Bob Bestler | Grandson’s fears foil best-laid plan for Myrtle Beach fun

It had become a sort of tradition. For the past three years, my wife and I had used a time share at a Grand Strand hotel for a week in January, the week that falls on our grandson’s birthday.

We always got one with an indoor pool. Jacob, now 8, is a waterbug and a pool seemed a nice wintertime break for him and for us.

This year we thought we had picked a winner, the Seaglass Tower on Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach, a towering blue structure sandwiched between two arms of the Yachtsman Resort.

Seaglass Tower is one of the tallest buildings in Myrtle Beach. It goes up 20 floors, excluding No. 13. We were on the 19th floor and, with glass all around us, the view was spectacular. Plus it was at the north end of the boardwalk and made early morning walks safe and easy.

On one side of our room, we watched the weeklong demolition of the historic Breakwater Inn next door and learned it would be replaced eventually by a Mexican restaurant. Cool beans.

On the other side, we almost could have shaken hands with people on the giant Ferris wheel.

And I think we could see forever down the beach.

I loved it. My wife loved it. Jacob, unfortunately, hated it.

The first night was fine. He fell asleep watching LSU vs. Alabama and didn’t wake until it was time for school.

The next night, not so much.

He woke up me up three times to tell me there was a problem. He kept hearing noises, he said. How will we get downstairs if there’s a fire, he said. Let’s go outside and make sure everything’s OK, he said.

The next morning, we tried our best to reassure him that this was a very safe place, but he would have none of it.

He never wanted to stay in a hotel this big, he said. He never wanted to stay in a hotel without real walls, he said. Why did we come here anyway, he said.

And, he said, he wants to sleep at the home of his other grandparents, They have a real bed in a real house. With real walls. Built on real gound. With no elevators. And I should write an article about how scared little kids can get on high floors.

Well, happy birthday, Jacob.

Next January we’ll be more careful when we rent a hotel room for a week -- no matter how much we like it. Lesson learned.