South Carolina | Love Dwells Here

Jennifer June 13, 2019 Travel

The Great Myrtle Beach Condo Giveaway!

Myrtle Beach is one of our favorite family getaways! Located on the South Carolina coast, it’s only about four hours from our house and is the perfect long-weekend (or longer!) getaway. Check out our favorite things to do in Myrtle Beach with kids post for some trip planning inspiration and make sure to enter this amazing condo giveaway from Vacation Myrtle Beach!!

ENTER HERE TO WIN AN OCEANFRONT CONDO or $50,000 CASH!

Win an Oceanfront Condo and Change Your Life! Vacation Myrtle Beach, one of the largest providers of family vacation accommodations in Myrtle Beach, SC, is pleased to announce the launch of The Great Myrtle Beach Condo Giveaway contest, which features the grand prize of a furnished oceanfront condo at The Caravelle Resort located in Myrtle Beach, SC, valued at nearly $100,000 (or $50,000 CASH, winner’s choice)!!! Other lucky winners will receive a 7-night stay or a 3-night stay at one of Vacation Myrtle Beach’s oceanfront properties.

The newly renovated, oceanfront efficiency condo offers room for up to four guests and includes a fully-equipped kitchen. In addition to its prime Myrtle Beach location, the resort provides convenient access to all of the area’s major attractions, restaurants, and things to do. Families and couples enjoy a wide variety of on-site amenities including an indoor pool, a block-long poolscape complete with a large pool, whirlpool, lazy river, kiddie lazy river, kids’ pool, poolside bar, and plenty of relaxing deck options. In addition to everything you need for fun in the sun, the resort offers an array of dining options as well as an opportunity for rejuvenation and relaxation at its on-site spa.

The Great Myrtle Beach Condo Giveaway sweepstakes is now open for entries.

For Official Rules and for more information about Vacation Myrtle Beach properties and deals, please go here.

Jennifer April 3, 2019 Travel

Things to do in Myrtle Beach with Kids

Myrtle Beach, on the South Carolina coast, is one of our favorite long-weekend getaways! It’s less than four hours from our house and offers a wide variety of entertainment options and activities in addition to the beach, so basically, there’s something for everyone!! There are so many different things to do in Myrtle Beach with Kids so we try and incorporate something new on every trip!

Ripley’s Aquarium

Ripley’s Aquarium of Myrtle Beach is always a must-do for our family. In addition to the usual aquarium options with big tanks of ocean life and touch pools for horseshoe crabs, stingrays, and jellyfish (exclusive to Ripley’s, as far as I know!), there are also exhibits that change seasonally.

One of our favorite parts of the aquarium are the tunnels that go through Dangerous Reef, allowing a variety of sea life, including sharks and sawfish, to travel all around you– even directly overhead! You can read more about our most recent Ripley’s Aquarium visit here.

Barefoot Landing

Barefoot Landing is a great place to walk around Myrtle Beach with kids and spend some time shopping if you need a break from the beach. In addition to the stores with Myrtle Beach tourist paraphernalia, we love the Christmas Mouse— it’s festive year-round, and Ron Jon Surf Shop– where we make sure to stock up on stuff for the beach.

The Barefoot General Store is a great stop for sodas in glass bottles- the perfect treat on a warm summer day! The kids were excited that they had Carolina originals: Pepsi and Cheerwine, as well as Mexican Coca-Cola, and sitting on the steps of the General Store was the perfect way to enjoy those treats.

Since this is the South, you always need to stay aware of your surroundings. We spotted an alligator sunning itself in the grass next to the boardwalk, as well as a couple swimming around in the lake that Barefoot Landing surrounds. There are signs everywhere saying to watch out for alligators and snakes, so it is imperative that you stay aware.

Alligator Adventure

Near Barefoot Landing, Alligator Adventure is a fun stop for the whole family. It’s one of the largest parks for reptiles in the world and does a phenomenal job of showcasing a variety of animals in as natural a habitat as possible while still allowing the public to see them up close.

Look at those toothy grins! The American Alligator is clearly the star of the facility, although many other animals, including some that are not native to North America, also call the park home.

The alligator live feedings (only offered from mid-April to mid-October) are completely awesome to witness. The giant alligators will leap as much as 15 feet in the air in order to get their dinner from the brave staff and then devour it right in front of you.

Looks like a nice family dinner– but not one that I would want an invitation to!

