Last week Tom and I went to Myrtle Beach for the first time.  Pam and Steve Varga had let us know that they were going to be going to Myrtle Beach and wondered if they could come and visit us for a night before they went home.  We contacted them to see if they wanted to visit Kings Mountain or wanted to visit us, and when the answer was us, we decided we should meet them in Myrtle Beach instead.  Especially since we had never been there before!

So we headed east across South Carolina, which doesn’t look that wide unless you are trying to get to Myrtle Beach.  The interstate runs out in Florence, which is still over an hour from Myrtle Beach.  And US 501 (seemingly the only road) into Myrtle Beach was a parking lot.  It took forever to get through the traffic and actually arrive at the ocean.

We had a room overlooking the ocean at the Hampton Inn and Suites.  The view was fantastic and I enjoyed sitting on our balcony, people watching and listening to the ocean.  We had to drive to meet Pam and Steve for supper, and the concierge at the hotel gave us the best advice we got while we were there:  don’t take Ocean Boulevard!

We ate at one of Pam and Steve’s favorite restaurants:  The Sea Captain’s House.  They specialize in seafood, but I think most restaurants in Myrtle Beach specialize in seafood.  We enjoyed visiting with our friends and afterward had a nice walk back to their hotel.

The next morning I got up early so I could watch the sunrise and then take a walk along the beach.  It was a beautiful day and I always enjoy being at the ocean.  Myrtle Beach has very nice beaches that slope very gradually into the ocean.

Myrtle Beach also has a lot of miniature golf courses, so we met Pam and Steve at Shipwreck Island and played 18 holes.  Tom won but Pam had a great game and came in a close second.  Then we walked around “downtown” and saw some of the amusement rides and souvenir shops.  One of the nice things about being in an RV is that you don’t have room to waste money on souvenirs, so we didn’t have to spend any time in those.  The area was full of people – it was spring break – but not super crowded.  I guess in the summer it is much worse.

We had lunch at Landshark Bar and Grill right on the beach and enjoyed burgers and fries. We also had ice cream at Mad Myrtle’s Ice Creamery. Then Tom and I had to head back to Kings Mountain.  It was a short trip, but felt like the right amount of time to enjoy our friends and Myrtle Beach.  I’m not sure we would go back to Myrtle Beach (that traffic!) but we had a very nice visit there with the Vargas.

Sometimes Tom and I really miss our family and friends as we travel.  March, however, was our most social month while we have been traveling, and we feel like we enjoyed all the people who came to visit us and all the people we got to go visit.

Have you ever been to Myrtle Beach?  If so, what is your favorite restaurant or thing to do?