Trip Report
Myrtle Beach
Nov 5-11 2017
Sat. Nov. 4
Here it is. Finally. Our long overdue trip report! We left Hamilton, Ontario bright and early at 5 am. I didn't think it was possible to leave that early, but hey, miracles happen every day! We crossed the border an hour later, and were on our way south. We, of course, somehow missed the ramp for I-90 after we crossed the border and had to detour a bit to get back. But once we were on track, our drive was uneventful. Until we had to stop a couple of hours later, in the middle of the highway, to let a deer cross the road. Poor thing was scared, but dashed across and made it safely to the other side. I was more amazed that none of us hit each other, or the deer, as all the cars came to a sudden stop on the highway. We saw beautiful Fall colours as we arrived in Summersville WV in the early afternoon, and checked in to Sleep Inn for the night.
Sun. Nov. 5
The clocks reset last night from Daylight Saving Time, so we got an extra hour of much needed sleep. We went down for the breakfast buffet and which opened at 7am. Many of the guests did not change their clocks and they had all been waiting since 6am for the breakfast buffet to open! We were wondering why so many people were already done and leaving when we got there just after 7!
We were on the road by 8:30. First hitch was in Fancy Gap. There was extremely heavy fog, and traffic slowed to a crawl. There's nothing more exciting (NOT) than being on a winding mountain highway with almost zero visibility. We made it through unscathed, thankfully, and then in Winston Salem hit another snag. The ramp we needed to take was closed due to construction. We exited at an alternate ramp and then had no clue where we were. Luckily we were soon able to get back on track and we finally arrived in Myrtle Beach around 5pm! It was still warm and a little sunny, so were enjoyed some time on our balcony after we checked in. This was our first stay at The Paradise Resort. We were happy with our suite, which included a full kitchen with dishwasher, and a washer and dryer.
We decided to give Sticky Fingers a try for dinner. We both had ribs. They were good, but we've had better. We took a quiet walk on the boardwalk after dinner. I say quiet, since we were the only ones there! We remembered to pose for the webcam, and then took a little drive around town to see what was new. We were happy to find a new WalMart Neighbourhood Market with a WalMart gas station, on Hwy 17, almost around the corner from our hotel. We picked up a few things and headed back to the hotel for the night.
Mon. Nov. 6
We woke up to a foggy morning. Our stay included free breakfast every morning in the hotel's Sandals Restaurant, so we headed down for breakfast. By the time we were done, the sun was burning off the fog and it was turning out to be a beautiful day. We headed out to North Myrtle Beach for some shopping at two of my favourties, Barefoot Landing and Tanger Outlets. We found a Sonic for lunch and then headed back to the hotel. Dinner was at Texas Roadhouse, on Hwy 17 in Murrell's Inlet. We had a fabulous dinner and excellent service for our first time ever visit there. We will be back! Back at the hotel it was a gorgeous moonlit night and Don took some beautiful photos of the moon from our balcony.
Tue. Nov. 7
We woke up before sunrise and ended up taking some beautiful sunrise photos before heading down for breakfast. Then we headed out to Broadway at the Beach. It was a gorgeous, sunny and warm day and this is another one of my favourite places to visit when in Myrtle Beach. We saw a lot of changes, and many improvements. We ended up at Margaritaville for lunch, and it did not disappoint. We spent the rest of the afternoon at the hotel, and went to Ultimate California Pizza for a late dinner. We decided to give the one on Hwy 17 near Surfside Beach a try. It was very small and there was a 50th birthday celebration going on in half the restaurant. But we still had great service and took our leftover pizza back to the hotel with us.
