Carolina Winds - Myrtle Beach, SC

On our recent trip to Myrtle Beach, we stayed at the Carolina Winds condominiums for the first time.  We chose a 3 Bedroom Oceanfront Deluxe condo in hopes that we would end up with great views.  By visiting in May, the prices were still fantastic so the room upgrade was not a big deal...and we were definitely not disappointed!

We stayed in room 1203 on the top floor of the complex and had stunning views of the ocean.  The appliances were modern, there was a great washer and dryer and the balconies were massive.  From our bed in the main bedroom we could look out over the ocean without even lifting our heads off our pillows.  It doesn't get much better than that!

Here is a look at where condo 1203 is located in the Carolina Winds complex from down on the beach:

And here are some views from the balcony:

While visiting, the garbage disposal in our unit stopped working so we called down to the front desk.  Within an hour, maintenance was finishing up installing a brand new disposal.  The service was absolutely fantastic.  Our housekeeping staff was warm and accomodating and made us feel extremely welcome.  I can't say enough for how wonderful our stay was.  We will most definitely be back to stay in the same unit!  Here is a rough video tour of condo 1203:

Myrtle Beach Days 4 - 7

So my first post covered one day, my second post covered two days and now this post is going to cover four days.  While 90% of this is due to laziness on my part, the other 10% is because each day looked an awful lot like the day before.  So here is a brief summary of how the rest of our week went.

We spent our days going for walks and simply lying out on the beach.  I listened to almost an entire Tom Clancy book on tape while gazing out at the ocean.  Am read a book borrowed from the condo.  We ended up with some beautiful sunny days in the latter half of the week and soaked in every minute of them.  Here we are enjoying the beach:

(Notice that I am in the shade...I was banished here after not wearing sun screen the first day)

We had some great meals with Am's parents and uncle and aunt at the Marriott resort that they were staying.  The hotel had some outdoor infra-red grills that Am's dad used to grill burgers one night and a pork loin another night.  They were mouth watering delicious!!!  Here are the burgers:

After long days lying in the sun, we relaxed by (or in) the Marriott pools and hot tub (yes, Am stayed out of the hot tub...didn't want to cook the baby).  Below is a view from the balcony of the Marriott room:

Evenings were generally spent watching movies in the room before Am and I would head back to our condo for the night.  These were some late nights but fortunately I am a morning person so I was still able to catch the sunrise each day (or I guess this could be viewed as unfortunate from the standpoint of my lack of sleep).  I was frustrated throughout the week with mornings with either too many clouds for the sun to shine through or no clouds for the sun to light up.  Finally my great sunrise arrived our last morning.  The very top picture is one of the resulting images and the below is from after the sun came up.  The deep orange was unbelievable.

The Marriott crew had to check out Friday morning so we finally had some company in our condo for Friday evening and Saturday morning.  We had a final dinner out at Carolina Roadhouse and then walked around the massive Broadway at the Beach complex before hitting the sack.

Unfortunately our week came to an end and we had to head back to reality.  Fortunately for Am and me, we have a short week before heading to Vegas this upcoming weekend!  We captured some final images of the crew out on the balcony of our amazing condo.

Our final task was to pack up the cars before the journey home.  Am's dad had borrowed a Suburban from work which should have provided more than enough space for a one week vacation for just four people (Am and I drove separate), however, you can see that they used up every last inch of the space.  Fortunately Pappa Breen is a master car packer!

Thus closed our 2012 Myrtle Beach vacation.  We shall return (and next time with a kiddo in tow).

Myrtle Beach Days # 2 & 3

The past two days have been absolutely wonderful days of relaxation.  Our typical vacation is generally spent trying to cram as much into each day as humanly possible.  This usually results in a comment when returning home that goes something like "wow, I am exhausted, I really need a vacation".  This Myrtle Beach trip is the first in a long time where the goal of each day is to do absolutely nothing.

We have been going for long walks on the beach, sitting on the beach watching the waves, making an occassional venture into the ocean or just floating around in the pool.  My ADHD personality generally hates doing stuff like that but it was so needed and I am loving it.

We have had mostly cloudy days thus far this week but the sun peaks through occassionally and I have still managed to scorch the top of my feet.  The water has been warm and the days have been closing out with enough sun to get that beautiful sparkle across the water as the sun sets behind.