Pirates Voyage Dinner Show

Pirate’s Voyage is one of the most well-known dinner shows in Myrtle Beach and features a fantastic four-course dinner along with a show of swashbuckling fun! Get there early in order to enjoy the pre-show and extend your pirate adventure!

The theater is divided into Crimson and Sapphire teams, and you get to cheer your team’s pirate crew on as they search for the lost treasure of Davy Jones. The show features acrobatics, aerial feats, and even live animals as the two crews race toward the treasure! You can read more about our latest Pirate adventure here.

Bowling Alleys

If the summer sun is getting you down, a visit to one of the many bowling alleys in Myrtle Beach is a sure-fire way to beat the heat (or rain, depending on the time of year).

We went to 710 Bowling and in addition to having bumpers for littles (or bigs that need them!), they also have cool ramps to make it easier to get the ball to go straight down the lane. 710 Bowling also has an extensive arcade, table tennis, darts, and billiards making it a great place to spend a few hours.

The Beach (Daytime)

The beach is the obvious choice for things to do in Myrtle Beach with kids and it does not disappoint! We typically stay in oceanfront hotels and have the use of the hotel beach area but there are plenty of public access points throughout the city – over 40 to choose from!

The sand is great and not too shell-y so it doesn’t hurt your feet when you walk around on it. Our kids love digging holes in the sand until they reach the water so we make sure to pack the sand toys or pick up new ones from Ron Jon when we’re at Barefoot Landing.

We always pack a lunch to enjoy at the beach since we typically try and spend most of the day there. Sandwiches and chips are our go-to, along with plenty of water in order to stay hydrated.

The Beach (Evening)

The beaches are totally different once the sun has set– empty for the most part and MUCH cooler! Our kids love running around since there aren’t other beachgoers in their way.

We don’t venture out into the water past sunset (I’ve watched enough Shark Week to know that’s feeding time!!), but the kids love playing in the sand and sticking their toes in the water. We will often walk around the beach after dinner to get all the wiggles out and make bedtime a smoother process!

Myrtle Beach is a great destination for a long beach stay since there are so many different attractions to check out, but it’s also small enough that it works for a long weekend trip, too!

Have you been to Myrtle Beach?? What’s your favorite thing to do??

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Jennifer September 7, 2018 Local

The Great Pumpkin Fest at Carowinds

Every fall, Carowinds hosts the Great Pumpkin Fest on the weekends from mid-September through Halloween. Camp Snoopy is transformed into a fabulous, fall festival with activities for kids of all ages to participate in providing a nice contrast from the Scarowinds activities that are offered at night for the older crowd.

There is a hay bale maze, a foam zone, and a variety of games and crafts to choose from. One of our favorite spots is the cute, little pumpkin patch, full of cute, little pumpkins- every kid is able to pick out their own pumpkin to take home!

Though not actually a part of the Great Pumpkin Fest, one of our favorite things about Carowinds in the fall is the cooler weather! Our kids love that they’re able to wear long sleeves, jeans, and even jackets as the days get cooler- and waiting in lines is so much more bearable when it’s not hot and humid.

The kiddos can go trick-or-treating through Camp Snoopy- and they can even wear their costumes! Every day there are two costume parades with the Peanuts Gang in their Halloween costumes, too.

While the Great Pumpkin Fest is running in Camp Snoopy, the others areas of the park are abuzz with their usual activity.

We typically start our day at Camp Snoopy for the Halloween fun and then spend the afternoon exploring the rest of the park and going on all of the thrill rides.

And we always stop at the North Carolina – South Carolina state line for a picture on our way out of the park!

Things to Remember When You Go to the Great Pumpkin Fest

The Great Pumpkin Fest is included in your daytime admission ticket (or season pass).
In 2018, it runs on the weekends from September 15 – October 28, from 11a-5p

What’s your favorite fall activity in your city??

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Jennifer September 4, 2018 Local

Why We Get Season Passes to Carowinds

We live less than an hour away from one of the best amusement parks in the Southeast and have been season passholders for the last several years. Carowinds, originally opened in 1973, is now part of the Cedar Fair family and combines great thrill rides with family fun and a water park! Even with five kids ranging in age from 4-15, we’ve found that Carowinds has something for everyone and a season pass is the best way to experience that fun all year long.

Most Fun in the Carolinas

Carowinds is the only amusement park in the country that is actually in two states: the park sits on the North Carolina – South Carolina state line! As you walk through the park, you criss-cross back and forth over the state line and some of the rides take you over the line, too, so it truly is the most fun in the Carolinas!

