Little Parks - Myrtle Beach

When traveling with a family especially with a really little one, like, say...a 19 month old little boy it can be hard to find things to do that do not cost an arm and a leg. Sure you could spend a bunch of money taking him to an amusement park (Hard Rock Park) or fancy dinner theater (Medieval Times) but if they are not old enough to really enjoy those things then do not waste your money. When in a new place I want to get the most out of my money and my time while really getting to know the area I am visiting. I get the feeling that people think this type of traveling goes by the wayside when you have children but that is simply not true. One of the best places I have found to meet local people is in a neighborhood park these can usually be found on the local government's website such as this one for the City of Myrtle Beach's recreation department. So, far we have visited two local parks and these I found from just driving around, no website needed.
The first park we visited is at the Oceanfront and 54th Avenue. This park is known as the Myrtle Beach Woman's Club Gardens By The Sea and was built by the local Woman's Club. It is a great little park with a playground and landscaped walkways including a boardwalk to the beach. Baby, Puppy and myself enjoyed this park I think the baby enjoyed walking back and forth over the boardwalk to the sandy beach most of all then digging in the sand with some of the shells he found. Since it was after 5pm we took the puppy too. Animals are not allowed on the beach between 9am and 5 pm May through September. I also got the opportunity to talk to a local mom for some recommendations on what to do in town.
We also visited Chapin Park on Highway 17 business at 16th Avenue North. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed when streets do not have names but only numbers however it is actually pretty easy to get around here since the numbers actually work the way they are supposed too and by that I mean go up as you drive out of the city center. This park has a large playground area surrounded by a World Wall for Peace and lots of shade. Along two sides of the park there are front porch style swings hanging in the shade which is where I spent most of my time while the baby and the puppy ran around. While here we talked to a couple guys that looked like they spent a lot of time in the park. They were very friendly and reminded me a lot of New Orleans.
Pic 1 - Children's Walk at Myrtle Beach Woman's Club Gardens By The Sea.
Pic 2 - Peace Wall at Chapin Park.

Indie Travel Contest!!

Ok so I am going to guess you like traveling because you are taking the time to read this and if this assumption is true then you should check out a contest that is taking place on the Indie Travel Podcast. They are giving away a Lonely Planet guide and what you have to do to enter ranges from super easy to as hard as you make it.
There are three ways to enter:

1. Join their mailing list, or

2. Send them an email, or

3. Send them video or audio clips from where you've been. (This one's worth five entries.)
you can do all of these things through their website just follow this link - Indie Travel Podcast
I have only recently begun listening to this podcast but so far I love it. It is full of interesting places to go, things to do and travel tips.
Anyway, take the time to check it out.

Myrtle Beach

We arrived in Myrtle Beach last night and checked into our hotel. A Hampton Inn on business 17 not US 17 or 17 bypass but business. Having all these 17's in such close proximity does not help the visitor get around and you would think that would be a priority here considering everything is so spread out. It's like Florida here and that is no surprise since the word on the street or more accurately the word with the people who actually live here is with the housing market the way it is and with Florida at the low end of the slump that Myrtle Beach has become the new Florida. We here people who move to Florida (snow birds) and them move up to Myrtle Beach are called Half Backs. As in they went from Ohio (or somewhere else in the North) to Florida and then they have come half way back up to South Carolina. From the look of things I believe it although we have only explored a few areas so far I see people I recognise all over the place. Really old people who wait till they are up to the register at Walgreens to find their pen which has become wedged at the bottom of their purse so they can write out a check for their Ben Gay and Depends and the floral print shirt wearing camera toting tourist families each child being equally ignored by their parents and forced to walk faster. I do not know these people personally of course but being born and raised in Florida means I know the type. Scott is working in town so he was off early today so the little one and I were off to entertain the puppy and ourselves. In looking for something to do with the puppy we visited the local Petsmart and had him bathed. While he was happily occupied we went in search of a local kennel. We found one not too far from the hotel that will take care of him from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm M - F so that will be perfect. He is going to start going on Wednesday and probably everyday they are open till we leave on the 7th it will just make things so much easier. After we picked him up from the groomer we grabbed some lunch at Mickey D's and headed back to the hotel for nap time.
As you can see we have not had much of an opportunity to tour the area quite yet but with all the driving around we did today so far we are learning our way around. We will be able to do more exploring after nap time then a lot more after the puppy starts daycare on Wed.
I found this photo on Flickr since I have not been able to take many photos yet either. It was taken by alan2onion.

