Why My Family Keeps Coming Back to Thomas Beach Vacations
Every year, about the time when the first crisp hint of autumn creeps into the air and the world starts talking about pumpkin spice and football, my family begins to feel the pull of the ocean. It starts slow—someone mentions the beach in passing, another hums an old summer tune—and before you know it, we’re packed up and barreling down the highway toward North Myrtle Beach like a caravan of gypsies chasing the sun. And when we get there, when we roll into our rental from Thomas Beach Vacations, it’s like the whole world exhales a little.
I remember that first year clear as a bell. The kids were smaller then—barefoot, sunburned little things with wide eyes and endless energy. We pulled up to our condo late in the afternoon, that golden kind of light slanting across the sand, and I could hear the ocean even before I saw it. The place was perfect. Not just clean, not just comfortable, but the kind of place that makes you want to stay barefoot forever. Sophie, my youngest, ran straight to the balcony, flung open the sliding doors, and stood there with her mouth hanging open. “Look at it, Mom!” she whispered, like she’d stumbled onto some great secret. And maybe she had.
Mornings at the beach have a way of slowing down time. My husband, an early riser by nature, likes to slip out before the sun is fully up, walking the shoreline with the kind of quiet reverence usually reserved for churches. Meanwhile, the kids and I wake to the smell of coffee and bacon, and the sight of the ocean stretching out past the balcony. We take our time, because there’s nowhere to rush to—just the sand, the surf, and the same spot we always set up near the water’s edge, where Sophie insists the sand feels “extra soft.”
Some days, we dig. Castles, trenches, whole towns that take the better part of the afternoon to construct. Other days, we float—lazy and content, letting the tide carry us where it will. And every year, without fail, we have the same conversation about how we ought to move down here for good, maybe open up a little shop, sell seashells or something equally ridiculous. But we never do. We just come back, year after year.
Evenings have a different sort of magic. The air gets cooler, the waves gentler, and the boardwalk calls our name. There was one night, a few years back, when we ended up at a seafood place by the water, watching boats drift in and out while we cracked open crab legs and talked about everything and nothing. Another night, we tried our hand at mini-golf, and I swear, I haven’t laughed that hard since. There’s something about being here that makes you remember how to laugh, how to sit still, how to be part of something simple and good.
Thomas Beach Vacations has become a part of our family, whether they know it or not. Their rentals are always just right—not too fancy, not too plain, but the kind of places that feel like they were waiting just for us. They’ve seen us through scraped knees, sunburns, and rainy afternoons spent watching the storm roll in from the safety of the porch. They’ve been there for the birthdays we’ve celebrated with sandcastle cakes and the quiet mornings when we’ve just sat and listened to the waves.
And so, we keep coming back. Not because we have to, but because we want to. Because no matter how far we wander, this stretch of coast always feels like home. If you ever find yourself looking for a place to rest, to breathe, to let the ocean remind you of what matters, well—North Myrtle Beach is waiting. And Thomas Beach Vacations will have the porch light on.