Southern Belle in Training

Fashion, Travel & Lifestyle Blog || Est. 2012 || Virginia Beach, VA

September 29, 2015

Myrtle Beach Recap.


     Happy Monday, loves! I am so excited on this Monday because the big event that I have been talking about getting ready for over the past month (aka sorority recruitment) is finally over! Bid Day for my sorority was yesterday, and we welcomed home so many beautiful new members!! (The most special part of the whole experience is that one our new members is my former roommate and one of my best friends.) I will be sharing much more about recruitment and Bid Day later this week. In the meantime, you can feel free to check out my recruitment and Bid Day recap from last year if you are interested! 

     But today, I'm happy to finally be getting to share more about my 21st birthday weekend getaway from earlier this month to Myrtle Beach! It was such a fun weekend, and I always love sharing about my travels here on the blog. 




      This was the first vacation that I have ever gone on without my parents! (Well... I'm not counting the month that I spent abroad this summer in France. I consider that studying abroad mostly an academic trip!) I think that honestly the fact that I was traveling alone with friends, checking into a hotel, and having total freedom on vacation made me feel the most "legal," even more than the fact that I turned 21 while on this trip- haha!


      I was in charge of booking the hotel for the trip! My friends and I split the cost of the hotel between the three of us. We decided that it was more important for us to save money on the room and not have the most luxurious accommodations and to instead save more money for food, drinks, and shopping. We agreed that it was okay to not have an oceanfront hotel, but one condition that I would not budge on is that I would not stay in a hotel with bed bugs! After my experiences getting bed bugs in France this summer (and bringing them home to the States with me), I could not go through that again! There is a handy website called the National Bed Bug Registry which ranks hotels in every city based on if they've had problems with bed bugs in the past or not. Definitely check out this site if you'll be traveling soon! The hotel that I booked was all free and clear of bed bugs according to the Registry (and it was fine too once we were there). 

     We decided to stay at the Red Roof Inn Market Commons Myrtle Beach. It was affordable (for Labor Day Weekend), and while not on the beach, it was within walking distance! Our room was clean and comfortable, and while low frills, it was perfect for this type of a beach trip. (The hotel also shared a parking lot with a Waffle House which was very convenient for a 2 am snack after my first time going out as a 21 year old!)



     The two restaurants that we had our "nicer" dinners at during the weekend were the Key West Grill in Broadway at the Beach (pictured above), and Banditos Mexican Restaurant, located directly on the beach. I really enjoyed the food at both restaurants, and would recommend both to anyone visiting the Myrtle Beach area. (We got drinks at Banditos at weren't crazy about cocktails there, but did really enjoy the food!) 

     I had picked up a South Carolina guidebook from Triple A prior to the trip and thought that my friends and I would spend our day doing so many fun touristy things, but honestly it ended up being the most mellow weekend ever in terms of what all we did. For the two full days that we were there we just spent our afternoons at the beach by our hotel! And it was wonderful. The water was warm, the atmosphere was fun, and that was after all why we came to Myrtle Beach! 

     For anyone looking for things to do in the Myrtle area though- I think that it would simply be impossible to be bored there! There is tons of shopping, mini golf, amusements, and shows. Many of these attractions did seem quite affordable as well! 

     On our last day, we stopped at one location of the Myrtle Beach outlets (there are two different outlet centers at different parts of the city). The Labor Day weekend sales were going on, and all of us got some great deals! My favorite stores in the Myrtle Beach outlets were the Kate Spade, J. Crew Factory and LOFT outlets. 

My suitemate Caroline and I!

     My birthday weekend trip to Myrtle Beach was absolutely wonderful!! I can't wait until the next time that I get to return to this fun Carolina beach town.

     To see some of my outfits from the trip, check out this post and this post. 


     Have you ever been to Myrtle Beach before? Or gone on a fun girls' weekend beach trip?


     xoxo Miss ALK
Share:

19 comments

  1. I have done a couple of Myrtle Beach weekends and they were so fun! There is more than enough to do there and a long weekend is just the right amount of time in my opinion.

    -Morgan
    How 2 Wear It [] http://how2wearit.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Such a perfect way to celebrate turning 21! I love girl trips! I agree that traveling alone makes you feel more grown up than buying alcohol (although buying/ordering champagne the first few times did feel strange). For my 21st birthday a few of my friends and I stayed at a hotel in Whistler. My birthday is in winter so a ski destination with a cute shopping village was a happy medium.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love Myrtle Beach! Best way to spend a birthday!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Such cute pictures and looks like you had a blast celebrating your birthday! I've never visited Myrtle Beach but have always wanted to!

    Lauren
    www.thefashionistasdiary.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Looks like such a fun birthday trip!
    www.kayleighskloset.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. Myrtle Beach sounds like a busy busy place! So happy that you got to spend your birthday there - love the photos! I spent my 21st hiking around Montreal!

    Alessandra | blog.pumpup.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. Can't wait for our next trip!!! I can always count on you as someone to make priceless memories with. I'm definitely thinking about where I should take you guys for my 21st!

    ReplyDelete
  8. This looks like such a great trip.
    I spent my 21st in Vegas with one of my best friends and my parents.
    Oh those were the days haha.

    xoxo, Jenny || Breakfast at Lillys

    ReplyDelete
  9. Looks like you had a great trip! Also, I didn't know the bed bug registry was a thing... I'm going to have to bookmark this!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh my gosh! You guys are too cute! And how exciting... Bid day is the best!!!

    xo,
    Sara Kate Styling

    ReplyDelete
  11. So cute! Sounds like you had an amazing time. I would love to visit Myrtle beach someday!

    xo Ashley

    ReplyDelete
  12. Sooo glad you had a wonderful trip, Annaliese! :) It sounds so so fun! Isn't it so fun to travel with friends and take advantage of all the food, shopping and things you like to do! I loved seeing all your pictures from the weekend! I hope you're doing well at school so far this semester!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Looks like it was such an amazing trip. Hope you had a happy 21st birthday. :]

    // ▲ itsCarmen.com ▲

    ReplyDelete
  14. It looks like you had a blast. This post made me miss summer more than I already do </3 x Nicole | www.changeanddress.com

    ReplyDelete
  15. I've never been but it looks like y'all had a blast!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Never been to Myrtle Beach but looks like you had a wonderful time! Great tip on the bed bug registry, so sorry you had a bad experience in France!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Your trip sounds perfect! Low-key can be super nice sometimes, and I'm so glad you got to ring in 21 in such a great way!

    ReplyDelete
  18. What a fun trip! Looks like a blast. :)

    xo // www.thematerialgirl.co

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for reading Southern Belle in Training! Comments make my day- so feel free to share your thoughts on this post! I read each and every comment.
If you have a question in regards to one of my posts, or just want to say hi, the best way to get ahold of me is by e-mailing me directly at: rainbowflash94@yahoo.com. I am better about responding to e-mails than blog comments sometimes!
Xoxo

Blog Design Created by pipdig