Sun rises have been non-existent due to all of the clouds.  This morning was the first morning that I was able to squeeze any light out of the sky.  The image above was the result but I had to go a little overboard in processing.

Am and I headed out yesterday to the Hard Rock Cafe.  I have collected the pilsner glasses for years and have a collection sitting above my desk at work.  While my collection is small compared to real collectors, I do have glasses from 14 different cities and was excited about scoring number 15.  The food at Hard Rock was great (as always) but we were told that they have discontinued selling the pilsners.  I was completely shocked as that is a huge collectors item.  I guess I am now collecting pint glasses?  Here we are at the cool pyramid shaped Hard Rock:

We went to Outback Steakhouse for dinner to celebrate Am's parents' (Mike & Patti Breen's) 35th wedding anniversary. We collectively decided that there are good Outbacks and bad Outbacks. This was a good Outback. The food was great and our server was very good. Here we are at Outback:

We headed back to the Marriott after dinner and watched a movie before retiring for a night. Day 2 and 3 were good days but day 4 was about to be awesome...

Myrtle Beach Day #1

We arrived at Myrtle Beach yesterday for our first beach vacation together.  We ended up reserving a room at Carolina Winds; a huge building full of independently owned condos right on the beach.  When I made the reservation, I asked for the room with the very best view and was assured that all of their oceanfront rooms had great views.  I explained that my wife was pregnant and had gone through a rough patch in the first trimester and I really needed this to be an awesome vacation for her.  Apparently my spiel paid off because we ended up in what, from the outside, looks to be the best room in the entire massive complex.  We are on the top floor, directly facing the ocean (other rooms have just a slanted view) and have the only room on the floor with a wrap-around balcony that allows for views down the beach as far as the eye can see in either direction.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think our view would be anywhere near this good.  My next post will have a picture from the outside showing the balcony.  But here's a picture of us beginning our journey:

After getting checked in and relaxing for a while yesterday, we headed to Carabbas for dinner and, like always, Bertucci’s delivered.  The food was fantastic.  Here we are about to devour our meal (if you haven't eaten there, the lasagna is out of this world!):

After dinner we made a quick stop at a local grocery store.  Last night was the Super Moon which is when a full moon happens to coincide with the closest approach that the moon makes to earth.  This results in a moon that appears slightly larger and brighter.  When we arrived at the grocery store, we could see this awesome moon against a deep blue dusk sky.  And, of course, this super moon would be setting over the ocean right outside our balcony.  And, of course, we were not at our balcony but at the grocery store.  We grabbed some quick food and raced for the condo.  It was a little too late to get the shot I would have wanted but fortunately I was able to snap off one quick one before the sky became too dark.  The result is the top image above.

Right after we plopped in bed from exhaustion, a huge thunderstorm moved right over the ocean outside the bedroom.  Our room has a door out onto the balcony and we had left the door open so we could hear the loud waves while we slept.  Being so close to the water, this allowed us to watch the lightening strikes on the horizon...all while lying in bed.  I finally could take it no longer and bounded from the bed and out the door with my camera.  The strikes weren’t close enough for a fantastic shot but here is a small strike:

It was awesome to be able to lie in bed and watch the storm…and then to wake up to the sound of the waves and to be able to look out and see the ocean without even getting out of bed.  I love this room! Here is the view from our bed:

Neither of us slept great last night.  The downside to leaving your door open is the other noises you must endure.  We had some loud obnoxious people walking on the beach and some late night (or early morning) fireworks to contend with.  And then the smoke alarm kept beeping in the condo.  I finally got up to remove the dying battery only to find that it is hardwired into the electrical system and the battery is only a back-up for power outages.  So the loud beeping continued with the battery removed.  I got back in bed and tried to ignore it but it was no use.  I finally wandered down to the first floor and found a security guard who was able to find a 9 volt battery.  At that point there was no going back to sleep so I waited on the balcony for the sun to rise.  There are no great pictures from this morning as the clouds hid the sun but it was still fantastic to enjoy those early morning hours.  While I will always call myself a mountain person, I most definitely do love the beach.  Off to enjoy day 2…