Favorite Beach Vaca
With fall officially here, and an impending winter just around the corner, I'm holding on to the sunny weather for as long as I can and cherishing every warm fall day. Even with the leaves changing, when the sun shines down, I can't help but reminisce over the warm summer days - in particular, our summer family vacation.
It seems to be a tradition in early June for my parents, sister, and I, and now including our husbands! Last year was Myrtle Beach. This year, Virginia Beach. Of course, my mom, the ultimate vacation planner, wanted to know which beach we liked best. Both are so wonderful, and each destination has its own unique qualities, making it difficult to choose a favorite.
In Myrtle, we had an oceanfront view with a tiki bar and restaurant attached to the hotel along the water, that also included multiple pools, slides and lazy rivers, too. We had two bedrooms in our condo, one room for my parents, and the other double bed for us kids, with two bathrooms, too. It had a lovely, spacious open floor concept for the living/dining/kitchen area. The balcony was beautiful, with the best views. It wrapped around from the living room to our bedroom with two sliding glass doors. We could run loops around the whole condo and balcony!
There are so many things to do there, but a lot of them involved driving to different locations along the boardwalk or a little inland. Never too far, though, which was a plus after the drive there.
We hit up Broadway at the Beach a couple of times during our stay. So many activities! Margaritaville, shopping, putt putt, Joe's Crab Shack, wine tasting, fireworks, carnival rides, Ripley's Aquarium, and so on. It's a large boardwalk, inland from the ocean, that surrounds a small lake. Along the edge are countless stores, restaurants, and numerous attractions for everyone in the family.
There was an amazing ropes adventure and zipline course we sweated through, but naturally, we had a blast doing together with our adrenaline pumping the entire time. Mom and Dad stayed behind to find an American Legion, where we met up with them afterwards for a cool drink and one of the best steak dinners we've ever had.
A few other spots included the touristy boardwalk with the picturesque Ferris wheel, and Barefoot Landing full of more fun petite shops, restaurants, and attractions. And we definitely did (not) hit up the tiki bar for a few Southern Sipper drinks during our stay.
Now this year, in Virginia Beach, we also had an oceanfront view, with a similar layout including two bedrooms and a full kitchen/living area like before. The only bummer was that our balcony was barely large enough for two people at a time, but we made it work so everyone could enjoy the calming scene of the ocean. No tiki bar at this hotel, however, in Virginia Beach, there are bars all along the three miles of boardwalk, on the oceanside and inland. Plenty to choose from, and we had a blast trying them all out. including Waterman's and Chix, more than once.
After the long drive, it was so convenient that everything we wanted to do, or anything that we needed, could be found within the three miles of the boardwalk. A day-pass for the bus was very inexpensive, too, if we decided not to walk.
Live music could be found at just about every bar and restaurant down the boardwalk, not to mention a huge country music festival the first weekend we arrived. Although our balcony was behind the stage, we did get to see Luke Combs, Ryan Hurd, and Kane Brown exit their tour bus to perform on stage. Plus, we could hear the whole concert and didn't have to pay a dime!
We took the bus to an aquarium a couple of miles inland, and then again to an old-time photo shoot store. Dad wanted to recreate a photo taken more than ten years ago, and then have a set of new photos taken in our western gear, including the hubbies this time around. How fun!
Every morning we would walk, run, or bike up and down the boardwalk to exercise and take in the beautiful views. And, of course, to work off all the amazing seafood from the night before, particularly the She-Crab Soup and Orange Crush drinks.
Both vacations were so much fun for many different reasons. So much sun, so many laughs, so much great seafood. Ultimately, it's hard to choose a favorite since any time we are together as a family, we're making some of my favorite memories.
So, which beach is our favorite? What's the consensus? I'll let you know next year when we add another beach vacation to the mix!
Cheers!
-Krissy
Questions to Ponder:
-Where are your favorite vacation spots?
-What are some of your best family vacation memories?
