The Tri-County Journal
& Chattahoochee Chronicle
PO Box 850,
71 Webb Lane
Buena Vista, GA 31803
229-649-6397
tjournal@windstream.net
Myrtle Beach, S.C. Travel Review
When West Georgia residents decide to enjoy the beach, they usually pack up and head south to the Gulf of Mexico. Driving east, or aghast, northeast just doesn’t seem right. I mean, who in their right mind drives north for a beach vacation?
That’s the mindset that the “Vacation Myrtle Beach” organization knows it faces. Yet, its members are confident enough in their beach town that they recently decided to aggressively court the citizens of our area. “I know it’s an uphill battle, because of the geography,” said Chip Russell, general manager of The Caravelle Resort. “It just doesn’t feel right to a lot of people who live south of us. That’s a big hurdle, but we think we can win their business if they just give us a chance. That’s why we invited you (a group of newspaper writers) here.”
Yes, dear readers, your local publisher/editor recently participated in a “Media Familiarization” tour of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with my wife and son. I know, it was a tough assignment, but I decided to accept the invitation for the good of the community. ?
Before accepting, I made sure that I didn’t have to promise anything in return. No review was required, although I was told that they were confident I’d enjoy my trip enough to want to write about it. They were right. So, here is an unvarnished account of my family’s three-night visit.
The Drive: I will admit that the drive (almost seven hours from Buena Vista) was further than I would normally want to make for a long weekend, but if you usually vacation for more than three days at a time, seven hours on the road really isn’t that much different than the four to six-hour drive down to the various popular spots on the Gulf. We actually drove during the night, which seemed to help. Traffic was very light and my wife, Michelle, was able to nap, while my son, Drew, played his
“DS” and also got some rest. I spent much of the time on interstates (I-16, I-95), which made for an easy drive.
The Caravelle: We were lucky enough to be guests at The Caravelle Resort, which is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary. The Caravelle has a rich history and that history shines through to the present in a special way. It doesn’t take guests long to realize that they aren’t just staying in a nice place – they’re staying in a place that has something special that’s hard to define, but easy to feel. My guess is that many Southerners would describe it as a place that has “soul.”
It also does a great job with food – including that staple of soul food, the lowly and much misunderstood plate of grits. We Southerners are known – and made fun of – for our grits. Grits are usually sort of a “filler” menu item. They’re okay and they help fill up the plate and our bellies, but they’re nothing special. Except when they are. Like when they’re cooked at The Caravelle. Several people at our table asked about the grits, saying they were the best they had ever tasted. I wouldn’t usually drone on and on about grits, but I figure that’s probably the best way to get my point across about The Caravelle having soul. I mean, if you put that much effort into grits, you’ve got to be a resort with a top-notch attitude toward customer service. I could continue to write about the breakfast for another couple paragraphs, but I’ll just sum the topic up by telling how a total
stranger was passing us in the hall one morning and asked if we’d eaten breakfast in the resort’s Santa Maria Restaurant yet. When we said, “Yes, and that’s where we’re headed now,” she asked another question, “Isn’t it wonderful?”
The Caravelle also offers much more for its guests. There is a block-long “poolscape.” There is a large swimming pool, a long rectangular heated whirlpool, a “lazy river” with a current (and complimentary floats), a wadding pool, and a water play area for kids (with various gizmos that shoot water). There is also a covered and heated indoor pool and two more hot tubs on the front side of the seventh floor. On the rear side of the seventh floor is a huge sun deck where cozy hammocks and comfortable chairs sit atop herringbone pattern brick. While I only saw it used by a few people at a time who were simply relaxing and enjoying the view, I envisioned it alive as the site of a formal wedding reception or some other type of celebration. The next evening, I noticed that there was another spot that was also well-suited for such celebrations, as a couple exchanged vows on the beach and then walked up the short wooden walkway to the finely manicured lawn that separates the hotel from a narrow strip of sand dunes and the beach. It seemed to serve as the perfect spot for the wedding party and guests to enjoy some fellowship and food – right on the edge of the beach where they could enjoy the beautiful atmosphere while avoiding sand in all the food and fancy table decorations. There is also an outdoor lounge on the edge of the beach, as well as a sauna, exercise room, game room, ice cream parlor, and snack bar. In addition to offering plenty of amenities, The Caravelle does all of the little things well, from serving fabulous food to supplying guests with towels for the beach. We could have spent our entire time at the resort and on the beach and it would have been a terrific trip.
Family Attractions: In recent years, Myrtle Beach has evolved into a beach town that offers a wide assortment of family activities in addition to the beach. One of the most spectacular is Ripley’s Aquarium, which is a 1.2 million gallon salt-water aquarium inside an 87,000 sq. ft. building. It is home to thousands of fish, including 10-foot long sharks, moray eels, barracuda and other species that swim above you in a specially designed “tunnel.” There is also a special section titled “Lethal Weapons” that includes various deadly sea creatures. For those who prefer “Nemo” to “Jaws”, the aquarium also includes a huge tank of beautifully colored tropical reef fish, as well as a large pool of stingrays that don’t mind being petted.
