Myrtle Beach

The Top Five–Vacation Photos of 2022

I took so many photos on our vacation this summer, and so many of them turned out better than I hoped, so it was almost impossible to choose a selection for this “Top Five” list. Yes, there are six photos, and no, I’m not sorry…the fact that there is only one bonus photo is a miracle, and I refuse to apologize for it!

We’ll start at the beginning of our trip with this photo of the Washington Monument as seen from the German-American Friendship Garden. It’s probably not my best photo of the landmark, but I love the lighting, I love the fountains, and of course I love the monument standing tall in the background:

This photo captures that boardwalk feeling in Myrtle Beach, SC perfectly!

Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge is such an immersive experience…you actually feel like you’re in one of the movies when you’re there! Also, this may be the best picture I took on our trip.

I took many, many (MANY) photos of the castle at the Magic Kingdom, but there’s something special about seeing it lit up at night:

I know it’s kind of silly, but this picture I took at Disney Springs just looks so good! It has a real Rodeo Drive vibe:

On our final day at the parks, Bunny and I did a speed run through EPCOT looking to add 50th anniversary pressed pennies to our collection. We did pause to admire the view here, though, and it was a perfect moment, with the puffy clouds against the bright blue sky reflecting in the water and the colorful flowers in the foreground. The only thing that could have made it better would have been a monorail going by on the bridge!

Tomorrow I’ll wrap up my “Top Five” photos lists from 2022 with a look at everything else!

The Fountainbleau

I’m always on the lookout for vintage road signs when we travel, and I’m lucky to have seen this one for the Fountainbleau Inn in Myrtle Beach, because the hotel is in the process of being torn down. It seems to have a somewhat sketchy history, but the sign is still cool!

Markels Making Magical Memories–Day Six

Myrtle Beach, SC to Orlando, FL; 511 miles. SC, GA, FL

One of the reasons I wanted to stay in Myrtle Beach was so that I could see the sun rise over the ocean. The hotel room with the balcony was a surprise to me, and it made it so easy to watch as the sun came up:

I probably watched for close to an hour as the sky changed…it was just what I hoped it would be!

And then the delay. Remember I mentioned our brake troubles? Ryan took the car to a Midas, where they discovered that we did indeed need new rotors (too bad our dealer failed to notice it the several times we asked them to check before we left for our trip!), so he stayed with the car for a few hours (we are now two-for-two in getting our rotors replaced in South Carolina!), while the rest of took a walk on the beach, collected seashells, and took a look at the boardwalk in the daylight. Every cloud has its silver lining, and even though our beach morning cost us about $600, we really enjoyed the chance to slow down and spend some time by the ocean, which we wouldn’t have done if we had been able to leave right after the sunrise like we originally planned.

We even saw some pigeon tracks on the beach (and Bunny fed a flock, too!).

We did finally hit the road a few hours later than we originally planned, but not so late it felt impossible. We drove through Charleston, because Ladybug wanted to see The Battery again (but there were too many people out and about for us to park and take a walk), and then Savannah, GA, because I really wanted to see Forsyth Park for myself…the oak trees and Spanish moss were just what I had imagined!

As was the fountain, and there were other people there just to see it like we were!

Our original plan for dinner didn’t work out due to our late start, so we took advantage of Hoagiefest again:

And we finally made it to Cabana Bay (after driving over way too many scary bridges, including one in Jacksonville that I was pretty sure was going to be the end of me)!

Our room (Thunderbird 2127), was pretty much the same as the last time we stayed there, except there was a little snafu, and we ended up in one of the motel buildings with an exterior entrance instead of the hotel buildings with an interior entrance like we had requested. In the end it worked out well…it had more of an Astronaut Wives Club vibe which I liked, and they comped our parking and a dinner for us for our inconvenience, saving us a bunch of money, so it ended up being a win-win situation (well, except for the night a lizard followed us into our room, but that’s another story!).

Up next: Our first day at Disney World!!!

Markels Making Magical Memories–Day Five

Alexandria, VA to Myrtle Beach, SC; 435 miles. VA, NC, SC

Mount Vernon and a walk on the boardwalk; 12,332 steps

The fifth day of our trip began with a visit to George Washington’s Mount Vernon!

I’ll share the full details of the tour later, but we got to go through the house (except sadly, the Lafayette room, which was, you guessed it, under renovation), visit the gardens and outbuildings, tour the museum, and pay our respects at Washington’s tomb and the Slave Memorial.

After a few hours at George’s house, we hit the road, stopping at the Wawa for lunch. We were lucky to be there for Hoagiefest. Wawa is the one consistent exception to my “no gas station food” rule…consistent when we travel, anyway, since the Wawa hasn’t made its way to our area.

Later in the day, we stopped for burgers at Cook Out, but the real star there was the Cheerwine float!

We also visited what may be the kitschiest roadside attraction in the country…South of the Border.

We finally made it to Myrtle Beach, where we had a beachfront room with a balcony in a very nice hotel:

The view was amazing!

Even though we were tired, we took a walk on the boardwalk, where we were immediately greeted by the sight of a shooting star over the ocean.

This ended up being a fantastic idea, because we came across a DJ playing some of our favorite Disney tunes. And just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, he turned up not only the Chicken Dance, but also the Cha Cha Slide, so we got to do that right there on the boardwalk…the second Cha Cha Slide of the trip!

Up next: A slight delay before making our way to Orlando (at last!).