Our small city’s 4th of July Celebration was last night, but on the actual 4th of July, we just typically hang around with family and friends, not really doing much other than socializing (which is great too…).
This year we decided to do something different by going to an Amusement Park called “Cedar Point” on the 4th of July instead! Now you might think that going on a holiday to such a place would be busy, but according to friends of my wife, it’s typically un-crowded on holidays.
Since we haven’t gone to Cedar Point yet this year,we figured why not give it a try! We’re hoping my wife’s friends were right and all the rides have unusually short lines! If the rides do have short lines, we should be able to ride more of the rides that we want to ride, effectively giving us more bang for our buck. Of course the “bang” reference is also do to the fact that at 10:30 pm EST, they are also going to fire off fireworks.
Never heard of “Cedar Point”?
Cedar Point is an amusement park that is known for its large roller coasters. It’s much more of an adrenaline kind of park than an amusement park like Disney World. Most of the middle states in the US, know about this amusement park and frequently go there in the summer.
Hope you (and my family too) have a great Fourth of July!
I ended the previous post with a question mark because I wasn’t 100% sure that the area would be bad for families, and to be honestly, these past few days the area has redeemed itself somewhat.
It’s still loud in the following ways:
Biker’s without a muffler!
Those stupid soccer horns that make such a loud sound.
College age kids slamming doors and yelling constantly at night.
Radios in cars cruising the strip that are way to loud
Kids still hitting on each other and acting crazy (kind of look fun really).
But what has change is the day of week! This change alone has made a dramatic difference in the way that enjoyed for the entire family. After some basic common sense and talking to others in the area, Friday and Saturday are the days that the local kids (and young men) from the surrounding areas and come to Myrtle Beach to party. So that means a lot of drinking and yelling, and a lot of trying to meet members of the opposite sex.
I believe that a lot of the rowdiness is from boys/men coming to the hotels hitting on the young girls going on vacation. I think they realize that there isn’t much that the hotels can do to determine if they are clients or just men from surrounding area. I can imagine if I were a local, young and not married, I too would be tempted to come down and have some fun.
So far, my family have went put-put golfing, experienced something called “Wonder Works” House (which was very fun), and rode on a huge Ferris Wheel (we went at night, but I think it would have been better in the day).
So after a rough start, the vacations has become much better. After walking the pier, we notice that there are some definitely some newer resorts/hotels that would have been much nicer. I think with some more thought and preparation, perhaps it could be a decent family vacation after all (at least if you can come in on Sunday and left mid-day Friday.
Friends invited us to go on vacation with them to Myrtle Beach, this is was big mistake so far!
We arrived Saturday night and instantly I regret it. Perhaps it’s was when we were driving, looking for our hotel and the teenage kids in the car behind us yelled idiot as we turned into the parking lot, or perhaps it’s when the teenagers (different group) at the pool was trying to hook up with the girls in hot tub. Or perhaps it’s the pointy screws in the chairs that poke us in the legs that we sit (or sat in once) on them.
Needless to say, we aren’t planning on packing any of our cloths back in our suitcases because we’re terrified of bedbugs or other horrible things.
I don’t see it really getting better, I would love to leave for home tonight. I have to admit, I’m afraid to leave the room because I’m afraid that someone will break in and take our laptops.
Perhaps I’m spoiled because of our years of going to Hilton Head Island, and the great times that I had there in the past. The time spend with family and friends was always great at Hilton Head Island, all the teenagers are usually with parents and everybody is just having a relaxed, family-enjoying time.
What’s that loud sound I hear outside? Oh, it’s a group of motorcyclist revving their engines just to be loud. Great! While I like motorcycles, I don’t like them because they are loud…
If I were single and in my 20s, I might enjoy this place a little more, but since I’m married with kids, this place isn’t fun at all. Looks like we’ll be seeing a lot of attractions instead of enjoying the hotel and beach…
So if you are a single your person, Myrtle may be enjoyable for you, but if you are a classic atomic family like mine, this might not be the best place for you family…
Now that we’re here and the hotel is paid for, we’ll make the best of it. Hopefully, I’m wrong and we’ll have a great time.
A vacation is a tricky matter when determining if such a cost is worth it or not, especially since you only know after your vacation is finished.
Back when I was younger, I took a trip with my “then” girlfriend to Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia. My “back then” girlfriend had gone as a child with her family and wanted to recapture the memory, and perhaps learn a few things that she might have missed as a child. While it sounded pretty boring to me, I went along anyway, and surprisingly had a blast.
We went to Colonial Williamsburg, William and Mary College, hung out at a bar near William and Mary College, and just went everywhere. By the end of the week, I was so sick of walking. As a grand finale, on the way home, we stopped and spent a few hours at Monticello (Thomas Jefferson’s house). While we visited Colonial Williamsburg, we stayed at our first Bed and Breakfast Inn called Candlewick.
The combination of learning, a romantic B&B Inn, and just enjoying each others company, made for a great experience and memory.
So years later, I decided to take the family to Colonial Williamsburg to see if they would enjoy the location like I had…, boy was that a mistake. The first hour in Colonial Williamsburg, my daughter starts the “I want to go home”, and complains about being tired of walking. So after hoisting her up on my shoulders, and walking that way for the rest of the day, I ended up getting shin splints. The next day was shear pain…
But I held my tongue, not wanting to ruin the experience for my wife and son. Later they said they didn’t enjoy it much either. So the trip was definitely not worth the cost this particular instance. While I’m not sure if it was because we just stayed at Colonial Williamsburg this time, it definitely was a waste of money for me. But kids would have been happier if we just went to a hotel and swimming all day instead. Usually for spring break we go to water parks (which my kids love). I wish we went with the easy vacation… the water park.
That said, if you are young and don’t mind walking the entire day, and don’t have young kids… Colonial Williamsburg (along with visiting other noteworthy historical or recreational sites in the area) can be a great time. I recommend going to a Bed & Breakfast Inn, and definitely take the candlelight (or ghost) tours. The time we originally came down, that was a great time. Monticello was pretty fascinating too, so if you have time you might want to stop and visit that site too.
In conclusion, the trip was a waste of money this particular time. But if we done things a big differently, it might have been as great as it was in the past.
Lesson learned, next vacation I’ll take into account all of the variables. This vacation definitely wasn’t worth the money this time, perhaps when the kids are older, and a side trip to Washington DC.
