Myrtle Beach is a big tourist town. But there’s another side to it if you look hard enough.
It took a couple of days to drive to the Atlantic Ocean. Our side mission was to photograph every Dollar General we passed by. A multi-state game.
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina in the moooorn-ing!
Lake Murray, South Carolina
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Wowzer! What a great weekend!
Reconnected with my friends from Cherry Hill. It’s been about 40 years since we were all together, and there was a lot to catch up on. Relics from our teenage years (photo albums, yearbooks, and reams of letters) brought many laughs and a few tears.
Kim & Tom feted us in high style at their lovely lake house, and we got a great tour around Lake Murray in their speed boat. Jack & Linda drove all day from New Jersey to join us, and Eileen took the smart way – a direct flight. We parked in Kim’s driveway with the RV and our menagerie of animals.
It was a fantastic weekend with old friends, and it felt like we’d never been that far apart. Let’s not wait this long again for another reunion!
The Grand Strand
Myrtle Beach, SC
Freewheeling down the mountains from Asheville and into the rolling foothills of South Carolina, your arrival at the lowland country is heralded by the appearance of cotton fields, Spanish moss, and palmetto trees. Heading toward the beaches you’ll also see a hundred billboards for Sparky’s– a fireworks joint that grew into a giant emporium, and is well worth the stop.
Myrtle Beach is a splendid blend of Atlantic City-style boardwalk and Gatlinburg’s overload of touristy fun. Plus a marvelous beach that offers warm water late into the season.
We spent a couple of days enjoying the sand and surf at Myrtle Beach State Park. Camping was excellent, even in the middle of the busy Bike Week Rally. The campsites are deeply shaded, and a short sidewalk stroll took you right to the pearly sands.
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| Tike Bikers |
Also on the State Park property is a long fishing pier and gift shop, where we slurped ice cream cones and watched a huge shark circle slowly around sniffing for chum.
On the north end of town is Broadway on the Beach – a large complex of attractions connected by walkways over man-made lagoons. We had a fun supper at Margaritaville, where waiters on stilts twisted clever balloon art to help you celebrate any occasion.
Our stay here was too short…there’s so much to enjoy. We’re sure glad we had cousins to show us the highlights.
Tonight we are motoring in the direction of home, skirting around a tropical storm that has dumped flood waters back home. We’ll hunker down in camp tonight as the rain passes by.
Myrtle Beach State Park
South Carolina
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It’s Bike Week at Myrtle Beach! And a great place for a birthday celebration! Hundreds of bikers have arrived to cruise Ocean Boulevard. The campground is full of sweet looking machines. This Fall meet is a bit tamer than Bike Week in the Spring. Cyclists are a little older, more prosperous, and are riding expensive tricked-out machines. More like the Doctors and Lawyers Club than Hells Angels.
Spent the afternoon on the beach with cousins. Deliciously warm day and wonderfully empty beach. Great to be out here in the off-season!
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| Giant Jellyfish! |
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| Cousins |
We strolled the boardwalk in the evening. Great seafood at Dirty Dons Oyster Bar. Giant Skywheel ferris ride. Lines of motorcycles parked everywhere.
Highlight was a 30,000 sq ft souvenir shop called The Gay Dolphin. Never seen so much stuff in one store. We gawked and gaped at all the merchandise and didn’t buy a thing!
More beach time scheduled for today, including combing the sand for buried treasure with our metal detector.
