Myrtle Beach in October

There are a myriad of attractions and areas of interest in and near Myrtle Beach. Although we spent a significant amount of time just walking the beach, we also enjoyed our time at Barefoot Landing and Broadway on the Beach (see additional journal entries). Dining was not a problem, either; there are an estimated 1,500 restaurants in the area with a cuisine selection to fancy any palate. One of our favorites was Joe's Crab Shack.

The traffic and congestion in the Myrtle Beach area is October is minimal, even at the most popular tourist attractions. We were able to make reservations at the Carolina Opry and picked our own seats. The Friday evening performance was probably only two-thirds full.

Quick Tips:

Be sure to take along some warmer clothing. Although we wore shorts on most days, the evenings were a little on the chilly side. Swimming in the outdoor pool was feasible and there were a few brave souls who challenged the October ocean temperatures.

Best Way To Get Around:

A vehicle is an absolute must. The area between Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach is spread out over a 25 mile area and personal transportation capabilities are essential.

Best Things Nearby:
There are a multitude of attractions, restaurants, cultural exhibits, shopping areas, and other points of interests in the Myrtle Beach area. We particularly enjoying shopping and walking at Barefoot Landing and Broadway on the Beach. Both areas have a large shopping areas laid out as New England fishing villages. Fine dining and theater attractions were available at both. The area also hosts over 1,500 restaurant ranging from casual family dining to fine dining. Virtually any cuisine and and price range is available in this area. If one can’t fine a dining experience to suit their fancy, then they didn’t really look.

Best Things About the Resort:
The best thing about this timeshare are the location. It is oceanfront and located in North Myrtle Beach. The location was out of the traffic congestion areas, yet still within a convenient distant of all the major attractions and areas of interest.

Resort Experience:
Pros: If you are lucky enough to get one of the oceanside units, the view is fantastic

Pros

: If you are lucky enough to get one of the oceanside units, the view is fantastic. The outdoor pools and hot tub areas are beautifully landscaped and very well maintained. There are numerous carts available to facilitate loading and unloading; this was a service that I have rarely seen at other timeshares.

Cons

: When I first entered the unit I was a little disappointed; for a two bedroom unit it was quite a bit smaller than the two bedroom unit that I own. The living room, dining room and kitchen are essentially co-located within a single area, giving me the perception of an efficiency apartment rather than a luxury timeshare unit. Although the unit sleeps six, there are only enough seating space in the living room and dining area for four people.

Bedrooms:

The master bedroom are more than adequate. It had queen size bed, television, walk-in closet, and a separate bath with a shower. The second bedroom also had a queen size bed and a separate bath with a tub/shower combination. There room was smaller than the master bedroom which resulted in limited walking space around the bed.

Other Comments:

There are only about eight units in the building that do not have an outside balcony. Unfortunately, I was given one of these units. Considering the location, quality, and amenities associated with the unit that I had traded, I would have expected to trade comparable to the amenities that I had sacrificed. I'm not sure that this type of information is passed by RCI personnel when making a trade, so I am reluctant to place blame with the timeshare management. In addition, parking space is at a premium. There does not appear to be enough parking spaces to facilitate the number of units. There is a public parking area across the street which alleviates that problem, but I would think that a quality timeshare business would have enough parking to handle their customer requirements.

• Unit Type: 2 Bedroom
• Activities: Good
• Amenities: Good
• Unit Satisfaction: Good
• Family Friendliness: Good
• Service: Good

Cuisine: Start the "Qualifying Lap" with Talledega Tenders, Winston Wings, of one the NC’s fine soups; I started with the Cream of Potato soup which was excellent

Cuisine

: Start the "Qualifying Lap" with Talledega Tenders, Winston Wings, of one the NC’s fine soups; I started with the Cream of Potato soup which was excellent. From the "Starting Lap" menu you add a salad selection, such as the Speedway Salad. From the "Sandwiched In" you can add the Pit Pig sandwich, the Daytona chili burger, the Thunder Road burger, or the Nascar Burger. I went with the Nascar Burger which was ½ pound of perfectly grilled ground beef topped with lettuce, tomato, and onion. Excellent! For the larger appetite, one can go to the "Sizzlin’ and Swishin’" menu and go for the Rockingham Ribeye or the DW Dude Filet. You can go to NASCAR café online by clicking on the link below and viewing the entire menu.

http://www.nascarcafe.com/

Service:

The service was excellent. The young lady that waited on us was very pleasant and returned to the table often to refresh our drinks. And equally important, our check was ready for us when we were ready to leave!!

Prices:

Most sandwiches are in the $7-8 range. Entrees were generally $10-15.

