One person doesn’t take up much space. A person on vacation takes up a bit more space; you have to factor in all of their clothing, toiletries, in some situations bedding, snacks, and any extra things they need. Now picture a teenager on vacation…or even, god forbid, a teenage girl on vacation.
The scenario I was thrown in at the beginning of summer was even worse than that. It was six teenagers, two male, 4 female, all in one room, with only one bathroom.
Months ago, when the trip was in the planning stages, the group size had been 8 people and we had looked into getting a house rather than just a room. This setup would still have had just one bathroom, but it would have given us a kitchen and multiple bedrooms. However, due to people dropping out of the trip and last minute housing transfers we ended up in our little home away from home; the King’s Crown room at the Ocean Surf Club in North Myrtle.
King’s Crown is a bit of overstatement. The room had 4 beds; two doubles that the girls took and a bunk bed for the guys (yes bunk beds. Just like summer camp). Our room was also equipped with a partial kitchen; a mini fridge and a microwave that we took full advantage of with our many packages ramen noodles, easy mac, and my own personal addition, instant coffee.
Other amenities of the King’s Crown included a set of beach chairs that could be taken out of the room for use either on the balcony or beach. We however did neither due to a large questionable stain on one of the chairs that became known as the birthing chair or the labor chair.
Lucky us though, we did have a television with a DVD player! Unfortunately the DVD player didn’t work; a discovery that I didn’t make until after redboxing a movie. The TV itself did work and I will shamefully admit that I probably watched more MTV in that one week than I have in my entire life.
Another interesting side note is the amazing 24 hour beer pong champions that we got to call our neighbors. Whether it was 4 p.m., 2 a.m., or 9 a.m., you could always hear the little pattering of a ping pong ball through the not so thick walls of the Ocean Surf Club. This noise occasionally had added to it yelled curse words, laughter, cheers, an intermittent female voice, and the song stylings of Lil Wayne.
Despite all of the little fall backs, we were in all honesty quite content. I can’t speak for all of the others, but this was the first time I had ever purchased a room on my own. Don’t get me wrong, I had stayed away from home without my parents, but it’s always been with their aide. This tacky little room with a dusting of sand and a dripping noise that came from the air vent at night was all ours.
That week we became our own little unit/clan/family thing. I knew exactly who would take the longest in the shower. Who was most likely to wake up first. Who was mostly likely to wake others up by jumping on top of them and yelling insults at them. Who got cranky when they didn’t have food. Who all actually brushed their teeth at night (this statement doesn’t really need a “who all” since it was just one other person and myself). Who would borrow my hair dryer or my cocoa butter body lotion. Who would have to try on at least 3 outfits before choosing one for the club. And who would be willing to walk on the beach with me, even at 3:30 in the morning.
The week was one I’ll always remember and probably compare other future beach trips to. The group will be parting ways to further their education and to figure out their lives not only in different parts of Virginia, but in different parts of the country. However, we will always have the sketchy, noisy, sandy, overcrowded, and wonderful King’s Crown Room.
Suzi Foltz is a rising freshman at George Mason University.
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