Myrtle Beach in November

When my friend asked me what I wanted to do for our 40th birthdays I replied, "I have a bet on a boxing match that I am going to watch."  Needless to say she was mortified, but kept her cool.  She quickly and excitedly replied, "Let's jump in my Lexus and drive down to Myrtle Beach.  I was perplexed.  The summer was over.  She knew I was not only a sun worshipper, but an ocean lover.  "What are you talking about?"  I reluctantly replied, "Let me think about it."  I did my research and realized although it was chilly in New York the weather in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina averaged around 65 degrees.  I wouldn't be sunbathing or swimming, but I could still frolic on the beach.  The crowds would be almost nonexistent and deserted shopping centers would allow us to be footloose.  I decided to go and I am glad I did.  We had a great time!

Traveling

The drive down was uneventful and pretty boring.  We left in the early morning hours on Thursday, November 14, 2007.  We beat all the traffic and the Lexus provided a more than primo ride.  Neither of us was too concerned or impressed with the scenery as we'd see it many times on separate occasions.  We made a pit stop in a small town called Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina off of I-95 to see some of my relatives and were back on the road again shortly thereafter.  As we got closer to South Carolina we began shedding layers of clothing.  I became more and more excited knowing we were getting closer to the warmth.  Finally, 11 hours later we were in Myrtle Beach.

Becoming Acquainted with the Beach

We stayed in a beautiful set of condos on the south end of the beach off Kings Highway.  As soon as we entered the room I made a beeline for the balcony.  I couldn't believe the scenery, a marvelous postcard backdrop.  The beach was vacant, the ocean was rough.  I was in my glory.  I immediately retired to the balcony in a chair to rest a bit before we hit the town, to find a place to stuff our faces.  I love seafood even more than I love the beach.  The forecast did call for rain later that evening and into the next morning, but we did not let that stop us.

Out on the Town

After we settled, we decided that since we had a full kitchen we would find the nearest grocery store and purchase some items to save some money.  We found a Food Lion grocery story in the area and picked up dinner for later that night and breakfast for the next couple days as we were sure we would want to sleep in every morning.  The food prices were considerably lower compared to what we were used to and we found ourselves buying food to lug back with us.  Consumers get further discounts with their Food Lion card, which you can get immediately upon filling out a short form.  "How cool," we thought.  We drove up and down Ocean Boulevard checking out the scene and realizing very quickly how nice it was to not have to deal with the traffic and crowds that normally seek refuge in Myrtle Beach during the summer months.  I was in Heaven.  I was also exhausted though.  The drive was relaxing, but very tiring.  We scoped out a couple souvenir shops we wanted to hit and a restaurant called the Crab House and then made our way back to the condo.  I needed to retreat and bask in the comfort of the ocean's abode.  As the sun made its departure, I lay on the couch watching the ocean disappear into the darkness and all that could be heard was the sound of the waves.  I had claimed my spot on the couch in front of the patio doors; although, we had two queen-sized beds and a full-sized bed.  I didn't want to miss the spectacular scenery showing.  We cooked some vittles, watched some television and I jumped on my laptop taking advantage of the serenity and finishing up a few chapters of my book.  Shortly, after I went to sleep on the couch.  I did not want to miss the sunrise.

The Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Sunrise

It was a magnificent specimen, the rising of the sun, as the ocean tickled its feet.  I took these spectacular pictures with my cell phone and used my webcam to record the sounds of the tides and waves calmly touch the shoreline to use for my morning meditation.  As marvelous as the scenery was in the daytime, it was equally as beautiful at night.  My only problem was neither my cell phone nor webcam were able to capture the million stars that graced the skies.  I have a high tech telescope that I left at home and I kicked myself a few times for forgetting it.  I had no idea!!!  I should not have been so hard on myself though; there wasn't enough room in the Lexus because we had bought so much food!

November 15, 2007: Rain, but Not a Total Bust

The following day it rained most of the day and my friend and I decided to take her mother-in-law up on her offer to check out a company called Wyndham Resorts to purchase some property on Myrtle Beach.  We sat through the presentation and found ourselves signing on the dotted line shortly thereafter.  I wanted more of what I had seen, the relaxation the peacefulness.  I was sold quickly and all I could think about was the many times I was going to frequent Myrtle Beach in the coming years.  My friend and I made a pact to go down at least once every other year, preferably on our birthdays.  We made our way back to the condo as we were not feeling the rain and decided to just stay indoors and relax.  After all that is what we truly came there for and we did plenty of it.

November 16, 2007: Fun in the Sun

My friend and I awoke to a similar marvelous sunrise and I was convinced that that particular sun couldn't be the same one that graced the New York sky.  It looked different, it was shaped different, it shone different, it felt different; it was just different.  I cooked fish and grits for my friend and I and we chowed down on the balcony under the morning sun.  I was content staying in the room for the remainder of our trip, but my friend was hell bent on getting out and spending some money.  I wanted to at least get out on the beach and build a sand castle or two, so I jumped into my sweatsuit and sneakers and headed for the shore.  It felt odd to not be donning my bikini, as one can imagine, but calming just the same.  My friend and I wrote messages in the sand to our kids; took pictures with our cell phones and sent them off.  It was a fine time to be turning 40.  Everywhere we went we let people know that we had just turned 40 and we not only got compliments, but also received some trinkets for free.