forget the great debate

All plans have changed now we are leaving this weekend. Scott's job is sending him to Myrtle Beach and we are all going. I just found out about this Yesterday so I have been running around trying to pack and tie up loose ends like where to put the puppy. We can't kennel him because he is too young to get his rabies shot and so none of the kennels will take him. We can't take him with us because the hotel that the company is providing for us to stay does not allow pets. We also had to do a little pre travel shopping for things like a travel sized can of shaving cream and some more powder makeup for me. I know I shouldn't have to buy that but I do. I am going to work on that someday. Anyway this is our route to Myrtle Beach. We are then going to Slade, Kentucky on the 7th of August for my family reunion and then on back home to NOLA on the 10th but that is a different map.


View Larger Map

Drive or Fly

It's a hard decision these days. With gas prices going up the cost of both a road trip and an airplane flight have risen by leaps and bounds just in the last year. But driving is still the answer at least for this next trip we will be taking. We are packing up the family and heading to Kentucky. Our family reunion is held in Slade, Kentucky every year and so in a week and a half we will be off again. We have the option to fly of course but the closest we can get by plane is Lexington which means we would have to rent a car anyway or get another family member to pick us up and when you factor in the baby and figuring out how to carry a car seat with us on the plane plus the plane ride itself it just isn't worth it. Also since we have a mini cooper we get great gas mileage and even if we have to spend the night on the road it will still be less than flying. Round trip tickets for two (hubby and I, the baby is still free) it is $666.00 . In Goldie (the mini) the gas round trip will cost about $200 even at $4 per gallon . Factoring in the hassle of flying with the price there is just no way it is worth it to fly. Now all that could change if it turns out my husband can not go with us and then the prospect of just me and the baby alone in the car for 12 plus hours or two days worth of driving does not sound so appealing.

If that happens then we might just fly to Atlanta and have my mom pick us up on the way up from Florida. With all the logistics that traveling entails you would think it would be a turn off but traveling is the one thing in which the ends almost always justify the means. I guess that is how you know you truly love to travel, if all the problems and changes and nitty-gritty planning of a trip excites you just as actually traveling does.

Travel Videos

Here are some videos I have seen recently about travel and packing that I found interesting.





Most Forgotten Packing Items





Biggest Packing Mistakes

Travel Websites.

Here are some of my favorite travel websites.

1. Anthony Bourdain's Blog - why? because he is awesome and for more on that see this post.
2. Lonely Planet - They make great guide books and their website has real substance and not just flash.
3. Metblogs - You might not think of this one as a travel site but if you are thinking of traveling somewhere or moving somewhere after you have checked prices this is the next stop find out what is going on at the ground level. What the people who live there do for fun and even drop them an email or comment to ask them what they recommend directly.


Ok that is all for right now. We shot and edited the podcast. I have to admit it isn't our best work but for a first podcast it will work and I have seen a lot worse. It will be up soon.

Travel Tip

Today I want to share with you all a cool travel tip. I made this up a year or so ago when I stayed in a hotel with my then 8 month old son. He has always been a great sleeper but he has slept in his own crib in his own room from the beginning so when I set up the travel crib in the hotel room next to the bed and expected him just to go off to sleep it wasn't going to happen. If he could see me there was no way he was going to fall asleep. This is what I did and what you can do:

- Carry a few thumb tacks (at least 2) in a candy tin (like Altoids) in your luggage
- Get an extra sheet or blanket from the front desk if there is not one in your room
- Identify your best location usually the bathroom area or the hallway to the front door
- pull crib into this location
- Secure the sheet/blanket to the wall with the tacks covering the entry to the bathroom or hallway creating a barrier between the crib and the rest of the room

Remember

- If you choose the bathroom remember to have everyone staying in the room to finish up their nighttime bathroom routine before putting the baby to bed
- If you choose the hallway leading to the front door hang the do not disturb sign on the outside of the door (you don't want the maid knocking on the door at 6am) also take advantage of all locks and chain type devises. Also, make sure you have everything you need out of your car before putting the baby to bed.

Happy traveling!!

And the trip goes on

I have wanted to shoot our first podcast for the last few days now but the weather is not on our side. It looks like it is going to rain again today. Oh well, I'll get on my negotiations with the rain Gods to quiet it down for a few days so we can get something going here. Oh yeah, and big plans to share in for about our trip to Boyce,LA. It is going to happen I promise.