I rode with Savannah, and Paw rode by himself. The lazy river had some waterfalls, so we all got wet going under them. It was fun! I think that the first time I’ve done a lazy river ride since I was a kid!

Brooklyn rode 3 slides total…two of them with Daddy and one with me. Look how brave she was!

If it was a race, I think Daddy won ;)

She loved it!

I rode a slide called the Dark Hole with her, an enclosed slide on a double tube. I screamed the whole way down…haha. And Brooklyn didn’t scream but kept saying, “I think we’re going to die” over and over. It was really fast but fun!

Abigail rode the slides in the kiddie area over and over…Paw said probably 100 times haha. Savannah liked the slides in the kiddie area too and enjoyed the wave pool too. We got some Dippin Dots for a quick snack before we left and ate pizza at the house for dinner.

The girls wore their new Myrtle Beach shirts to sleep in and wear home the next day.

We caught a beautiful sunset from our back porch on the last night we were there…

Even though our house wasn’t directly on the beach, we were close enough to have a really nice view of the ocean.

Saturday was another long day of driving! We left at 8:40 AM (eastern time) and got home at 8:50 (central time)! Lots of bathroom breaks today ;)

We ate lunch at Firehouse Subs and supper at Five Guys.

Savannah liked seeing the Savannah River today for the first time! (She was asleep when we passed over it on the way TO the beach).

The girls are getting to be great travelers! It’s definitely getting much easier to do long days in the car. Also, I still hate Atlanta traffic ;)

We had a wonderful trip and made a lot of great memories with our family. We look forward to it every summer and appreciate Paw and Rae Rae so much for making it happen. Thanks for reading!!