I haven't set foot in Myrtle Beach in maybe 15 years, but I probably went 3 or so times in about a ten year span. After our travel plans to Annapolis and Ocean City proved to be unaffordable, the Grand Strand stretch of South Carolina became a viable alternative and we were able to score two nights as a Fairfield Inn, one of which was free.
We began the drive down from Cary early on a Saturday morning, it took a little over three hours. On the way, we stopped at McDonald's so she could get coffee and there must have been 30 cars on line. It was in one of these tiny towns and I guess that's the place to hang out. No wonder the average weight of those people was about 285 pounds. Our initial destination was the Market Common, a brand new shopping area in Myrtle Beach, just south of the airport. There was a lot going on, a farmer's market, a classic car show, and a National Little League baseball tournament. They had restaurants such ass PF Chang's, the Brass Tap, Tupelo Honey, and Gordon Biersch Brewery. Mom was rather surprised to see such a nice area in the middle of Myrtle Beach.
Our first planned stop was Pedego bike rentals, I had arranged for us to take a guided tour on their electrics. It was actually my first time riding an electric in the USA; the only other time I had ridden one was in southern France. It was us, our guide, and one married couple, probably in their late 50's. After a tutorial, we began the electric bike ride through local neighborhoods, eventually getting to the pier at Myrtle Beach State Park.
During our break, I took a picture of the other couple. Turns out the guy we were riding with was a Jets season ticket holder for 20 years. And he said his kids love podcasts so I told him about NY Sports WickerMedia, Jets Chaos, Green Bean, etc. What were the odds?!
At one point, I was able to get my bike up to 20 MPH. Gotta love those throttles. They make the ride so much easier. It was $64 for a guided two hour ride, and it was well worth it. I'm not a fan of bike riding, but if I lived in an area conducive to bike riding, I would consider investing in an electric.
By 12:30 and after being awake for 7.5 hours, we were ready to go eat. I picked the Sea Captain's House, located right on the beach. And right next to the restaurant was a hotel that had a very high outdoor waterslide, it must be interesting for patrons sitting just 20 feet away from a bunch of screaming kids dripping water!
We started with the fried oysters with remoulade, they were amazing. Sauce had the right amount of spice, the oysters were crispy and not greasy. For entrees, we had a broiled crab cake sandwich with fries and a salad of tomato, avocado, boiled and chilled shrimp, and fresh crab meat. Both were fantastic, the seafood was fresh, the produce was high quality. Of course, they came with a basket of hush puppies and a ramekin of honey butter. God, no wonder so many people in the south weigh so much. And major credit to the staff, they were friendly and food came out very promptly, so credit to the kitchen staff. Great place to visit when you're in the Grand Strand.
Then we checked into the Fairfield Inn. The location was great, a ten minute walk from Broadway At the Beach, a major entertainment complex that I'd visited a couple of times before. We also had a Brazilian steakhouse and Carolina Ale House right next door. I wish we could have done the Brazilian place but it doesn't make sense for Mom to go to an all you can eat establishment.
The hotel was fine, although the air conditioner was broken in the gym. I quickly figured out with 90 degree heat, I was not going to be doing much cardio. And no bar, but at least they had a free hot breakfast.
After about an hour of setting up, we drove thirty minutes south to Murrell's Inlet, where Mom really wanted to go. This area has about nine major restaurants, but they are all right next to each other on both sides of a two lane road. So the traffic gets a little crazy, as does the parking.
We went to the Claw House, I thought they had a great Happy Hour and the Yelp reviews impressed me. I ordered a couple of local draft beers and we ordered the crab nachos for $12, since all apps are 30% off from 4-7 pm every day. So these nachos are made up of fried wonton chips, lots of crab meat, a spicy cheddar cheese sauce, half an avocado, mango salsa, pico de gallo, and green onions. These nachos were piled super high, they are the type of nachos where you order them and other customers stare at them with their mouths gaped open. And the flavor was so great. The wontons were crispy, and a lighter tasting alternative to traditional tortilla chips. We had plenty of fresh crabmeat to go around, there was just a touch of heat from the cheddar sauce as well as a little jalapeno in the pico. And the combination of salsas were so flavorful and vibrant. And they looked beautiful with all the different colors, the orange of the mango, the green of the avocado, the pink of the crab, etc. If you're on the Grand Strand, you have to order these, especially if you have a hungry person with you.
Sadly, we were too full to order anything else! And were given very prompt and friendly service, this is definitely a place to visit. Of and they have a blonde bartender who is a school teacher except during the summer, when she bartends. And she was so engaging and funny.
We could have gone to the Carolina Opry for a Highwaymen tribute, but I guess we didn't want to spend the 55 bucks per ticket. So instead, we went to Crocodile Rocks, the dueling piano bar at Broadway At the Beach. It was ten bucks to get in and we grabbed two seats at the back bar, giving us a perfect view of the stage. I ordered a Jack and ginger and sat down for the show.
We were among the first people in the club when it opened at 7, but by 8, it became super loud and crowded. The chief culprits was the bachelor party, probably about 10 or 11 guys. And in addition to paying for requests, they also have a board called "3 Words Or Less." It starts at $1 and if you pay more than the amount on the board, you can request any message on the board that you want. And it turned into "Let's Go Brandon," "Hunter Eats Ass," "Hunter Eats Anal." Of course, I had no issue with the political aspect. Then it turned into messages about popping certain things and what should be done to other things in reference to certain women in the audience. The sexual stuff was a little more than I would've liked, but it was adult humor and no one was getting hurt or anything. But sitting next to mom...yeah, that got a little awkward.
With the bar getting more and more crowded, we left around 9:30 pm.
No comments:
Post a Comment