Fury 325 opened in 2015 and it is the world’s tallest giga coaster (a roller coaster between 300-400 feet!) and it holds the record for the fastest non-launched roller coaster in the world. It’s the tallest and fastest ride in the park and definitely a favorite for our family! As you’re going down the 320-foot drop at 95mph, you can see the Charlotte skyline in the distance (on the right side of the horizon in this pic).

In addition to the height and speed of Fury 325, Carowinds offers more thrills with Nighthawk, one of 13 coasters in the park. Nighthawk is a flying coaster with five inversions and offers incredible views of the park.

Interestingly, the ride originated as Stealth at California’s Great America and was relocated to Carowinds in 2003– I cannot imagine how much it cost to disassemble, move, and reassemble all that track on the other side of the country!!

While it doesn’t have any inversions and isn’t the tallest or fastest coaster, the Intimidator is our family’s favorite thrill ride in the park because of all the negative-G “airtime”. The out-and-back track provides a smooth but totally thrilling 75mph ride and is a standout at the park.

In addition to thrill rides, Carowinds has a variety of rides that are more family-friendly like the classic bumper cars.

Something New and Exciting Every Year

One of our favorite things about Carowinds is that every August, they announce something new and exciting for the upcoming season. The start of the 2015 season brought Fury 325, 2016 introduced Carolina Harbor (the newly redesigned water park), the County Fair area opened in 2017, and 2018 showcased the retheming of Planet Snoopy into Camp Snoopy– along with a huge expansion!

We were at Carowinds on opening weekend for 2018 and the cold weather kept most people home so we got a chance to enjoy Camp Snoopy with minimal crowds!

Even though Pig Pen’s Mud Buggies is a fairly basic jump around ride, it was the clear favorite in our house and ALL five kids love going on it!

Beagle Scout Acres, 8000 square feet of fun, was added as part of the Camp Snoopy expansion.

Our kids LOVE this area and it’s a great place for them to run around and play– a nice break from waiting in lines. And bonus, there’s covered seating for parents!!

I love that Carowinds has a couple of kids’ coasters so that even Ellie can get in on the thrill-ride fun when we’re there!

We’re really looking forward to 2019 at Carowinds! An all-new immersive area, Blue Ridge Junction, celebrating the western part of NC, was just announced. The highlight of Blue Ridge Junction will most certainly be the new Copperhead Strike, the first double-launch coaster in the Carolinas!

The Food

We ALWAYS add the dining plan to our season passes and have found it to be a great deal for our family, especially since it includes Panda Express (one of our kids’ fave places anywhere)!

For about $90 per pass, you can eat twice a day (4 hours apart) at the parks, all season long, at a variety of locations. Panda Express and Harmony Hall are our go-to picks to please the whole family.

While it’s not included in the dining plan, the GIGANOURMOUS funnel cake from World’s Greatest Funnel Cakes (the one by the South Gate) is a great deal for a big family. For only $20, you get a funnel cake the size of a large pizza, topped with ice cream, chocolate syrup, strawberries and whipped cream- we make sure to split at least one every year!

Carolina Harbor

Though there has been a waterpark attached to Carowinds since 1982, the completely redesigned and expanded Carolina Harbor opened in 2016 and has been a staple of summer fun in the Carolinas ever since. Admission to Carolina Harbor is included with a Carowinds ticket or season pass, and season passholders get the added benefit of early entry (30minutes!) to Carolina Harbor to snag chairs as well as discounts on cabana rentals.

Just like Carowinds, Carolina Harbor has great dining options– our kids LOVE the chicken tenders from Harbor House!

With two massive wave pools, thrilling slides, and a huge kids area, Carolina Harbor has something for everyone! The lazy river even goes back and forth across the state line!

Great Pumpkin Fest

The Great Pumpkin Fest (weekends from September 15-October 28) is one of our favorite times to be at Carowinds. From 11am-5pm, it’s a family-friendly Halloween fest and it’s fun for all ages!

In addition to the rides at Camp Snoopy, the Great Pumpkin Fest has fun Halloween themed activities like hay bale mazes and a foam zone, for kids of all ages, and it’s all included in the price of admission. For more details about our experiences at the Great Pumpkin Fest, head here.

Scarowinds

On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights from September 14-October 28, Carowinds is transformed into Scarowinds and is full of frightening fun.

