After a stressful family reunion in Edisto last week, Jan and I needed a "vacation from the vacation" on our way home….. This past week was the rain-week in all of South Carolina due to hurricane Joaquin funneling rain northwest, but even a drenching in Myrtle Beach is more fun than what we just experienced. So… we packed up a day early and braved the rains up Rte 17. While I drove, Jan frantically searched for hotels and Daisy napped in the backseat, kind of grumpy from being in the car so long this vacation:
Pulled into MB in an insane downpour and parked behind Dirty Dons on 21st Ave N so Jan could continue negotiating a rate with the new Hilton, Ocean 22. I got fried oysters and shrimp to-go with fries and onion rings. Ate in the car while poor Daisy licked her chops in the backseat still. Both shrimp and oysters were lightly breaded and excellent and the cocktail sauce had a very nice horseradish kick. Fries and onion rings were home-made and also delicious. Just what we needed. The waitress (Aja) who helped me out was outstanding and showed incredible care for a to-go order, I'll remember to ask for her during our follow-up visits.
We finally got the Hilton Ocean 22 down to a rate comparable with the Caribbean, Patricia Grand, etc and pulled in. VERY nice place…. Of course it's brand new, but WOW. Unfortunately the parking lot is across the street and 2 blocks up, but what the heck… even in a downpour. (valet is available for $15, but I'm el-cheapo). Got a king-bed suite on the 24th floor with a side view. Even though it wasn't oceanfront, it still has an amazing view:
High-end appliances and hard-wood floors throughout are a very nice touch.
The major drawback is the timeshare pressure is everywhere (but not overbearing). Seems 90% of the realtors in Horry County must work here. Fortunately a valet gave me a "Hilton Vacations" umbrella when he saw me walking to the garage. I think this world's-ugliest-umbrella is part of the "prize package" as someone on the elevator commented on the umbrella and said "wasn't that presentation obnoxious ?". None of the sales people approached me as long as I carried this loud, lime-green umbrella with me.
We unpacked quickly, and Jan went down to the pool bar to get some happy-hour beers for the room while I fed Daisy. After a calming beverage we headed into the deluge up to Flying Fish happy hour (which is from 4-8pm Labor Day - March 30th) What a find ! With the weather so bad, the bar had plenty of seats and the servers were phenomenal. I think we tried everything at least once…. Oysters on the half-shell were small, but delicious and clean. Tuna sushi was also excellent (ended up with 2 orders). Cheese shrimp dip with freshly fried tortilla chips is also a winner with plenty of whole shrimp which are small enough to easily fit on a chip. The ribs were fall-off-the-bone tender with a solid BBQ sauce on the side. Fried Green tomatoes topped with grits and shrimp were also over the top. (though the menu said the shrimp were blackened, they weren't…. But didn't make any difference). I had 2 beers which were I think $3 for local pints. Jan had a Long Island iced tea which I wouldn't recommend since it is made from a pre-made mix versus combining all the liquors. Jan also tried a sip of Sangria and said it was too sweet.
Definitely 5 star happy hour.
At about 7:30, the servers started to pack up and we were told the kitchen was closing at 8p due to flooding (felt sorry for a barmaid who was called by a neighbor stating her house was flooded). So we paid up and walked into a mess… I can only describe it as a river falling from the sky. There were no rain-drops, just a solid sheet of water falling onto us… and it was cold. Crawled down Rte 17 at 15mph and back to the Hilton with no major issues. Kicked myself for being so cheap on the valet parking, but that lime-green-umbrella-machine actually worked ok under the pressure.
Got to the room only to have the rain let up in time for Daisy's last walk of the day. Almost went onto the beach, but the wind had kicked up so we just meandered around a few of the neighboring properties with my doggy-bag in hand (classy guy). It was pretty darn cold, windy and wet so not many pedestrians.
Back to the room where the effect of so much happy-hour food hit me hard and I napped on the couch while watching a Vincent Price movie (House on Haunted Hill maybe…). I forgot what a great actor he was in these old horror movies. What a classic !
Woke up long enough for Jan to tell me I could stay on the couch since I was snoring….. But of course I crawled into bed (which was insanely comfortable). I must have stopped snoring since I didn't wake up until 730a and Jan didn't kick me out. We were so beat from sleeping in 20 yr old musty, beach-house beds the past week it didn't matter who was snoring.
Woke up to some windy, rainy weather. The ocean in it's fury:
Quick video at:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/27581633@ ... 4802744630(let me know if the link doesn't work.... the BB doesn't seem to allow embedded video links)
We shall see what today brings…… definitely no sunburns !
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