Myrtle Beach Message Board

We left Ohio on 5/18. We stayed over at a Holiday Inn Express in Greensboro. It's right off of 220 and is very new. Ate dinner at Fatz which is located across the parking lot. It is similar to Applebee's. The food and service were very good.

We arrived at the condo at noon on Saturday as planned. It was a little cool and cloudy, but that's ok. After unloading the car and stretching a bit, we drove out to Broadway at the Beach for dinner at Margaritaville. They told us it would be a 45 minute wait. We are off season visitors, so this was a surprise! We took the buzzer and strolled down to River Street Sweets to get the complimentary sample I think it was only 30 minutes and the buzzer sounded. I guess our "tradition" (although we missed it last year) is sharing an order of Volcano Nachos for dinner. Even on an empty stomach, we can't finish those off, but they are oh so good!

We returned back to the condo to finish unpacking and settle in for the evening.

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"The Sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever." - Jacques Cousteau

2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 - Myrtle Beach Resort
2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 - Compass Cove
2010 - Coral Beach
2011 - The Ashworth & Windsurfer
2012 - The Ashworth

Sunday -

The Diva's Half Marathon and 5k run was lined up right outside the parking garage at The Ashworth. I woke up around 6:30, got the coffee brewing and heard the loud speakers blaring. I grabbed a jacket and went to take a look. Thousands of women, all shapes, sizes and ages, were lined up awaiting the start of the race at 7:00 am. My hats off to them! The roads were blocked off so there was no getting out for awhile. We watched the start and then decided we had had enough of the cold air. I'm talking sweatshirts and a hot cup of Joe in your hand!

Later in the morning we drove down to the 2nd Ave. Pier after making a stop at Krispy Kreme. Hot sign on...must stop! It's a beautiful day, blue skies, a little breeze, etc. After walking the pier we strolled down the Boardwalk. We stopped at Mad Myrtles to get a cup of ice cream...delicious! Thirst set in after that and we made another stop for some sweet tea. Sugar rush in full throttle, we trotted back to the pier.

We went back to BATB (do you see a trend here?) I'm not sure how new this is, but I don't recall seeing this last fall. There are two speed boats that you can ride on the lake for a short thrill, replacing the pontoon. $16.95 for a 5 minute ride...and people were in line to ride.

Dinner tonight was at the Tilted Kilt. We had a very nice waitress. I had the fish tacos and Mike ordered fish and chips. Both were very good and servings were more than enough. Our bill was around $32 and that was with a beer and does not include the $20 tip Mike said he left

Back to the condo and then out to the beach for a few minutes and called it a night.

_________________
"The Sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever." - Jacques Cousteau

2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 - Myrtle Beach Resort
2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 - Compass Cove
2010 - Coral Beach
2011 - The Ashworth & Windsurfer
2012 - The Ashworth

Monday -

We both were up early and the weather looked very promising. Covering up with sunscreen, we grabbed our gear we walked down to the beach to set up camp for awhile. It was perfect - about 78, slight breeze.

We had dinner tonight at the Olive Garden. Good food, and I had a gift card ;-) I ordered the Eggplant Parm and Mike had Fetticine Alfredo. Both were very good, and so was the service.

We decided after our umbrella went inside out a several times today, that it was time to get a new one. We actually found a really nice one at Bargain World at the corner of Ocean Drive and Main. According to the person that checked us out, they are under new ownership and they have lowered their prices on everything. We checked a few other places before making our purchase and they were about 1/2 of
what most of those places were asking.

Tomorrow we will see how it holds up!

Tuesday -

I took an early morning walk on the beach - without my iPod =( It was on my "things to pack list" however, the earbuds were not! It was
still a nice walk to the sound of the ocean waves. I forgot to mention that when we walked the pier on Sunday, we saw a lot of jelly fish. I think they all swam north to die. I counted around 20 on the walk this morning.

Time to try out the new beach umbrella. We were out for probably 4 hours. There is a large group of students here from George Mason University in Virginia. We had fun watching their antics! Around 2:00, we saw the storms moving in and decided to pack it in and finish up some laundry before the meet up tonite. As for the umbrella -a wise decision indeed!

We were looking forward to meeting Lou and her husband, but unfortunately they had to return home. (Hope you're feeling better Lou!) Despite the rain we had a great time catching up with Patrish and Wally. Landshark was not busy at all. Not sure if it was because of the light rain or things just haven't picked up yet.

After saying our good-bye's we made a stop at Wal-Mart on the way back to pick up a few necessities and then called it a night.

Wednesday -

It looked like there would be a lot of hit/miss showers and thunderstorms today, with the rest of the week sunny, so we decided to hit the outlets. Our kids will be happy to know that this morning was our first stop at Starbucks since Friday. They seem to think we have a slight addiction. We stopped at Tangers on 501 first. Mike was sad to learn that the Black and Decker store had closed. Not all was lost, because Direct Tools is still there and he got a great deal on a tabletop bandsaw (which I'm still trying to figure out how we will get in the trunk with all the other stuff). I love the kitchen shops, especially Le Gourmet Chef and their dip samples. The Rothschild's dips and sauces are made just about twenty minutes from our hometown in Ohio. It's good stuff! We grabbed a quick hot dog and Coke for lunch to take the edge off until dinner.

