A Beach Day at Myrtle Beach

We slept in a little bit on our third day. It was a drizzly, rainy morning so we weren't in a hurry to get out of the hotel. It was nice to sit out on the balcony and watch the rain and the ocean. One of our favorite things has been to sit out on the balcony. It is really nice with the sea breeze and the sound of the waves.

 

The rain cleared around 10 a.m. Another one of the perks of our hotel is free miniature golf at the Lost Mines Miniature Golf Course. The course is near our hotel. Miniature golf is very popular in Myrtle Beach. We based this conclusion on the high number of very intricate miniature golf courses all around this area. Lost Mines Miniature Golf was not one of the more intricate courses, but it was a fun to play put put. 

Skylee trying to judge her recent shot

After mini golf Dan and I took Skylee to Eagles. Eagles is one of the many beach discount stores in the area. You can't drive for more than a couple of minutes in Myrtle Beach without running into either a beach discount store or a mini golf course. Anyway, we all got a little sunburned at the water park yesterday so we wanted to buy some rash guards to protect against the sun. 

Holly wasn't thrilled Kristin wasn't holding her. She only wanted Kristin to hold her. She is Kristin's "barnacle baby"

When we got back to our hotel, we headed down to the ocean. We acquired boogie boards last night. Some people left four of them in a pile on the side of the hotel. We were grateful for the free boards because we aren't planning to bring them home with us. We will also leave them for the next group of hotel guests. The boogies boards were a hit. We played around in the ocean and caught some waves. All in all it was a great beach day. The weather was perfect, the water was warm and the beach was not crowded. 

Planes with advertisements would fly up and down the beach. They fascinated Skylee. She loved reading the banners. 

Waiting for a wave

When we were done playing in the water we headed back into our hotel. We got cleaned up. While everyone was showering/bathing I ordered pizza from Micheal's New York Style Pizza. We wanted something quick and easy tonight. It was pretty good pizza. 

Then we went to Family Kingdom Amusement Park. Family Kingdom Amusement Park is a seaside amusement park located on Ocean Boulevard, in the heart of Myrtle Beach. According to their advertising they have rides for adults and children of all ages, including thrill rides, family rides, kiddie rides and go karts. We drove down Ocean Boulevard and found the amusement park. Parking was a challenge, especially since the parking was cash only. None of us had cash with us, but the parking attendant was a real nice guy. He told us there was an ATM in a nearby Friendly's and that we bring the cash to him after we parked. It all worked out. 

At Family Kingdom you can either buy an unlimited ride wristband or tickets to use to go on the rides. Dan and Kristin bought a wristband for Skylee and the rest of us purchased tickets. Skylee went on most of the rides that were open. The rest of us went on a few of the rides. Dan and Kristin and Alison and I took turns going on the large wooden roller coaster. Skylee was not tall enough to ride. It was a sketchy roller coaster - super bumpy, creaky and really fast. I am surprised that thing can pass any type of safety check. My favorite part of the roller coaster was getting to the top of the first hill and seeing the ocean, after that it was kind of a painful experience. 

While Kristin and Dan were riding the roller coaster Alison carried Holly and the diaper bag. She was "mom-ing" so hard.

Skylee was proud of herself for social distancing on this ride. There were a few other kids and she intentionally chose a ride vehicle away for everyone else. 

Family Kingdom is an interesting amusement park. It wasn't crowded so social distancing was easy. Skylee was often the only person on a ride at any given moment. They had hand sanitizer all over the park and we made sure to use it often. It had a real carnival type feel. There were even carnival games. I funded Skylee's try at a fishing game, where she won a stuffed seahorse she named Ferris. We occasionally rode with Skylee - Alison, Kristin, and Holly all rode on the carousel (in fact, they were the only people on the carousel). I rode on Twist and Shout with Skylee. She was so excited for Twist and Shout. It was kind of like the Wild Mouse at Lagoon. She loved it. Dan and I also went on the Log Flume ride with Skylee. It was the best ride in the park. Dan performed sound effects throughout the Log Flume to recreate Splash Mountain. We miss Disneyland. 

When we finished up at Family Kingdom we stopped by Friendly's to order ice cream at their to-go window. We found an outdoor seat to enjoy our cold treat. Then we drove back to our hotel (it was only about a mile away). Back at the hotel the adults played another round of canasta before calling it a night.