Back in April I wrote about planning a trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, a place we’ve been a few times when my daughter was younger. But now, as a teenager, I wasn’t sure if the experience would be as fun for her.

Since I thought my daughter might get bored with just my husband and me, we ended up inviting my 17-year-old niece. She had come to Myrtle Beach with us, along with my sister’s family, back in 2008. But this year, she was my daughter’s guest without the rest of her family.

I had no idea what activities to plan or what the girls would want to do. I was afraid they would be bored and sit around with their heads in their cell phones. But I am happy to report we went to the beach EVERY single day, and the girls actually put their phones down and jumped in the waves for hours! There were a few photo shoots and selfies along the way, but that is to be expected with two teenage girls.

We skipped some of the attractions we had been to before, like the Alligator Adventure and Ripley’s Aquarium. But we did go on a hike at Huntington State Park, hoping to get a glimpse of wild alligators.

We hit the Myrtle Beach boardwalk, and the girls each had a special treat that had to be Instagram-worthy, so my niece had a smoothie served in a pineapple, and my daughter had rolled ice cream (something she had seen YouTube videos of and had always wanted to try).

We went to Broadway at the Beach, but this time there was no hopping on rides, just a lot of shopping! And at Barefoot Landing the girls deserted us to do some more shopping.

We revisited the same miniature golf place we went in 2008, Hawaiian Rumble Golf, and chatted with the attendant, who actually worked there back in 2008. He has worked there for the past 19 years and is retiring this year.

The takeaway is . . . less is more with teenagers. I didn’t need to plan a big activity every day. They didn’t need rides and excitement every night. Instead, they were happy taking long walks along the beach in the eerie darkness. They actually enjoyed going out to restaurants, ordering meals other than mac & cheese and chicken tenders, and trying new things. And the grownups were able to sit on the balcony, put our feet up, enjoy a glass of wine and just relax!

— Tracey Cullen, art director