Stout Spring Break 2019: FINALLY! A stressed and longing for a break Carly is bright eyed and ready to begin the drive to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. This was very exciting for me because not only will it be my first time touching a beach since I was in 8th grade but it will also be my first ever Spring break trip that I take with friends, or ever for that matter. A group of sixteen Stouties would make the trek down and right off the bat we knew it was going to be an adventure of a trip.
We packed Friday night and made sure we got plenty of sleep, knowing we'd be staying up driving through the night on Saturday only for the means to get to Myrtle. Alex and I awaited my roommate, Kallie, and her sister Sarah to come back from their hometown with the car we'd be taking on the trip. A Volkswagen Passat would be our car of choice, for the good gas it would have. But our first set back of the trip started right as they arrived and said a light popped up in the car saying the exhaust wasn't working in the car. So we'd have to back track back to Minnesota and go back to the dealership and see what needs to be done with the car.
We did so and came with news that we couldn't take the Passat down that many miles, so they gave us a different offer of renting a Volkswagen Tiguan instead. A bigger, much safer car for our travels. Of course, we said yes, and we were so grateful for the upgrade. We transferred our belongings from the old car to the new and said our goodbyes to Kallie's father and was on our way.
Alex took the first leg of the trip. Drove us girls from Inver Grove Heights to Indianapolis. That got us to nightfall and then Kallie and Sarah took the night shift. Alex and I tried to manage falling asleep in the back but our long limbs were hard to move about and got uncomfortable real fast. We also couldn't fall asleep much as we went through the mountains in Tennessee because the windy roads at night didn't settle ourselves well so we made sure everyone was awake and able to help the driver out.
As it reached morning we stopped to get some breakfast at good old Mac Dons and it was my turn to drive the last leg. I chowed down my food and slurped my morning coffee and headed on our way. It was a peaceful drive in the mountains. Seeing the sun rise and the morning traffic grew by the hour. Everyone dozed off again and I listened to my music shuffle through the speakers in the car. We stopped an hour out of Myrtle, needing to get gas and Alex asked to finish the last of the drive. I let him and enjoyed his company as we drove on.
In due time we finally arrived, smelling the sea air as we grew closer and I grew more antsy to go to the beach. We stopped at our hotel, a nice Quality Inn, to see if we could check in early but they said no, our room wasn't ready yet. Nothing to bring us down though because our friends were waiting for us at the beach and all we needed to do was change and join them! Thankfully our hotel was four blocks from theirs so we could enjoy a walk down the beach to meet them.
We had a group of friends staying at the Westgate Resort on the beach and they would be fitting eight people in one room and four in the other. We would've joined them but wanted to go the more affordable student route to the trip. No worries though, we always had time with them on the beach and with big group activities. Our friends welcomed us with drinks and right away a few games to start our relaxation. I ran to the ocean with my girl friends and soaked up the moment of the sea touching my toes. The water was cold for the season but nothing unbearable. I loved it either way, and was happy with the warm sun on my skin.
We spent our time looking for seashells and shark teeth and I hear stories of the crew seeing dolphins swim by and jellyfish being washed up on the shoreline. I figured it would be a long shot if I actually saw any of that. But as I was walking along the shoreline with my friend Abbey, we saw something get tossed up with the waves crashing onto shore and as we walked closer we saw it was a jellyfish and casually started walking backwards not knowing if it was alive and could sting us. To our surprise he washed up on shore and wasn't moving so we figured it passed, but I got to see a big one up close! Some of the group wanted to get it back to the water where it belonged but I was afraid it was too late.
As the sun was going down we needed to make the most out of every bit of it so us girls took some pictures in the sand and then joined the guys to play some football. It didn't last long since we were all tired and since I hurt my toe. Great start to the trip. By then, it was time for us to check in and get cleaned off and settle into the hotel. We would regroup with the crew the next day as we were tried from the drive and I had a foot to fix. It was a relaxing evening in the room. We had some snacks and watched a movie only to fall asleep shortly after, making it an early night for us.
Our room was huge, with three beds, a kitchen, bathroom and two balconies it was more than enough for us and was very well in price. I enjoyed sitting on the balcony and watching the sun set that night, ready to start the trip officially the next day. See what Myrtle had to offer for us.