Next stop was Tangers on 17. By the way, Tangers has an app for iPhone and Android that is a free download. It will show you special offers/discounts at each
store. You can use it at any Tangers in the country. I got a free offer for a cosmetic bag with any purchase, which could just be a cup of coffee at the Food
Court. When we picked up the free coupon book at 501, they gave us a $5 off coupon for any store at the 17 outlet.

There are a lot more high pitched sounding bikes out there today. If any of you also read Katie's FB post about the Atlantic Bike Week drivers having a death wish, I would have to agree. We were behind 4 of them at a traffic light and they were all lined up to race once the light turned. They flew down the road, except for the one in front of us. Apparently, he had a hard time finding the right gear and was left in a cloud of dust by his buddies. We sure chuckled at that one!

We went to PF Changs for dinner since we had another gift card to use. Egg rolls and Honey Chicken for dinner and we brought half of it back. No Great Wall of Chocolate for us

Back to the condo for the evening around 7:30. Almost time to watch American Idol finale!

_________________
"The Sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever." - Jacques Cousteau

2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 - Myrtle Beach Resort
2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 - Compass Cove
2010 - Coral Beach
2011 - The Ashworth & Windsurfer
2012 - The Ashworth

REALLY enjoying your report. I was starting to go through Trip Reprt Withdrawal.It's a real condition

Nice report Jan. Your weather seems way better than ours. Have fun!

It always appeared to me that all of the beach stores were the same. No matter what name was on the building or what they were advertising they all sold the same stuff for the same price.

It sounds like I may need to rethink this philosophy and check out Bargain World a little closer this year.

Loving your report

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Why do we love the sea? It is because it has some potent power to make us think things we like to think. ~Robert Henri

Yay for a lonnnggg report...my kids and husband, also, fear I have a Starbucks addiction...but we have NONE close to us...closest is at Target at the Highlands shopping area near Wheeling WV...a bout 90 minutes away...only other one we visit is at a rest area on the way to the beach... ...but I am enjoying your trip...sounds so great...can't wait to hear more!

JoAnn

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[url=http://www.TickerFactory.com/]

Jan, really enjoying your trip report. Sure makes me homesick for Myrtle Beach! It sounds as if quite a few of us have the Starbucks "addiction". That was a nice feature at the Bay View Resort as there was one on site. If you are walking the Boardwalk the Starbucks and hotel is at 504 No. Ocean Blvd. Sounds like you are having a great time as always. Looking forward to meeting up with you again this fall. We do the same thing and save gift cards until we are at the beach. Helps on vacation expenses. Appreciate the time and talent you put into your trip reports.
Judy/Pigeon Forge

Great trip report, Jan. We did get caught up, didn't we? LOL! It was really good seeing you and Mike again! Mike looks GREAT in his new tan, but don't tell him...it will just go to his head!

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Take the table saw to Kinkos or UPS Store to see if it could ship home that way. Forget what we were looking at one trip and shopped around for a shipping operation. Think it might have been over near Ocean Drive WalMart.

I am also enjoying your report. We stayed at the Ashworth a few years ago. It is a nice spot and is a very short walk to Main Street which is great. Sounds like you are having fun so far. I also enjoyed the meet-up picture.

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A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. Winston Churchill.

Thursday -

After fixing a quick breakfast in, we packed our gear and walked down to the beach to set up camp. The weather has really improved since we arrived. We spent about 4 hours or so on the beach today. The kids from George Mason are still here and were again quite entertaining. Oh, to be that young again!

Later in the afternoon we headed out for a bit more shopping and dinner. As we walked through the parking garage, we noticed about 6 State Trooper cars parked in the condo building next to us. There were quite a few officers huddled together. We never heard anything on the news but wondered if it had anything to do with Atlantic Bike week.

We stopped at Bass Pro and picked up a few deals on t-shirts and gun cases. From there we went to BATB for dinner/Happy Hour at Liberty Steakhouse. We sat outside and enjoyed the southern fried chicken tenders and Texas Cheese Wedges. The food was great and you can't beat it for the price.

After dinner we made a few purchases for the grandkids and then stopped by Froyoz on the way out. They have very good frozen yogurt and it's fun building your own special creation. A little on the pricey side - they charge by weight so you can easily spend mucho cash on this stuff.

I crashed almost as soon as we got back. Having a bit of a sore throat and waking up at 4:30 a.m., I was really tired.

_________________
"The Sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever." - Jacques Cousteau

2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 - Myrtle Beach Resort
2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 - Compass Cove
2010 - Coral Beach
2011 - The Ashworth & Windsurfer
2012 - The Ashworth

Sounds like you're having a great time! Glad the weather has improved and hope your sore throat has already gone away. Have fun!

Vicki & Kay

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Pier View - 1985 - 2005
Lighthouse Motel - 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
Windsurfer Hotel - 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013

Thanks for the updates on your trip. I'm glad the weather is starting to cooperate.

I sore throat is never any fun and I hope yours feels better soon.