Article Surfing Archive

What I Remember (And Like) About Myrtle Beach (subtitle:What's not to like already!) By Joe Leech

We could answer that with "bullet points" like...

The beach The Golf Courses (full sizes) The min golf coursesAll the places to Eat The beach

But Myrtle Beach is more than just that.. it's the sum ofall those things which feed each other back and do more andmore. It's the complete "package" of all those things.

It's the anticipation, and the variety.. and wondering whatyou are going to find the next year.

My wife and I first visited Myrtle Beach as a young newlywed couple and we did it on a budget. We chose it because atthe time we were in the Air Force and it was close, and wehad never really been to a real beach resort community. Wehad a pop up camper.. a far cry from some of the early(1960 era) motor homes. But even then the early "boxy""Winnies" looked like palaces. But we didn't care. Wewere young, in love, and we had the beach. If I were toshare more about some late nights on the beach.. well, wecouldn't "family rate" this little recollection piece.

We came back a couple years later, but this time to a modestcabin with real indoor plumbing.. we were a few blocksinland as we were still on a budget, but our cabin (actuallya duplex house converted to tourist rentals) was clean andwe could hear the ocean at night with windows open. Andsmell the salt ocean air. And it was quiet. EXCEPT thereason we upgraded.. we had a new baby son with us, and hewould still sometimes cry at night, but other than that.. itwas so peaceful.

We didn't come back every year, but we did return about 7years later and again got a cabin, and this time with twokids.. and boy, did they love the beach! We had more fun. Werevisited our first camp ground and thought it might be niceto come back with the kids so they could have campfires, thepool and we agreed.. as long as we had a nice camper. So thenext year (civilians now, having finished our Air Forcestint and still living in the East) we rented a nice camper.Campground within a bike ride to the ocean, and we spenttime there.. but the kids wanted a little more so we hit themain drag a little more, some of the arcades, etc.

Not wanting to get into a rut, while loving the area, wedidn't do it every year, but did keep returning becausethere was some sorta "magic" and it was about 4 years later,this time with two teen agers. Little nicer cabin this year,and now our agendas changed a bit more.. kids wanted tospend time "in town" and of course our evenings gave rise tosome more mature entertainment like board games likemonopoly, etc. But the beach was still our focus. None ofus really got into golf which is why so many people come..but the miniature golf was always a great family time, andall of us do love to eat.

We came back about every 2-3 years, and one of the reasonswas the availability and ease of getting to. We'd tried someof the Jersey resorts (Wildwood) and nothing had the wholepackage we had.. and we were beginning to make some"vacation" friends who we called our summer vacation family.Now while the kids were off, we enjoyed a bottle of wine ormargaritas with families from Fla (came north as it wascooler), one family from Canada, and a few others.

As life goes on, the family changes, and 3 years ago, nowwith our kids grown, married, and having kids of their own..we decided on an extended family vacation. We'd outgrown thecabin, and this time we all went together and rented a nicelarge single family house on the beach. Full porch andbeach view. It wasn't inexpensive, but when you think we had3 families there, the cost per family wasn't any more than 3weeks of individual and smaller cabins.. and we were alltogether. I can't tell you the memories this built, notonly for ourselves but our grand kids.

Happy as it was, the "kids" also wanted to take newvacations on their own, and we went back now as we started..as a couple, but in one partners case.. with significantlyless and grayer hair. But our accommodations changed..again. This time a nice condo, 3 floors up, with a balconyand view. Still love the ocean, still love to go to therestaurants. And we're making new friends. Also talkingabout taking up golf!

We revisited again in summer 2005. Actually not for avacation, but passing through on a drive back home from oneof our kids homes in Melbourne, Fla driving back toPittsburgh. It was a little off the direct route, but wejust wanted to come back. Glad we did and we're going tobook a condo there again next summer. There's new things tosee and do like live theater. Discovered a FANTASTIC Italianrestaurant that more locals than tourists go to.

So.. what's with Myrtle Beach. I guess it has been theability to provide a whole range of great, wholesomevacation options regardless of our family makeup and budget.We've never been bored or disappointed. It's been arelatively easy drive from wherever we lived in the East,and of course, in spite of hurricanes passing through thearea over some 40 years (we are now 66 and 67 years old),the beach has always been a good place to be. We've nottried a winter vacation there.. don't think we will. Yes,there's a lot of people there in season, but there's a lotof space too so you don't feel crowded. And there's stillspots you can get alone on the beach at night. And that'sthe magic.

It's my hope that this little article of reminiscing willshare what might be available to anyone contemplating avisit or vacation, and no, we don't work for the Chamber ofCommerce or have a time share or condo to rent to you.(Wish now we did) But there's plenty of resources on theInternet to help you.

Good Luck and pleasant vacationing!