There are monsters around every turn, as well as scare zones and haunted mazes to turn your night into a horrifyingly exciting experience. Unlike the Great Pumpkin Fest, Scarowinds is most definitely a PG-13 experience so exercise caution when taking the kids. Scarowinds does require its own ticket unless you’re a Gold/Platinum season passholder.

WinterFest

New in 2017, WinterFest is the premier holiday celebration in the Carolinas, and the fun kicks off with the nightly tree lighting. Like Scarowinds, you do need to buy a separate ticket for WinterFest if you’re not a Gold/Platinum passholder.

Over 5 million lights twinkle through the park, transforming it into a magical holiday wonderland perfect for getting you into the Christmas spirit.

Although all of the rides aren’t open during Winterfest, there’s still plenty to do with holiday activities, live shows, and carolers. Our kids loved decorating the giant Christmas cookies at Mrs. Claus’s Kitchen– and at $14 for 4 giant cookies and unlimited frosting/toppings, it’s really not a bad price!

Year after year, we’ve found that Carowinds season passes are a great fit for our family. We get to have fun (and food!) throughout the year and attend all of the special events, for one low price!

Things to Remember About Carowinds Season Passes

A Carowinds Gold season pass gets you into the park every day that its open, and includes free parking, as well as unlimited visits to Scarowinds and WinterFest.
If you buy your Gold Season Pass now, you get unlimited free visits and parking for the rest of 2018 in addition to ALL of 2019! Check out the details here.
We buy our season passes in the fall and set them up on the interest-free payment plan to spread out the cost a bit– especially since we have six to buy!
For a limited-time, Carowinds is offering a free Pre-K Season Pass for kids between 3-5. You need to register online and activate at the park (and bring a birth certificate or passport to verify the age) but it’s a great deal for those with preschoolers. Kids under 3 are always free!

Do you have or would you consider getting Carowinds Season Passes?? If not, what would make a Season Pass more appealing to you??

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Jennifer June 8, 2018 Travel

Ripley’s Aquarium of Myrtle Beach Review

A big thanks to Ripley’s Aquarium of Myrtle Beach for having us! We received complimentary tickets for aquarium admission but all of my opinions are honest and my own.

One of the biggest attractions in Myrtle Beach is Ripley’s Aquarium and it’s always a can’t miss stop for our family. Located at Broadway at the Beach, the aquarium can be combined with shopping and dining, making it an all-day affair.

Our kids love exploring all of the different tanks throughout the aquarium though those with brightly colored fish are usually their favorites.

We checked out the new Pearl Harbor exhibit and the kids were pleasantly surprised with how informative and interesting it was. They appreciated the touch table displays because they could interact with the information- which always leads to better retention!

We spent quite a bit of time at the Rio Amazon exhibit since we arrived right as they were doing a feeding. Watching the arapaima and red tail catfish dart and fight over food was really entertaining. We were surprised to find out that some of the fish ate shrimp while others had cherry tomatoes!

I think we could have spent all day at the giant Rainbow Rock exhibit. There’s just something about having an entire wall of aquatic life that is completely relaxing– it’s almost like a giant screensaver.

From there we ventured to the tunnels and into the Dangerous Reef. You hop on a moving sidewalk (like the ones they have at the airport) and are transported through tunnels with sharks and all sorts of sea life swimming all around you and even over your head!

The sawfish are one of the most unique inhabitants of the aquarium- they are also known as carpenter sharks but they’re actually part of the ray family. I was surprised to learn that in addition to living in the ocean, they also live in freshwater rivers and lakes… guess I’ll be staying out of those now, too!

At Ray Bay, you can actually pet the stingrays! We’ve done this at a variety of aquariums over the years but this was the first time that Ellie wanted to participate. She eagerly climbed up on the rocks, stuck her hand out, and then quickly realized that she was just a bit too short to get her hand out far enough to touch one.

Luckily, the people next to us bought fish to feed the rays and they were nice enough to feed them right by Ellie so that she got a chance to touch a few. She was so excited and even after realizing that the rays were slimy, she still wanted to do it again, and again, and again!

Once the rays realized that the food was by her, they wouldn’t leave her alone and were splashing water at her and coming in close so that she could pet them (and so that they could get a bite to eat).

While we’ve been to many different aquariums before, this was the first one that we’ve ever been to that let you touch a jellyfish! They have a tank full of moon jellies and they let you touch their backs.

