The kids were surprised when they got into the car and saw their big, stuffed Mickey and Minnie Mouse heads sitting in their car seats. We are almost there and can’t wait to get to the Animal Kingdom Lodge to stretch out!!

- Dana

As usual, we decided two days before the actual day that we were going to go to Myrtle Beach. I think

we do much better with spontaneous vacations. Our kids get more excited and they don’t bounce around the house for days asking if we are leaving that day to go. I have also found that there really aren’t any deals to be had at the place we like to stay – Embassy Suites @ Kingston Plantation. It’s very family friendly and the kids love it. I don’t think the value exchange of $50 savings for very happy children / wife is worth it, so we just keep going back to the same place.

What do I remember from this beach trip:

1. A calculator is both essential for a trip to the beach and bigger than an iPad.
2. Krispy Kreme is both technologically advanced and still the best donut in town.
3. Jellyfish stings still hurt. Email me for the full story or check my twitter feed.
4. Buddy really likes swimming at night.
5. You can’t have too many snakes in your bed when you go to sleep at night.
6. Men’s Toms (what are these?) are sparkly silver.
7. No matter how cute the kids are … paddle boats are very hard to peddle

That’s it … lucky 7. I don’t want to admit that I learned that Kingston Plantation overplays Electric Slide, Get Funky, and Cupid Shuffle way too much or that beers and drinks are $7 a piece there. Those might send the wrong message.

I guess we’ll go back again next year … but I can’t tell you on which day / month / time.

-Dana

Some of you may know that last year, my wife took great care of me while I recovered from back surgery. Unfortunately, eleven days before our 10th anniversary was when I went under the knife. Our 10th anniversary was spent with me taking lots of pain killers and Jill running around taking care of her 3 kids (which includes me). We both needed a break from reality so the idea of taking a trip without the kids was an easy one to make.  The trick was to make sure we didn’t over plan it like we (Jill) normally do and end up just rushing from one place to another. So this year, I wanted to do something very special for her and make it a complete surprise for two reasons.  First, I thought it would be super for her to be swept off her feet and second, it kept me from really being able to plan too much.

So, email me if you want to know all of the hoops I had to jump through in order to keep a week long vacation from my wife. That was quite a fun & exhausting series of events.

We stayed in a wonderful resort called Seven Stars Resort and it truly did have seven stars of luxury. They picked us up from the airport (which was as about 5,000 sq. ft max) in a limousine and drove us to the hotel.  When we arrived they escorted us to the open-air lobby which was wonderfully relaxing and it is also where Jill (ok, me too) began to enjoy herself.   As soon as we sat down on the couch the hotel staff brought us the drink you see her with which was Rum Punch. I never really got a clear answer of what was in it but I can tell you that it had a highly potent combination of rum and juice in it. Nonetheless, being the good southerners we are, we did not deny them when they offered us a second glass of punch. Mmm.

It wasnt long before we got to our room and were then ushered over to the spa for a massage. That was a wonderful treat to get off the plan and immediately immerse ourselves in relaxation. Not only were the drinks in the lobby great but the view out of our room was outstanding as well.

We closed the first day with a great dinner at Coyaba, which was where we learned that everything you eat / drink is flown into the Turks and Caicos except the conch.  The meal was wonderful albeit a little bit pricey.  I highly recommend you try Coyaba on your trip.

The wonderful thing about the Turks and Caicos is that there is very little commercial development.  So, you wont find rollercoasters or much shopping. What you will find is a beautiful ocean, clean beaches, and a highly laid back atmosphere.  We spent the remaining days snorkeling, lounging, and scuba diving. The Turks has he third largest natural reef  and highly salty water.  The salt water makes it almost impossible to drown since you will be highly bouyant and the natural reef proved to be absolutely beautiful. Jacques Cousteau, the legendary maritime explorer who used to dive Turks and Caicos himself, considered Provo one of the top ten sites in the world to dive. Scuba enthusiasts highlight the pristine barrier reef that runs the entire length of the island’s north coast as the best spot to dive Turks and Caicos. The extensive reef system plays host to countless species of fish, like barracuda and parrotfish, and colorful coral formations. We dove with Big Blue and again highly recommend them. They were very friendly and helpful with the two of use who had not dove in a few year and to be frank, had forgotten a few things since the last time.  They boat ride from the dock was about 10 minutes so out of the half day dive perhaps only 30 minutes was spent out of the water. The divemasters spent a good bit of time telling us all about the reef and the wildlife. We were also luck enough to see a couple different kinds of rays and sharks on the trip so I thought it was a great set of dives.

We also had a blast on our snorkeling trip where spent the first half of the day snorkeling. Then, we went to a little spot where the captain instructed us on how to find conch.  The group collected a bunch of conch which the captain and first mate made into ceviche for us.  It was a blast.

We had a great time and will likely head back in a few years.

-Dana