Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Recently I had the chance to get down to Myrtle Beach, SC. It is long overdue since I've been at Bragg for nearly 4 years now. I packed a lot into 48hrs; from beach fronts to black swamps to Georgetown harbor, I was moving all over the place. And the kicker, my parents were in town.... now we are really in trouble people.

The Commercial Type

Myrtle Beach was as I expected, a much more commercial environment when compared to Long Beach Island, NJ or Wilmington, NC however it still has good times to be offered. Aside from its 187ft tall Sky-wheel, Myrtle Beach features two amusement parks (Myrtle Waves & Family Kingdom), Jimmy Buffets Margaritaville,  Planet Hollywood, Hard Rock Cafe, and was ranked by National Geographic as having the #3 best Boardwalk in the nation.

Along for the trek were my parents. They still have a little fun left in em so they were able to put up with me for an evening on the town. The beach was crowded but clean. Walking along it offered some great views of the busting cityscape and the sky-wheel. Additionally, there was a ton of shells washing up along the beach to be discovered for those who like free souvenirs. 

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The sky-wheel was also a great site when passing by. Its around $12 per adult but  its worth a night visit.

After enjoying the beach for a few hours it was time to head down the main strip and see what it had to offer. There was quite a few uncommon and particular stops like these over sized Hershey's bottles and lollipops. And if anyone is in the market for some brass knuckles or throwing stars, don't worry, they have that too.

Heading farther down the strip we came across this "gem" which in my opinion was the best place to have a drink downtown although my mom wasn't the biggest fan. Duffy's was definitely a bar with personality and a touch of sarcasm. Reviews note that this place is, at times not the friendliest. It was 4pm and there was already police cars parked outside so it appeared that it gets rowdy. Since I was with "the parentals" I had to move on. Plus, I couldn't explore the rest of the town if I was passed out in this place all night.

I made my Step-Dad take shots of Jack Daniels and he just finished some pickled eggs when I shot this. It was quite the sight.

Things got a bit hazy in between the rest of the boardwalk,

this guy.... with a "Mr. Mustache" t-shirt for obvious reasons,

and the Gay Dolphin Gift Shop.

The Gay Dolphin Gift Shop has been in Myrtle Beach since 1946. It calls itself "the nation's largest gift shop". As of 2011, the Gay Dolphin had 26,000 square feet (2,400 m2) and store owner Justin "Buz" Plyler said the store averaged 70,000 items. Larger items have included a fountain with three dolphins costing $7,000 and a life-size cigar store Indian. Tom Pierce's Trader Bill's Shark's Tooth Cove rents space in the building. People can bring in their own shark teeth and have them made into jewelry. Neat stuff right.

We later ended up at a place called "Wonder Works" which featured a collection of stilt walkers, restaurants, bars, and an upside down building. The area was fun, but primarily housed more of the same attractions we found along the beachfront. This location was more family friendly though. We made jackasses out of ourselves on a ropes course (right) and found whatever this thing is(left).

After all this we were getting pretty worn out, but we still had time to make one more bad decision. We found ourselves here...

River City Cafe is a burger joint that features an assortment of monstrous burgers with onion rings, fried eggs, bacon, pickles, mayo, and more burgers piled on top to give you that final nail in the coffin at the end of the night; possibly in the literal sense as your arteries clog up. 

This place is a tourist favorite but beware, as it has some dicey reviews. It's a fun stop, especially to cap off a night of partying but its loud, you will wait forever to get your food, and there's the cleanliness factor. I know its one of those "throw the peanuts on the floor" places, but overall the quality control doesn't seem to be there. Its like eating something that falls on the ground for one second or not wearing your seat belt. No reward without a little risk, right?

And that my friends, is how you do Myrtle Beach, in one day, with your parents lol. Check out the rest of my trip to South Carolina here (coming soon). We visited Brookgreen Gardens, kayaked through the Black Swamps, and visited Georgetown Harbor.