Décor:

The décor was obviously a NASCAR theme. There were four large screen TVs and the front of the dining areas that could be viewed from almost anywhere in the facility. There were smaller TVs mounted at various locations for convenience. NASCAR highlights and interviews with drivers were played on a continual basis. I was a little disappointed in the rest of the exhibits; they were spare compared a similar theme of a restaurant that I frequent in the Orlando area. Since this particular restaurant was carrying the NASCAR name, I expected a much more elaborate "museum"-like atmosphere.

Other Benefit:

Oh, I almost forgot. I had a coupon (available in most any Myrtle Beach coupon book) for a free gift in you spend more than $20 in the café. My free gift was a ride in the NASCAR simulator. Great experience; but my advice ……….. Save the ticket and go back and get your free ride BEFORE you eat !!!

joes

I went to my first Joe's Crab Shack a couple of years ago when the wife and I visited San Antonio, Texas. Joe's is only one in a line of quality restaurants operated by the owners of Joe's--others include Landry's, Willie G's, The Chart House, and more. These are all high quality restaurants.

Cuisine

: Obviously, the cuisine at Joe's centers around seafood. We started off the evening by ordering the Blue Crab Dip as an appetizer--this one I can highly recommend. When it comes time for the entrée, our personal favorite in the Dungeness Crab. They also have Alaskan King, Alaskan Snow, and Blue crab. I've have many types of crab steamed, but Joe's offers all their crabs entrees either steamed, barbecued, or garlic-style. Now, I have never seen barbecued crab before, and I just couldn't talk myself into to ordering it. . .it did appear to be a popular item there in Myrtle Beach. You can view Joe's entire menu by clicking on the link below:

http://www.joescrabshack.com/menu.asp

Service:

The service was excellent. Our waiter was polite, cordial, and extremely helpful. He returned to the table often to freshen our drinks. One of my pet peeves is sitting at the table waiting for a check when I've finished eating. One service that will guarantee a generous tip from me is having the check at the table when I'm ready to leave. Our waiter earned a generous tip.

Prices:

. Most of the seafood entrees were in the $17-20 area………the bill for two of us was slightly over $40.

Décor:

The décor is actually that of an old sea shack. Our table was picnic style table with bench seats (high quality, though). I found them to be slightly uncomfortable, but there are also padded booths available and I'm sure they would have changed out seats had we asked. Don't surprised at what you see hanging from the ceiling, rafters and windows. It reminds me of a very clean and neat backyard shed. I have to admit I was taken aback a little when I saw the baby stroller hanging from the outdoor patio. Overall, the décor is a pleasant experience.

Other Benefit:

There are two Joe's Crab Shacks in the Myrtle Beach area; the one we visited was at Barefoot Landing and the other is at Broadway at the Beach. Both locations are very interesting shopping areas built in a waterfront setting, with all the building located on boardwalk and the architectural structures emulating a rustic fishing village. Eat early and give your self time to walk it off afterwards; there is much to see at both of these locations.

Overview: I enjoy fine dining as much as the next person, but we all know that when we’re on vacation, most of us can’t afford the high-priced meals on a nightly basis.

Overview:

I enjoy fine dining as much as the next person, but we all know that when we’re on vacation, most of us can’t afford the high-price food every night. And let's face it, fast food gets pretty boring when partaken of on a regular basis. The K&W Cafeteria has the best price to quality ratio in the area. There are four locations in North Myrtle Beach/Myrtle Beach area. We chose to patronize the location in North Myrtle Beach.

Menu and Pricing:

The menu is served cafeteria style and each item taken is individually priced. The menu always has at least 20 entrée items. The serving portions are more than adequate; in fact, a couple of the fish entrees were excessive. I was particularly impressed with the number of sugar-free desserts available, an unexpected bonus for my diabetic father-in-law.

We visited the place twice the week that we were there. The first night I had the liver and onions (sorry, but I like liver), pickled beets, ranch potatoes (a type of au gratin), corn, two dinner rolls with butter, sweetened iced tea, and coconut cream pie. No, I’m not on a diet. My wife ate a little more modestly than I, but her tray was relatively full too. The food was excellent and we walked away with a $15 dollar tab! Our second trip there yielded similar results, again for slightly over $15.

Comments:

When money is running short and food quality is still an issue, go to the K&W. If you can’t find something you like, you’re either not hungry, or you're not really looking. You won’t regret it stopping.

General Assessment: My wife and I have a particular fascination for visiting aquariums and have visited aquariums in multiple states

General Assessment

: My wife and I have a particular fascination for visiting aquariums and have visited aquariums in multiple states. We would rate this aquarium second only to the National Aquarium in Baltimore. Although significantly smaller that the National Aquarium, Ripley’s -- Myrtle Beach is well designed and a very pleasant experience.

Favorite Exhibits

: Our favorite exhibits were the (1) Leafy Sea Dragons , (2) the 330-ft underwater tunnel beneath the shark tank, (3) the Octopus (see photos). We also enjoyed the Horse Crab display that permits handling of the crabs, and the skate and ray handling area.

