Summer Living
Summer is officially here. My kids are done with school…….now what? Luckily for us we are so close to fabulous beaches and lakes. In my opinion if you have kids going to the lake is a little easier because it’s closer and you don’t get sandy. But nothing beats having your feet in the sand. (Notice I didn’t say booty in the sand because if you’re a parent at the beach you aren’t sitting.)
Every year we go to the same beach. Litchfield. It’s beautiful! If you only stop once and traffic isn’t bad you can make it in about 4 1/2 hours. It’s quiet, chill and gorgeous. More and more restaurants keep popping up and you are only 15 minutes away from Murrells Inlet which has some of the freshiest seafood around. (We will dedicate more articles to all the amazing places to go when you’re at the beach. So consider this your beginners guide.) Below you will find my top five favorite beaches in the SC as well as 5 hacks to surviving pool life this summer. If you have any other tips or hot spots please hit me up on living upstate’s facebook page and let me know.
Megan’s top 5 favorite SC beaches:
Megan’s top pool hacks:
- Find a pool with a huge shallow end. In a perfect world it has zero entry. (Splash pads are super fun and you can let the kids run through them and you don’t have to hold them like you would in the pool.)
- Purchase multiple bags that are dedicated just for the pool/lake/beach
- Buy smaller waterproof bags where you can store sunscreen, goggles, pool toys. This way you only have to grab a bag out if you’re trying to re-sunscreen. And you aren’t having to pack a bag everytime you visit a pool.
- Buy different kinds of goggles. My kids love the ones that have the nose covered.
- Leave your bag in the garage or a closet so you just have to grab and go.
- Have snacks on hand so you don’t have to buy a ton of food at the pool when they get hungry but only eat one bite because they’re too excited to eat and want to stay in the water.
Be sure to follow us on facebook and Instagram for up to the minute beach and summer fun.
My best piece of advice on how to have a good time this summer and enjoy your kids: Relax! Soak it all in. Don’t get too busy cleaning the house or making sure everything is perfect. And mamas don’t get so self conscious on how you look in a bathing suit. (I’m speaking to the choir here) Your kids will remember that you were the mama who loved playing with them and always had the most fun and not if you had a 6 pack or not. (Talking abs here. Always bring along a 6 pack!!!)
are there any indoor tennis courts in Spartanburg? How about the schools that are becoming vacant? We need activities that adults can participate in. Walking is good,but we need indoor activities when the weather is too warm or wet. Lived here a short time so I need some help finding places that provide for indoor activities and I don’t mean exercise machines,etc
Great question. Would you like to do some climbing? There are some cool indoor climbing places. There’s one in Greenville called Goat Mountain Climbing. It’s off Haywood Road. I went there a couple years ago and it was really fun. Here’s their link. mountaingoatclimbing.com. There’s also one in Greer called Blue Ridge Climbing gym. I haven’t tried that one yet but now I’m going too and I’ll report back and let you know what we think. Here’s their info.
http://www.climbbr.com/