Vacation Jackson Style | Myrtle Beach to Sanibel Island

All we knew was that we were flying in and out of Myrtle Beach a had a rental car. Originally this trip was to be a work-cation but due to unfortunate circumstances, it became a vacation. For once my over planning over organizing self was okay taking a trip with no hotel reservations or ideas as to where we were going.

Our first stop was enjoying the sun and sand when we arrived at Myrtle beach. I had never been to a busy tourist beach destination before so I had no idea what to expect. With all the traveling my family has done, it was always away form the bustling beach areas and further south.  My overall thoughts on the Myrtle Beach… It was nice but I truly wouldn’t want to be there during the busy season. I don’t think there would be enough beach and room to move once all the people where filling the hotels. Hey, what can you expect though from a country mouse.

Oh and did i mention we had a snazzy little ride? We drove over 2,000 miles in 6 days! Being honest, I have always been a Prius hater but after this trip, I have gained an apparition for them.

After an over night it Myrtle Beach we were Georgia bound to visit Josh, my brother in law.

Our first unknown “found along the way” location stop was Crystal River, Florida. I don’t even want to share this lovely little spot with you all, I would rather just keep it to myself. hehe My family would always vacation a few hours south of Crystal River but OH MY were we missing out! Crystal River boasts three springs and during Manatee season, it is the home to hundreds of them!

PS: no I am not topless.

That little spot in the water is a manatee!!! He swam right under out boat!!!!!

Next up was in Fort Myers Florida. This stop I was quite familiar with. My family has lived in the area for years so I took Aaron on a tour of my past family vacations.

No trip would be complete without a stop at Sanibel and Captiva Island. These two islands are not only lovely but boast some wonderful shelling locations. 

These birds make me giggle a little.

Unfortunately our day at the beach was quite cloudy and in the evening gifted us a heavy rain shower. By my the clouds were lovely!
All good things come to an end so back home we went. We took a 10 hour drive from southern Florida to Myrtle beach after a visit with my family Wednesday morning just so we could wake up to the beach. Thankfully our hotel not only knew I needed coffee after arriving at 2:00AM BUT they know my job too. hehe

Three things to Take Away:

1) Fly Spirt Airline if you can especially if you live near or around the Latrobe Airport. It’s easy to get in and out, parking is free and flights are reasonable.

2) If you are looking for a Credit Card that gives you free stays get the Hilton Honors Card. Through the whole trip we stayed in 4 hotels and had 5 over night stays. We paid a total of $89 for all five nights. Crazy right?!?!? Last year I signed up for the Hilton Honors Credit Card for business use and boy am I glad I did. With all my points and free stays it made this work-cation turned vacation possible.

3) If you can, go with Priceline’s rental car bid option. We not only paid $140 for 6 days including taxes and fees but we were given a Prius, usually costing more, and took 2,000 of life out of the poor thing.