Shortcomings:

The Ripley’s Aquarium is not one of the larger aquariums we have visited. You can walk through in about an hour, or spend a couple of hours if you watch the various films and stop to read the placards located at the displays.

Price

: Adults - $15.95, Child. 5 through 12 – $9.95, Child. 2 through 4 - $3.95, Under 2 Free Open 7 Days a Week

To view the Ripley’s Aquarium website and brochure, click on the following link:

http://www.ripleysaquarium.com/

Overview: Unlike most dinner attractions, the Dixie Stampede is not music centered

Overview:

Unlike most dinner attractions, the Dixie Stampede is not music centered. Although the Master of Ceremonies does sing a couple of songs, most of the show is just good ol’ southern fun.

Theme:

The theme is an old fashioned, southern backyard barbecue that takes place in the Civil War period. Half of the arena audience cheers on the North team and the other side the South team. As events are run, the winning team receives a medallion and a flag on their side of the arena. At the end of the event, it doesn’t matter who wins everyone is a winner.

Events:

Once the opening song is over the backyard barbecue officially begins as the MC announces the beginning of the barbecue, the waiters begin serving the food. More on the cuisine later. The show begins with a Buffalo stampede. This is a new twist for the Dixie Stampede. The buffalo were not included when I attended a Dixie Stampede in Branson, Missouri.

Once that meal is served the other events begin. These include trick horseback riding, barrel races, a buckboard race, (pig race, and an ostrich race. There are various times when they will select people from the audience to participate in the activities. All in all, it is packed with family fun and a great time for all. Your kids will love this!!

Quisine:

The meal included a small roasted chicken (a whole chicken). A slice of roasted pork loin, a very interesting roasted potato, a small ear of corn, and a creamy vegetable soup that was excellent. The meal was excellent with the exception of the corn, my experience with most of the dinner attraction meals is that the corn on the cob is usually overcooked. Everything else was excellent.

Prices:

Adult - $35, Children - $19. If you look around in the local grocery stores you can find coupon books offering discounts to the Dixie Stampede.

Additional Comments:

I had expected a rather modest crowd since we were attending in the off-season. I was quite surprised to find that the event appeared to be sold out.

Cons:

The only negative comment that I have about the evening is the manner in which they clear the arena after the show. A myriad of exits around the faciliy are reserved for fire exits only; the management corrals the entire audience through a single set of double doors that lead into gift shop. Unfortunately, the width of the aisles in the gift shop are not designed for this type of mass exit and it significantly increases that time that it takes to clear the arena.

Overview: Patriot’s Point is a Naval and Maritime Museum located on the North side of Charleston Harbor

Overview:

Patriot’s Point is a Naval and Maritime Museum located on the North side of Charleston Harbor. Exhibits in the (1) USS Yorktown (CV10), a WWII aircraft carrier; (2) the USS Laffey (DD724), a WWII destroyer; (3) Ingram (WHEC-35), a Coast Guard cutter that served in WWII, (4) the USS Clamagore (SS-343), a diesel attack submarine, (5) the Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s museum and headquarters, and (6) a Navy Advance Tactical Support base from the Vietnam era.

Directions: Patriot’s Point is a two-hour drive down highway 17 from Mrytle Beach.

Price: Adults - $13, Children - $6.

USS Yorktown:

The Yorktown is the primary draw of the museum. The entrance leads into the hangar bay where a snack bar and the primary visitor information center is located. There are eight separate self-guided tour originating from the hangar bay. On all tours be prepared to go up and down several flights of very steep shipboard staircases. There are approximately 25 aircraft available for viewing in the hangar bay and on the flight deck. Tours include the Flight deck, engine rooms, officer and enlisted berthing areas, medical facilities, galleys, machine shops, ship's laundry, catapult rooms, and the bridge. Photography is permitted in the museum.

USS Laffey:

This is a significantly shorter tour than the Yorktown. There is basically one self-guided tour onboard. Many of the viewing areas are miniature versions of what you just saw on the Yorktown. The major difference is the opportunity to view the internal areas of the gun turrets.

USS Clamagore:

I believe almost everyone has a fascination for touring a submarine. The tour begins in the forward torpedo room and continues past the officer’s quarters, communications room, galley, engine room, crew quarters, and the aft torpedo room. You are not permitted to enter the conning tower, but a grated hatch cover allows you to get a glimpse of the periscope. A short tour, but worth the time.

Navy Support Base:

Being a Vietnam veteran, this was of particular interest to me. I enjoyed seeing the Huey Cobra, the UH-1 Medevac, and another UH-1 with a 2.75" rocket launcher and 7.62mm mini-gun. Also on display is a guard tower, a couple of huts, an ammo bunker, a mortar pit, and a "brown water" river patrol boat. Another nice display.