Shopping

My friend and I departed the beach.  I didn't go willingly; in fact I was kicking and screaming.  It was time to hit some shops and purchase some trinkets.  I had a long list of people I had to buy for and I managed to find everything I needed.  My friend bought me this wonderful lime green beach hat.  She's so expressive and thought it was the prettiest thing in the store and it was.  I was very appreciative to say the least.  We didn't do any big mall shopping; although we passed a few outlet stores on our quest to find the perfect souvenir shop.  We found that they basically all sold the same things and had the same prices, but we hit them all anyway.  Like most beach towns the surrounding areas are pretty much of the same, beach front restaurants, souvenir shops and night clubs; we just had them all to ourselves.  We did not frequent any of the night clubs as this was not our focus or reason for coming.  We would have come for Bike Week if we wanted that.  Instead, we opted to do what grown ups do and just relax, shop, enjoy the scenery and stuff our faces.

Eatery

There were many seafood restaurants to choose from and we had a very difficult time picking just one, but we finally decided on The Crab House.  We were not concerned with location (on the beach) or even price.  We wanted the catches to be fresh and the service to be excellent.  With the exception of another couple we were the only two people in there.  Again, I felt like I was in Heaven.  One waitress, all to ourselves and she was perfect.  Our meals consisted of a jumbo shrimp appetizer, a crab leg meal complete with baked potatoes and veggies and unlimited salad from the very fresh salad bar.  We ate with our crab bibs and took turns taking pictures of each other making literal pigs of ourselves.  It was a great time.

Reflection

We made our way back to our condo, stuffed and tired from the day's events and decided to take our grown up naps.  I fell asleep to the sounds of the ocean purring and rocking me to sleep like a lovely lullaby.  I fell asleep feeling the stress of the city leaving my body and allowing my dreams to finally materialize.  I had felt as though I had not dreamed so vividly in quite some time as I dreamt of living on the beach and being a beach bum.  This was not an unfamiliar dream, but one that had been repressed and all I had really needed was the ocean's sweet music.

Once we awoke we had to pack for our early trip back as we both had to get back to work.  We talked about our property that we had acquired and went over all the literature we had received.  We made advance plans for our return to Heaven and sealed our pact to come back at least once every two years.  I spent my last night out on the balcony reflecting and thought to myself, "I actually was going to turn her down."  I was so happy that I didn't as the night fell and the million stars came out to bid me a fair goodbye and I spoke out loud, "I will see you all again."

A few years back we went a cruise that included a stop at Grand Cayman. If you have never been there I highly recommend it. It was absolutely beautiful there and the local people that we ran into were extremely friendly, kind and courteous.

During our stop on Grand Cayman we booked Don Foster's Dive Cayman “Swim with the Stingrays” excursion. This is a day trip where they take you out to a place in the middle of the Caribbean called Stingray City and you dawn some snorkel gear and swim with real live stingrays. This is not a closed off or secluded sanctuary for these animals but an actual area in the ocean where the stingrays come to be around people. As you can imagine, it his highly illegal to go fishing anywhere near Stingray City. I am not sure of what the fine would be, nor would I want to know, but we were told it was pretty significant.

Along with swimming with the stingrays you also get to feed and pet them. That alone would have made it a great experience. However, unlike the other boats that came and went, Don Foster's took the extra time to not only allow you to have fun but educate you as well.

We learned a number of things about the stingray's habitat, the sizing, the color of the species, how Stingray City got started, and of course a complete tutorial on how to feed them. What I noticed about the other boats that were there was they brought people in to mingle with the stingrays but that was about it, which is fine, but adding the education factor to the trip was an added bonus and one that I highly recommend.

If you are going to Grand Cayman anytime soon, look up Don Foster's Dive Cayman. For our particular excursion they did a real nice job, making you feel right at home, in the middle of the Caribbean surrounded by these gracious sea creatures known as stingrays.

The essentials (excludes clothing items):

• Shampoo
• Soap
• Conditioner
• Facial wash
• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Tissue
• Q-tips (cotton buds)
• Lotion
• Moisturizer
• Lip balm
• Towel
• Slippers
• Cap
• Shades/sun glasses
• Perfume/cologne
• Camera
• Camera charger or battery
• Cellular phone
• Phone charger
• Plastic or laundry bags - to separate dirty clothes and wet items from clean and dry ones
• Small purse - prefer one with several pockets for your celphone, loose change, hotel key, etc. Also try to get one that you can hang around your neck to avoid misplacing your stuff.
• Lighter or a box of matches - you never know when you need them!
• Bottle of water
• First Aid Kit - don't forget to include a few tablets for headache, diarrhea, and hyperacidity

Additional items for when you have plans of going swimming:

• Sun block or sun tan lotion - depending on what you want to achieve
• Swimsuit
• Goggles
• Sarong - great for the beach!
• Additional towel - you don't want to use your bathroom towel to dry you up after swimming in the beach or the public pool and vise versa!
• Beach mat
• Beach bag - prefer one with several pockets on it to separate dry from wet items

And if you're a girl, here are some other items you should not forget to include:

• Feminine Wash
• Panty liner
• Sanitary napkin - you never know when you'll need it!

Non-essentials but also good to have:

• Candies or bubble gums
• Pack of biscuits
• Small notebook and pen or your mini laptop - to record your experiences!