Kingston Plantation Myrtle Beach, Spring Break 2015

The past couple of weeks have been full and fun! Following our Girls' Night In Corks and Canvas Party two weeks ago, we headed to Myrtle Beach for Spring Break. My parents have a home in Kingston Plantation, which is such a wonderful family-friendly and fun beach resort, and we are very fortunate to be able to stay there. Though their condos are not waterfront, the resort is, and since we have a golf cart there, we are able to park our car when we arrive and ride the golf cart anywhere and everywhere we need to go without ever having to leave the resort. It is wonderful! 

On the resort are several swimming pools, two hot tubs, the beachfront property, of course, a children's splash park with lazy river, and a by-the-pool bar and grill with waitstaff that will take your orders and deliver your food and drinks as you sit by the pool or on the sand. 

By the children's splash park is a hut with an activities staff, where the children can do various activities throughout the day. In the past they have painted seashells, learned to make balloon animals, had their faces painted, and had their hair braided, and team activities like scavenger hunts, pool games, and family survivor style beach competitions are also scheduled throughout the week. The community is gated with a full time security guard staff. There is a small complex as you enter through the gate, where we love to drive the golf cart to go to the pizza and salad parlor, ice cream shop, day spa, decorating studio, and more. There are three We Proudly Brew Starbucks spots around the resort, which is good, because I Proudly Drink Starbucks. 

 

There are also tennis courts with full time tennis pros who give weekly lessons, a health spa and gym, volleyball pit, and scenic ponds with ducks that the children have to feed at least once while there. We can't go home without feeding those ducks! Myrtle Beach certainly has quite a bit of hustle and bustle, but this little corner is quite serene. We are within a golf cart ride to Tanger outlets, and just minutes by car to Barefoot Landing, so if we want more shopping and dining options, they are very close by. 

Before we left for the beach, I received an email from someone in Danville who had seen my blog via twitter. He works for Showcase Magazine, a Danville-based media publication, and said that he would love for me to write for the magazine. They are looking to expand their South Boston market and highlight more events and businesses in Halifax County. Within a week of receiving the offer and agreeing to write for Showcase, I had a similar conversation with Southern Perspective Magazine, the Gazette-Virginia's quarterly publication. I have to say that I was excited  to be asked to write for the magazines and am just as excited for the opportunity to showcase some of my favorite people, places, and events here in South Boston and Halifax County. Because of the new opportunities and fast approaching deadlines, I bought a new laptop and took it to the beach with me so that I could write. I didn't want to take a large nor expensive computer to the beach, I wanted something inexpensive, yet durable, and I wanted something easy to use, preferably with Microsoft Office already installed. 

I found this one at WalMart. It was on sale for $199, and it had a year's subscription to Office, plus a month of McAfee Security installed. It easily fit in my lap on the drive to the beach and back (Mark drove), and I felt comfortable pulling it out while sitting on the back porch, sitting in the yard by the pond, and near the pool. I wrote both of my articles while at the beach, and submitted them, so hopefully we will see them in the next Showcase and Southern Perspective Magazines.

Also, while there, I got to work more on the Influenster Carefree Fresh Is Fierce Campaign. I even taped an unboxing, compliments of Miss Courtie, videographer extraordinaire. So glad to be working with Carefree and the #FreshisFierce Campaign! 

I was also able to finally wear this beautiful Buckhead Betties swimsuit cover (below) that I received from the Bargain Chicks at their September 2014 Richmond Warehouse Sale. Thank you so much for this, ladies! I love it!  

It was a very enjoyable week. The first full day we were there, Mark napped three times. In between naps, we played, drove the golf cart all over the place, ate, shopped, and saw friends. Miss Courtie gets better and better driving the gold cart each year. I love the arm fling, like a vote of confidence she gives herself toward the end of this video clip, like "Yes, I've got this!"

One of the best parts of the beach trip is getting to see our South Boston friends. Our next door neighbors bought a condo in North Myrtle Beach last year, and were there at the same time as our family. The men and children went to the beach, while Tracy and I antiqued, then we all met up at Mellow Mushroom and Menchie's frozen yogurt. We enjoyed a glass of wine on our back porch and the children played. 

 

I still can't believe how much work I got done at the beach. It's amazing how productive you can be when you step out of the normal routine and into a beautiful, stress-free environment. It wasn't all work. We obviously played quite a bit. In fact, I hated to leave, but we'll be back in May, so no worries here! 

I came home to a whirlwind of activity and can't wait to fill you in on the planning, parties, committees, productions, and some beautiful things greeting us when we came home. There's lots going on here in the upcoming few weeks and months - some very exciting things are happening here in Southern Virginia!  If you have events in your near future that you'd like to include here, just let me know and I'll try my best to help get the word out! In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming articles in Southern Perspective Magazine and Showcase Magazine, and as always, enjoy this gorgeous spring day!

Best, Erin

Southern Virginia Mom

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