Sun-kissed

"Mom, can we live here?"

We just returned from our family vacation in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Ever since I was a little girl, Myrtle Beach has had a special place in my heart.

Is it the prettiest and most quiet beach in the United States? No.
Does it have the brightest, most blue water? No.
Is it perfect for children of all ages? Yes!

It's true, this area in South Carolina is filled with many wonderful childhood, teenage, and adult memories and I loved making even more last week.

This year, we stayed at North Beach Plantation Towers, Unit 1207. North Beach Plantation is a rental company that has multiple bedroom condo units (up to 7 bedrooms) along with many homes that are walking distance to the towers and beach area. The rental homes resemble a Charleston, SC style with different color homes, front porches, palm trees, and brick roads. Every morning, I would walk from the Towers throughout the different neighborhoods on the property.

Anyone who stays at North Beach Plantation has access to the tower pools, and they also provide a transportation shuttle for guests. We found our unit on VRBO. Here is the main site for the rental company. Keep in mind, sharing a condo or a home with another family or more than one family makes this place so much more affordable. https://www.northbeachrentals.com

Our ocean view condo was a 2 bedroom, 2 bath, located in the Indigo Tower. Towels and a fully equipped kitchen are provided for your stay. There is no housekeeping since it is not considered a "hotel." Each unit has a washer and dryer. Our room was about 1400 square feet and felt huge. One bedroom had 2 queens with two large closets, and the master bedroom had a king with a walk-in closet. The master bathroom had a walk in shower and jetted bathtub with double sink vanity. Our large oceanview balcony was furnished with a large picnic table and 2 lounge chairs. The condo was decorated very tastefully. Since each unit is independently owned, I am sure they all look different. I would rate the cleanliness of this unit 4 out of 5. We were very pleased and would definitely return. To see pictures of our condo, explore it in 3D , click here.

Since we have small children, staying on the beach was a must for convenience. Each morning we would walk down to the beach and post up our umbrella, chairs, and toys. After set up, we would come and go as we pleased .

My children LOVED the pools at the Towers. There are eight pools and they are all different. Three baby pools ranging from 6 inches to 1.5 feet deep with one having a small water slide. The other pools ranged from 3 to 5 feet — a little something for every age. There was also a swim-up bar for the adults. Every day from 1-5 pm a DJ played music by the adult pool. When you stay at the plantation, you are given a towel pool card and can receive clean, plush towels daily.

At North Beach Plantation Towers there are two restaurants on site. One on the 3rd floor that serves breakfast and lunch and one at the pool that serves only lunch. There is a very nice upscale restaurant, spa, gift shop, coffee shop, and fitness center in the plantation area located by the rental homes.

One massive perk about staying here was the location. We were located directly across the street from Barefoot Landing. This is an outdoor shopping, restaurant, touristy area. Barefoot Landing has made some renovations since last year, and they have added more restaurants, a playground, an outdoor stage for live music, arcade, and more shopping. They have fireworks and special events weekly. If you have small toddlers, they have little kiddie rides for that age group. They also have added a new Mountain of Youth Ropes Course that looked super fun! I loved the atmosphere here. It was super chill, less crowded, and the vibe was perfect, especially with the new renovations. My kids loved the arcade! Brand new, fun games, and it smelled like cotton candy! The only negative was the wait to get your prize from the tickets. A very long process. Ha. But they had a BALL! https://www.bflanding.com

We tried two restaurants at Barefoot Landing.

We ordered carry-out at River City Cafe, and it was decent. I would rate all of the following restaurants higher because I am not a picky eater but we collectively took a vote. We rated the food at River City 6/10.
http://rivercitycafe.com

We also had dinner at Taco Mundu. It's a large, open-aired Mexican restaurant with pretty views of all the boats/yachts. The tacos were good, but the service was a little slow. We rated the food 7/10. https://www.tacomundocantina.com

The best restaurant food we had on out trip was from the Chesapeake House Seafood Restaurant. Rate 8/10. We ordered take out at this restaurant so I can not give my two cents on the service or atmosphere.
https://thechesapeakehouse.com

If you are looking for more activities and things to do. Take a drive down to Broadway at the Beach. This is a bustling touristy area that has restaurants, bars, shopping, amusement park rides for the more adventurous and also kiddie rides. On a rainy day, this area has so many things to do. Check their website for weekly events; they also have a firework show a few nights a week. My kids loved the kiddie rides and walking the streets! Consider making dinner reservations wherever you go. If you show up at 530 PM, be prepared to wait 1-2 hours for a table.
http://www.broadwayatthebeach.com

A few other things we did on our trip included mini golf and visiting a neighborhood park. My oldest loves mini golf, and Myrtle Beach is just the place for that! I think there is a mini-golf course on every block with some pretty cool courses. The neighborhood playground I found was called Yow Park. It was so quaint, quiet, and perfect. We sat back and let the kids run and play. They loved it, and it didn't cost us a dime. https://parks.nmb.us/parks-and-grounds/yow-park/

We have been on a lot of vacations, but this one just felt different. Every. Little. Thing. was so exciting and fun. Each event and evening out felt so big to our kids. It doesn't matter where you go on vacation, it just matters the memories you make, and it was pretty cool making these this past week.

Flying in the clouds, jumping waves, collecting seashells, watching sand crabs, finding jellyfish washed up on the shore, catching a fish and watching it swim, building sand castles, feeling the sand between your toes, going down waterslides, watching kites fly on the beach, looking at airplanes overhead pulling a sign, looking through binoculars while watching seagulls and pelicans, seeing a rainbow touch the ocean, eating ice cream or cake every night, feeling the thrill of an amusement park ride, getting a hole in one, learning how to boogie board and ride a wave, playing games in an arcade and winning a prize, building up confidence and improving how to swim.

There's nothing better than vacationing through the eyes of a child. It makes you stop and take in the beautiful LIFE around you. I am so thankful for our trip. I hope I never forget it.

HAPPY SUMMER! I hope you get to feel sun-kissed too.
Thanks for reading.
Love, Rose

To subscribe to Rose + Shine via email. Click here.