Other Comments:

On the Yorktown was another interesting benefit that I haven’t see on other "floating" museums: the CPO mess, located one deck below the hangar bay, is open to the public for lunch from 11:30 am until 2 pm., serving an authentic aircrew meal. The price is extremely reasonable, basically the same price as sandwich combo from the snack area, but a much better meal selection. Give it a try.

Overview: Barefoot Landing is not just a shopping center, it’s a shopping experience

Overview:

Barefoot Landing is not just a shopping center, it’s a shopping experience. Located on Hwy 17 between North Myrtle Beach and Myrtle Beach, it is situation around a 27-acre lake.

The shops, outlets, and restaurants are divided into four separate shopping areas reminiscent of an old fishing village. All are connected by a boardwalk system that includes three pedestrian bridges spanning the lake. There are more than 100 specialty shops, 13 factory direct stores, 15 restaurants and dining facilities, and 11 entertainment attractions.

It’s very difficult to give an adequate evaluation of the multitude and shops and activities in a 500-word report. One really needs to check out the Barefoot Landing website to get a good understanding of the various shops and attractions here. You can get to the website by going to the following link:

http://www.bflanding.com/

Shopping

: The wife was particularly drawn to the Sunshine Kitchen Shoppe; we actually make a second trip back just to pick up an item that she had seen on the first stop. According to her, the item was significantly cheaper than she had seen in any stores back home.

The father-in-law and I had two favorite shops that piqued our interest: (1) The Bible Factory Outlet, and (2) Tools and More. In the first, I picked up a copy of Matthew Henry’s Bible Commentary for around $14 and my father-in-law bought a copy of the works of Josephus for about the same price. The Tools and More shop was quite interesting, too. Remember all those TV specialty ads claiming the items "can’t be bought in any store"? Well, don’t believe it, because many of the items were available here.

Restaurants:

Fine dining options included The Crab House, the House of Blues, Damon’s, Joe’s Crab Shack, Greg Norman’s Australian Grille, T-Bonz, and more. Deli and burger places were also available. We went back in the evening and had dinner at Joe’s Crab Shack (see specific journal entry for evaluation of Joes.)

Entertainment:

Options in the category included animals (Preservation Station Tigers and Alligator Adventure), music (Alabama Theater and House of Blues), and various other areas of interest. We visiting the Preservation Station Tigers after dinner and watched them for several minutes.

Comments

: Visit Barefoot Landing and plan to spend several hours there when you do. Enjoy!

The Theater: This theater is a beautiful replica of the Grand Ol’ Opry

The Theater

: This theater is a beautiful replica of the Grand Ol’ Opry. It seats approximately 2,200 people, but the first week of October it was only about two-thirds full. When making my reservations I specifically requested seats in front row, center stage, balcony. Excellent seats, and there were only about 10 people in the entire balcony.

Cost:

We paid $31/person with a discount coupon and this show was worth every penny of the price.!

The Show

: The performance was scheduled to begin at 8pm with a pre-show beginning at 7:40pm. In actuality, the pre-show started at about 7:25pm. Jon England, an extremely talented pianist began the show by playing a few requests from the audience. At about 7:40, a brief comedy act began with Kym Shurbutt as the lead comic, another very talented person who added a lot of lighter moments throughout the remainder of the show.

Although the Carolina Opry has its roots in country music, the repertoire covered all gambits of music from country to rock to broadway. One section of the show covered popular songs of each decade from the 50s to the present. The singers and musicians were all top quality entertainers. Some of the songs that I personally like included: "Last Date", "Private Malone", "Leader of the Pack", "Then He Kissed Me", "I Believe", "Slow Hand", and many, many more.

Including the pre-show, the performance lasted almost three hours, with a short intermission.

Other Services:

The theater also has a concession stand and a gift shop. CDs are available from the various artists and you can even get a CD of the specific performance that you attended. I would suggest that you visit the Carolina Opry website to get current information before you make your trip. Their website address is http://www.cgp.net/

My Favorite

: My favorite performer was Jon England. He is an extremely talented pianist and I thoroughly enjoyed each piece that he performed.

Overall Evaluation:

Time and money were both well-spent; I whole-heartedly encourage you not to miss the Carolina Opry is you have the opportunity to attend. I attended several performances while in the Branson, Missouri area a few years ago, and I can tell you that the Carolina Opry ranks right up there with the best of them. Go and enjoy!!

The sunrises were some of the most memorable I've seen. This journal simply wouldn't be complete without sharing some of the additional photos taken of the sunrises. These were taken from just behind the Peppertree Ocean Club in North Myrtle Beach, in the 1900 block of Ocean Blvd N. Enjoy.