Holden Beach with Kids..It’s Turtle Time somewhere!
Article by Ericka of Little Apple Styles
I had to pleasure to style Becky’s Coastal Family Minis earlier this month. Coastal Sessions have a very special place in my heart – The Little Apple family just LOVES Holden Beach. Ironically, Becky introduced us to Holden when we were clients at her first Coastal Session four years ago. Back then, we did a day trip with an eleven month baby, a 4 year old and a 80 something grandma — what were we thinking! The adorable pictures made all “the wind is messing up my hair” comments and potty stops SO worth it!
We soon realized we needed more than one day. We now rent a house on good ole’ Ocean Boulevard and spend a whole week at my piece of North Carolina paradise. While on vacation, I am more of a lets just relax and “go with the flow” type of person. This attitude has not worked while vacationing with the kids in past years. This year I did my homework and had a PLAN! Like any normal person, I googled, stalked Facebook groups, and read tripadvisor.com reviews for days – maybe just one day, but still..I had a list of activities for the kids! yay me! haha
In preparation to our trip with visited the library right before we left to Holden. We got books about sea animals and sea life. Ethan, my 4 year old, favorite book is The Pout-Pout Fish. PS I secretly also love that book “BLUP, BLUUUP. BLUUUUUUUP” .
Eva’s favorite book was a joke book she found that taught her some sea animal jokes. Little miss comedian humored us with the jokes more times that we really wanted to…
Eva: How do you call a fish without an eye?
Me: I actually do not know
Eva: F-SHHHHHHH
Yes..you get the picture.
Eva also found a new interest in books about turtles – which made our Holden visit perfect. This beach has a Turtle Watch Program I was excited to bring her to!
During the Summer, Holden Beach offers a Children’s Turtle Time event on Wednesdays at 4pm at Holden Beach Town Hall. It lasts approximately one hour and is geared for kids from 3 to 6 years old. We arrived early as we heard town events are normally packed. We were happy to see Becky and her family there..what a small world! *wink wink* They split the kids into two groups: little kids and big kids. Both groups were read an age appropriate turtle book and they watch a short documentary that explains how they help turtles and their nests. The process is incredible and I had no idea turtle eggs are soft and shaped like a ping pong ball!
The little kids sang songs, worked on puzzles and made and adorable craft. The big kids were taken to find ‘pretend’ turtle eggs at the playground’s sand box. At the end they all received a bracelet to remind them they were turtle friends. This event made a huge impact to the kiddos – they made sure they filled in their “sand castle” holes every time we left the beach. They did not want any turtles falling into them – and Eva knows more about turtles than me. Turtle Time is also offered to grown ups at 7pm. I am not sure if they will include the adorable craft – but I am sure it will be as informative – ha! This event is free. If you want to help fund the program you can buy an adorable turtle shirt.
Our week at Holden was amazing. The kids also loved the Dolphin Tour at Calabash. The old fashion candy store at South Port (after our failed visit to the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher because the Ferry was packed!). The Museum of Coastal Carolina at Ocean Isle – and last by not least Pirates Voyage at Myrtle Beach. Holden Beach is so close to these other cities – we were able to have different adventures every day. More info on these later this week..stay tuned!
See more Holden Beach images here.
Ericka Jimmerson is a busy mom of two who runs Little Apple Styles, photography + event styling. Contact her at littleapplestyles@gmail.com if you need help making your event picture perfect!
Rebecca Keller is a family photographer featured in People Magazine who spends her time sipping iced coffee, chasing after her two little ones, reading, running, and editing. Because we chat a lot about our personal lives on the blog, we may receive commissions on affiliate links in articles. Contact Rebecca Keller Photography for more information about Holden Beach family photos and Coastal Sessions.