We’re so close to Thanksgiving, y’all! What are your holiday plans? Do you host? Go to a family member’s house? Or are you a Thanksgiving traveler? Since we just got back from Myrtle and the beach seems to be a really popular place for Thanksgiving travelers, I thought a post or two on Myrtle Beach would be perfect!

But first. Anybody else have parents who are obsessed with pickleball?? Obsessed might not even be a strong enough word for their love of this game. Example: We’re a pretty tight family, so there’s usually at least one group text that gets sent out every day. A few months ago, my sister and I hadn’t heard from our parents all day. I sent out a message asking how everybody was, and my sister was the only one to respond. A few hours passed, so she sent out another message; no response. By this time, it was probably 8 or 9 pm, so I started calling and no one picked up either phone. We were on the verge of calling the police to do a wellness check when my mom finally called. They were out playing pickleball with their friends and had been too busy to respond.

Now, I don’t have kids, but I imagine that’s the sort of feeling and panic parents have when their kids are out past curfew and refuse to answer their phone. Don’t worry, we gave them a stern talking to.

But back to Myrtle. My sister and I were really excited that our parents had a pickleball tournament in Myrtle Beach because it’s about two hours away from each of us. The perfect meeting spot for a weekend getaway!

How cute is this little house that they rented for the weekend? It would be so perfect for a small family Thanksgiving gathering. There were two bedrooms and two full baths; one room had a queen bed and the other had a full with an additional twin bed right next to it. There’s nothing super elaborate about the house, but it was perfect for our little reunion! And since there are a couple side-by-side, you could probably rent out several if there are multiple families in your group.

These houses aren’t directly on the beach (it’s hard to find homes in Myrtle on the beach because of all the hotels), but it was only one street over from Ocean Boulevard (Cassandra Lane was the address), so it took about two minutes to actually get to the beach.

Even though the weather was a little bit chilly, it was so beautiful. We only live two hours from the beach but don’t take advantage of the close proximity, which is a shame, especially in the off-season when it’s WAY less crowded and much cheaper than the summer months.

I love the beach in the summer, but there’s something about the beach in the fall that’s really great, too. I love walking on the beach when it’s not 100+ degrees, or just sitting on the beach wrapped up in a towel or blanket. I couldn’t believe how many people were in their bathing suits and in the water (!!!). It wasn’t cold, but I put my hand in the water, and no thank you!

While the parents were pickleballing, John and I made our way over to Barefoot Landing to walk around and visit some shops. It was definitely a different experience compared to the summer months. There wasn’t much going on, and even some of the shops and restaurants looked closed, except for Boofest which featured activities and costume contests for kids and dogs. I wasn’t super excited about the amount of screaming kids, but I was so happy that we were walking through just in time for the dog costume contest. Is there anything better than dogs dressed up? I don’t think so.

After the costume contest, we walked through a couple shops. Although there wasn’t a ton of stuff going on, they have Barefoot Landing decorated super cute for fall! There were so many great setups for pictures!

Check out this post for info on my sweatshirt!

If you’re planning on visiting Myrtle for a fall or winter weekend, there are still so many things to do if the weather isn’t cooperating for a walk or rest on the beach. There are so many putt-putt joints (even indoor ones), lots of Ripley activities, and SO many shows (my uncle loves the Christmas show at The Carolina Opry and apparently Pirates Voyage even transforms into a Christmas-themed show).

AND, there’s always outlet shopping! There are two Tanger Outlet locations at Myrtle – one is on Highway 17 and the other is on Highway 501. I prefer the one on Hwy 17 because it has more stores that I enjoy going in, and I *think* it has recently been remodeled, so it has a more updated feel. Unfortunately, if you like going to Nike outlets, it’s located at 501, so we often just stop at both locations when we’re in Myrtle.

I’d love to hear about your Thanksgiving plans, so please feel free to leave some comments! And stay tuned for a food-based post on Myrtle (because, of course!).