Even though she had no problem touching the stingrays, Ellie wanted absolutely NOTHING to do with touching the jellyfish– and I can’t really blame her! Lexie, on the other hand, was excited to try and touched several- she said they felt like rubber and slime. Bleh! This tank had an employee closely watching and cautioned the kids to only touch the backs of the jellyfish so that they didn’t get stung. While I only watched and took pictures, the kids REALLY liked it and it was a neat experience.

We had a great time exploring Ripley’s Aquarium of Myrtle Beach and will continue to check it out every time we’re in town. They do a great job updating the exhibits and ensuring that there are new ones to see so that there’s always something fresh and engaging.

We love going to aquariums when we travel; which one is your favorite??

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Jennifer June 1, 2018 Travel

Pirates Voyage | Myrtle Beach, SC

A big thanks to Pirates Voyage for having us for this fun family show. We received discounted tickets to attend the show. All of my opinions are honest and my own.

As you drive into Myrtle Beach, there are billboards all over the place advertising Pirates Voyage, and they do a great job at getting kids interested and asking about the show– definitely some well-spent advertising money! Every time we’re in town, the kids ask if we can go so this time we decided to surprise them with tickets to the show.

According to the website, you should arrive 50 minutes early in order to enjoy the preshow that’s filled with singing, dancing, and even a visit from a sea lion. We arrived over an hour early and the entire preshow area (both the first and second floors!) was completely full so I would recommend arriving at least 90 minutes before the show if you’re interested in watching the preshow. While we couldn’t see any of the show, it sounded cute so I would make sure to arrive early enough to watch next time.

The doors to the theater are on the second floor so if you want to be one of the first ones in, then make sure to watch the preshow from upstairs. Seat assignments are done by section/row and then filled from one side to the other, so there’s not really a huge advantage to being the first ones in as all seats in a given section/row are basically the same. The theater is set up like a stadium with counter seating and every section/row seemed to have a great view. We were in the top row, one row behind the Preferred seating, and it offered a great, wide-angle view of the whole theater. I would definitely pay the extra $5 per ticket for Preferred next time as they had a bit more interaction with the cast (especially the first row) and they were closer to the action.

Once we were seated, our server came around to get our drink orders- Coke, sweet tea and water are included with dinner but you can also order from the bar if you’re interested in an adult beverage. The theater is divided into two sides with one rooting for the Crimson crew and the other rooting for Saphhire– it’s a great way to get the guests involved in the show!

As the show was starting, our server began to bring out the delicious, four-course feast! We started out with the Voyager Creamy Vegetable Soup and Buccaneer Bread. The soup is so popular that they sell the mix online and in the gift shop. Note for parents: forks are the only utensil allowed so pack a plastic spoon if your little one will have trouble drinking the soup like a pirate.

The show itself was phenomenal and packed with epic stunts. We were all amazed at the sheer strength of the pirates as they climbed the poles and did acrobatics on them.

The kids all said that the aerial stunts were their favorite part– the height that the pirates could get during their acrobatics was amazing. They also really liked the animals in the show– a sea lion, dogs, and even ducks!

Our dinner feast continued: half of a roasted chicken, bbq pork, corn on the cob, and an herb-basted potato. BBQ sauce was available as well and of course, our kids put it on everything! Another note for parents: no knives were available to cut the chicken off of the bone but we had good luck doing it with two forks. Just be aware that everything is designed to be eaten either with a fork or hands so if you have littles that are not accustomed to eating chicken on a bone or corn on the cob, it requires a bit of extra work.

All of our kids were completely mesmerized during the show– we even had to remind them to eat! Once they polished off their dinners, the apple turnovers were served and we watched the epic battle continue. While the show isn’t overly scary, there is one part that is really dark/foggy and has skeleton pirates so it may frighten some littles– ours were not fazed at all.

At the end of the show, the Crimson crew beat the Sapphire crew (booooo!!!) but there was more than enough treasure to go around. We had a great time on our voyage with Captain Blackbeard and would definitely do it again in the future.

Things to Remember if You’re Embarking on Pirates Voyage

Arrive early– at least 90 minutes if you want to see the preshow
Pay the extra $5 for Preferred seating and be closer to the action
Forks are the only utensil allowed– pack a plastic spoon for the soup and use two forks instead of a knife if you have little pirates in your group

Have you ever attended a dinner show in Myrtle Beach? Which one and would you recommend it?

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