Wed. Nov. 8
The morning dawned cloudy and cool, but we didn't mind because after breakfast we were going to meet up with Patricia and Wally and spend some time with them while they helped us knock off a few items on my "Myrtle Beach To Do List"! First stop, Myrtle Beach State Park. We walked along the pier and got a somewhat misty view of Myrtle Beach and we had our pictures taken in the big Myrtle Beach State Park chair. It was pretty cool out so we soon headed back to the car. Next stop, Huntington Beach State Park. This park has a beautiful beach, and even though it was pretty cold out, Don and I took a short walk along the beach. We could see holes in the sand, left over from the sea turtles when they hatched and made their way to the water. We took a short walk out on the boardwalk over the lagoon in search of wildlife, but alas, there was little to be found that day. We saw Atalaya Castle which, I agree with Patricia, looks more like a prison than a castle! We then walked along the beautiful, scenic Marshwalk and had our pictures taken with "Bubba" and "Drunken Jack"! Next was lunch at King Street Grille where we enjoyed great burgers and wraps. Then on to the Lazy Gator gift shop. This enormous gift shop carried everything you could think of and is a step above the "Wings" and Bargain" beach stores you find along Hwy 17. Definitely worth another visit, next time we come. Next we tried to get on to the roof of the Pavilion Garage to check out some views of Myrtle Beach, but the upper levels were closed so that was not going to happen. That's ok though, we'll leave that for next time...... Patricia and Wally were gracious hosts and Don and I thoroughly enjoyed our day and appreciated all the time they took to spend the day with us and show us around. That night we had a late but delicious dinner of salad and ribs at Damon's Oceanfront Grill.
Thur. Nov. 9
This morning we awoke to pouring rain and colder temperatures. It was definitely at stay inside kind of day so after breakfast we went to the hotel lobby and took advantage of the free dvd rentals. We watched "Star Wars Rogue One". We spent the rest of the day watching Netflix, and doing boring chores like dishwashing, and laundry. Dinner was at Golden Corral and we stopped in at Costco afterwards and picked up a few things.
Fri. Nov. 10
This was going to be another beautiful sunny day, so we headed out to BrookGreen Gardens after breakfast. I have seen and heard so much about this place through Patricia's posts, that I couldn't wait to see it for myself. We were not disappointed. We went to the Welcome Centre and got a map and decided to head out to the zoo area first. We took the shuttle, although we realized later it would have been a much shorter walk than we anticipated. We saw so many beautiful animals. And the aviary was amazing. I'd never been in an aviary before, and the birds, close up, were spectacular. The alligator was a no show. But we were told he doesn't come out much, at this time of year. Another reason for us to return! (On a side note, we did not pay to see the dinosaur exhibit, but did manage to takes some photos of the dinosours from over the fence. When I showed them to our granddaughter after we got home, she was so excited that we got to see real dinosaurs. It never occurred to her that they were just a display! I have to admit, I let her believe.....) We then headed over to the gardens and sculptures. We were hungry and had a delicious lunch at the restaurant there. The gardens and sculptures were beautiful, unique and one of a kind. Definitely worth another visit in the future. We finished the night off with a dinner at TBonz Gill and Grill. Another first for us, and another great choice. The waitress talked us into the special and we had steak and shrimp, and ceasar salad, and cheesecake for dessert. Food and service were both great. Then we headed back to the hotel to pack for an early start the next morning.
Sat. Nov. 11
We skipped the free hotel breakfast this morning, as we wanted to leave early. After bagels and coffee in our room, we were on the road by 8am. With no glitches, (meaning fog or unknown detours!) we arrived in Summersville, WV at 4pm. Dinner was at Shoney's Buffet, and it just happened to be Steak and Shrimp night, so we feasted on some good food. When we got back to the hotel, we noticed that the majority of the cars in the parking lot were from Ontario! Early to bed after a long day of driving, and hopefully an early start on the home leg, in the morning.
Sun. Nov 12
We got up early, headed down for breakfast, and the room was filled to capacity, so we took our food back up to our room. We were on our way by 8am and the GPS said we'd arrive home by 3:30. We made good time, zipped through the border in just minutes, with our Nexus cards, and were home shortly after 4pm. Home Sweet Home, but we are already making plans for our next visit to beautiful Myrtle Beach!