Myrtle Beach...Did you know it was bike week?

We headed south from the Kleinbergs for an almost 4 hour drive to Myrtle Beach. The time went pretty quickly, despite the fact that neither boy slept. Thank goodness for the iPad! My plan was to hit the grocery store on our way in so we wouldn't have to get out again. We found a Wal-Mart and got what we needed. We both noticed that the demographic wasn't quite what we expected. We were definitely the minority and I had noticed a lot of scantily clad Black women and men in vests. We went on to our condo (Which ended up being another 30 minutes away. Oops.) and headed upstairs with a nice bellhop. On our way upstairs he said, "So I have to ask you..." (at which point I thought he was going to ask if the boys were twins or something) "When you booked your vacation, did you know it was bike week?". I told him that I had seen a thing or two about it, but didn't think much about it. He gave us a knowing smile and that was it. So we get to our condo and the keybox wouldn't open with the code I was given. This should have been my first clue. I got a hold of the manager and we got in only to find it was 80 degrees and rising in there. It was already pretty hot and sticky outside and I had no patience for no AC. I was in touch with Karen again and she called to find an AC guy to come and take a look. Finally, after almost having to switch condos for the night, a man arrived at about 8:00. Pierce had already fallen asleep, bless his heart, but Blaine was in fine form. At some point while the guy was fixing it he asked us if we knew it was bike week. I said, "Yeah, but what does that really mean? Is it a big deal or something?". He just smiled and said, "You'll see". So the AC got fixed and we went to bed, noticing some revving motorcycle engines as we did.

As the week went, we basically learned Bike Week in Myrtle Beach is code for every Black bike gang in the coastal area coming to ride and rev their engines at night. It was definitely a thug-ish, shady crowd, but we minded our own business and didn't have too many encounters, other than the huge group hanging out in the parking lot every time we came in and out. Luckily our condo ended up being a good fit and had wonderful, close access to the beach. We hit the beach the first afternoon and the boys had a great time in the sand with their new sand pails and shovels. The beach was even nicer than we'd expected with white sand and dunes like I'd always wanted to see. The water wasn't too cold, but both boys were pretty timid about getting too close. Swimming pools still intimidate them some, so I wasn't too surprised. :)

The weather ended up being perfect, even after looming threats of 40%+ chances of rain. It only rained hard once for a bit during an evening. It was plenty warm and very humid, so getting in the water felt good. We would carry the boys to the shore and dip their toes in and let the waves splash us. They were still nervous, but let themselves enjoy it for a bit. Pierce loved running around the vast sand and Blaine mostly played with his sand toys. After a day or two he started getting bored though (much like the backyard at home) and had some meltdowns on the beach. I don't think he was still quite himself post illness. Probably one of the boys' favorite beach moments was when we let them wreck a pretty sandcastle someone had built and left. They'd eyed it for awhile and we finally gave in and let them wreck. It was fast, but very fun! It was really neat to see them experience another environment and I love giving them those adventures.

On a cooler morning we killed some time at a local children's museum. Cute museum, cranky kids. We tried one of many "famous" seafood buffets which was, as we had somewhat expected, like a seafood Golden Corral. We hit the boardwalk which was really pretty, but again, cranky kids and a lot of sketchy bikers. The condo also had a nice pool with a little water park attached. It was a little cool with the wind and water, but we got the boys down the slides a few times and they enjoyed it. We also rode the lazy river around with them a couple times. They really did a good job overall, but we discovered that vacationing with nearly 2 year olds was a little more exhausting. I was definitely ready to come home and be back in our normal environment with high chairs! They mostly "ate" (I use that term loosely) on a couch with the TV on. I'm so glad we got to go. It was wonderful to see the Kleinbergs and meet Ellie and let the boys experience the beach.