Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

For this post, I'm going to switch things up a bit and talk about a place I traveled to, but did not like. The unfortunate victim of my criticism is going to be Myrtle Beach in South Carolina. I traveled to Myrtle Beach about four years ago on a vacation with my family. My brother, who played AAU baseball, had a tournament in Myrtle Beach one summer, so we made an eight day trip out of it; eight days of my life I will unfortunately never be able to regain.

Let me start with the hotels. The strip of the beach we stayed on had hotels that seemed nice because they were right on the water, but the hotels were piled on top of each other like an overcrowded city. We could literally stand on our balcony and look into the pool of the neighboring hotel. Needless to say, it seemed like there were a lot of people crammed into a very little space, with very little privacy. 

The pools themselves were a whole other story. Again, it seemed like there were way too many people for the capacity that the pool was really built for. Several of the days we were there, diapers were seen floating in the shallow ends of some of the pools. To top everything off, everyone seemed to be walking around either half naked or heavily inebriated. For some people that type of atmosphere works, but I could definitely have gone without it; especially since I was on a family vacation. Initially my family and I thought that maybe it was just the hotel we were staying at, but we knew several other families from the baseball team, who were staying in neighboring hotels, and their situation was just as bad; in some cases worse.

Now I'll talk about the food. When staying in Myrtle Beach you basically have three choices for meals: all you can eat buffets, fried seafood, or fast food. Don't get me wrong, I love all you can eat fried clams just as much as the next person, but I wouldn't willingly eat it every night for a week straight. Fortunately, one night we were able to travel to another part of the beach, and eat at another type of restaurant. It was nice to be able to eat something not deep fried or covered in grease.  

The one redeeming quality about Myrtle Beach was the ocean. The waves were huge and the sand was clean. There were several piers that were a lot of fun to go on as well. Again, you had to look past a few half naked and inebriated people, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the pools. 

In Myrtle Beach's defense, we heard that the northern part of the beach was a lot nicer than the southern part, which was the part we stayed in. If I were to ever return to Myrtle Beach I would make sure to stay in the northern part.

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

  

          

Frye Island, Maine

Frye Island at 2 years old

Hi everybody. For this post, I'm going to talk about one of my favorite places to travel to. Frye Island, Maine. Most people are not going to know about Frye Island, but in my opinion, it is certainly a hidden treasure. It's an island on Sebago Lake in Maine. It's seasonal, only open every year from May to September, but many people have purchased summer homes on the island. Frye Island is also home to renters who go up for short periods of time to rents homes. I have been going to Frye Island my entire life, and it is actually where my parents met when they were just kids vacationing with their families. We own a house on the island and share it with my two uncles and their families. It's my favorite place to travel to, and I would recommend it to anybody wanting to get away for a relaxing vacation.

Map of Sebago Lake

Frye Island is accessible by a drive-on ferry. Once on the ferry, it takes less than five minutes to make it to the island. There are only dirt roads on the island because none are paved. The island itself is only about two miles wide and three miles long. The homes on the island are either waterfront or inland. The waterfront homes are very sought after because they often have their own beaches, and some owners even build docks so that they can leave their boats right in front of their home rather than in one of the island's marinas.

Sunset at Cocktail Beach

The "thing to do" on Frye Island is go to the beach, whether it be for skiing, boating, jet-skiing, or just lounging. They are all accessible and clean. I have two favorite beaches on the island. The first is known as Cocktail Beach. It's a small beach that has a mock-lighthouse. Also because of its location, it is where people go to get the best view for sunsets.

Long Beach from right side looking at the left. 

My next favorite beach on Frye Island is known as Long Beach. It is the longest beach on the island comprised of two different sides. The two sides are are separated by an entrance to the Long Beach Marina in the middle. The difference between the two sides is that one side is allowed to be accessed by jet-skis and boats, and the other is a swim-only side.

Frye Island, Maine

Other than beaches, the island is also home to a golf course, a baseball field, several tennis courts, a playground, a pool, and a recreational center. It is also common to see deer, and some summers there have even been moose on the island. Frye Island is definitely one of my favorite places to go and get away to. Even after being to beaches in places like Florida and the Bahamas, there is something that always keeps me wanting to go back to Frye Island.

Australia

So let me start out by saying that I have not been to Australia, but it is definitely number one on the list of places I'd like to go. My desire to go to Australia started when I was about 10 years old. My grandparents had just gotten back from a trip there, and after hearing all about it from them I knew that it was a place that I wanted to travel to.Whenever there's a travel show on about Australia, I am eager to watch it. It is a country I would love visiting.

I am a huge fan of beaches, and Australia is home to some of the most spectacular beaches in the world. One particular beach in Australia I have seen pictures and footage of is called Whitehaven Beach. This is a beach I'd enjoy visiting if I ever get the chance to go to Australia. I can definitely see myself sitting in the sand with a good book and my IPod there.

Being a fan of snorkeling, another place I'd have to go to in Australia would be the Great Barrier Reef. The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef in the world, and it is home to many different kinds of fish and organisms. It is arguably the best snorkeling and scuba diving in the world. I can't even begin to imagine how amazing it would be to snorkel there and I really hope that someday I can!

Not only is Australia home to beautiful beaches and oceans, it's also home to beautiful mountainous areas too. One specific place on the inland of Australia I'd love to go to is called Uluru. Uluru is a large sandstone rock formation. It's huge and there are many Australian myths and legends that are associated with it. I've heard from several people that Australia has the most beautiful sunsets in the world, and this is definitely the place I'd love to see one.

Eleuthera

I have been extremely lucky because ever since I was about four years old I have been traveling to the Bahamas. My grandparents actually moved down there about 20 years ago. My grandfather was a pilot for the United States Air Force, and back around 1992 he and his family took a trip to the Bahamas; the specific island they went to was Eleuthera. While they were there, they stumbled across a large plot of land with an abandoned resort on it. My grandparents decided to restore the resort and they opened an on-site restaurant as well; they named it The Cove Eleuthera. Unfortunately, about six years ago my grandparents decided to sell The Cove because they were getting too old to handle all the upkeep it required, but they still have a house on the island where they live for part of the year.

Eleuthera is a beautiful island. It's not a huge tourist island compared to other islands in the Bahamas, so it's home to a lot of Bahamians. There is a lot of historical background on the island as well. It's low-key and just very relaxing.

I have a lot of favorites when it comes to Eleuthera. First, is the food! Some of their native dishes are the best foods I have ever tasted. When my grandparents owned the resort and restaurant, they had all local chefs so it was really authentic Bahamian cuisine. The dish Eleuthera is most well known for is conch, which is the meat that comes out of conch sells. They use it in salads and even fry it into burgers and other dishes.


Another favorite of mine in Eluethera is the water. The body of water that surrounds Eleuthera is unlike any color I've ever seen; it's almost transparent and the color is so vibrant. One of the many cool things about the island is that the dark blue, rough Atlantic Ocean borders one side, and the calm, sea green Caribbean borders the other. There's a bridge towards the center of the island called the Glass Window Bridge where you can stand on it, and on one side see the Atlantic and on the other side see the Caribbean. The contrast is unbelievable, and it's such a cool site. Another perk to the water is that it's home to some of the best snorkeling. I have to admit, when I was little I was always afraid of snorkeling, but as I got older I really developed an appreciation for it.

Well, I can continue rambling on for much longer about Eleuthera, so I'm going to wrap it up there. It's by far one of my favorite places, and I am so incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to grow up there.