Brookgreen Gardens, located between Myrtle Beach and nearby Georgetown, is an outdoor museum that for West Georgia residents could best be described as “Mini Callaway Gardens with more sculptures.” While it’s not exactly like Callaway, it is similar in that it was a wide expanse of lawns and garden with beautiful trees, plants, and flowers. There are more than 1,200 sculptures from the 1800s to present day and they are placed throughout the 50 acres of fine gardens that also include many types of animals, fenced and/or netted inside large natural homes. During our afternoon at Brookgreen Gardens, the visitors were mostly older groups, including several photography buffs with long and wide lenses who snapped photos left-and-right while owing and awing at the sites. However, Brookgreen has also gone to great lengths to make the gardens a kid-friendly place. Not only do they offer a petting zoo and Kids Discovery Center, they even have a special “kid detective” program in which youngsters are given clues to solve questions about the various areas. They even receive a prize when they return their answers (tip for parents who are ready to leave before the assignment is completed: they will still give the prize even if your young Sherlock doesn’t completely crack the case).
While our trip wasn’t long enough to enjoy all of the family activities, other options we noticed included: Family Kingdom Amusement Park, Children’s Museum of South Carolina, NASCAR SpeedPark (go karts), T.I.G.E.R.S. Preservation Station, MagiQuest, Ripley’s Moving Theater, an IMAX 3D Theater, various miniature golf courses, and Alligator Adventure. There area also a number of professional shows that are performed on a regular basis. These include Legends in Concert (performers dressed like and sounding like various legends), the Alabama Theater, the Palace Theatre, the Bowery, comedians at the Comedy Cabana, and Light Extravaganza (light show). There are also dinner-theater options, such as Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede, Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament, and the House of Blues’ Mystery Theatre (where you solve a “murder” that happens during dinner).
Dining: As mentioned earlier, visitors who stay at The Carevelle Resort need not venture out for some mighty good eating, but there are many other options for first-class food. Nancy Greene of Myrtle Beach’s Brandon Agency said the beach town is becoming known for fine dining and she considers it one of the best aspects the area has to offer. We had dinner at Croissants Bistro & Bakery, where my wife and I both started off with the Heirloom Tomato Salad, which featured heirloom tomatoes, chevre grilled cheese, bread and basil. I could attempt to describe the wonderful flavor, but I think it would be more effective to just say that it was all I could do to resist licking the plate when it was gone.
My entree of pan seared scallops was also delicious, but when I was about half way through with my plate I faced a dilemma. I was getting full and a sampler dessert platter was about to be delivered. I had learned that the owner, Heidi Vukov, who first learned to cook in her grandmother’s kitchen in Germany where European bakeries inspired her love of cooking, started the restaurant as a bakery. Therefore it is known for its fabulous desserts. I decided that the true test of the desserts would be if I still liked them on an over-stuffed stomach, so I finished my scallops (and as much of my wife’s Bistro Chicken as she would part with, which wasn’t much). Heidi’s desserts proved to be a fitting finish to Executive Chef Bradley Daniels’ dishes, as I even loved the Marzipan Cake, which I had been told was sort of an “acquired taste.” A fellow diner summed it up as he and I raced to finish it off, “It doesn’t take long to acquire!”
Croissants Bistro & Bakery, which also has a large selection of fine wine, will be a bit on the pricey side for some (entrees range from $15 to $26), but if you’re going to splurge on an evening of fine food in a restaurant that is upscale, but friendly instead of pretentious, it is a “must go.”
There are also many other dining options, from “fine dining” to casual to bar-and-grill options. These include: Captain George’s Seafood (highly recommended to us), Greg Norman’s Australian Grille, Joe’s Bar & Grill, Kono Asian Grill, Crabby Mike’s, Rioz Brazilian Steakhouse, Pier 14, Hard Rock Café, Planet Hollywood, and many others.
Shopping: Broadway at the Beach offers beach shopping in a fun way, with many types of shops lining a boardwalk that circles a small lake. While there are various types of stores for the “serious shoppers”, there area also places for the rest of the family to enjoy while the shoppers do their thing. For example, without even buying a thing, my son and I had a lot of fun simply browsing some of more silly stores. He got a real kick out of the “Stupid Factory.” Broadway at the Beach also offers a number of eating options, as well as fun activities like miniature golf and a “zip line” across the lake. The Market Common is perhaps the area’s most famous shopping destination. Located on the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, it is now a “village style” shopping area that boasts “some of the nation’s most celebrated names in retail” as well as restaurants and a movie theatre. We did not personally make it to this location during our brief stay, but it certainly appears to be a great place for “shoppers.” There are also various local shops and outlet stores. My wife was thrilled to find an Eddie Bauer store in one of the outlet locations.
Golf: I’m not a golfer, but for those who are, a review of the Myrtle Beach golf scene would likely be a waste of time and space. That’s because even I – a non-golfer – know that Myrtle Beach is known as a Golf Mecca. If you’re a serious golfer, you already know that. So, I guess instead of pretending to be an expert on the golf courses, I should just go ahead and apologize to any of those golfers who enjoyed their special trips to Myrtle Beach with their golfing buddies for helping to spread the world about all of the other things the area has to offer.
Beach: While all of the various attractions, restaurants, shops, and golf courses all add to the experience, the beach is, of course, the main reason people vacation in beach towns. The “Grand Strand” consists of more than 60 miles of essentially uninterrupted beach land. The part of this long stretch located in Myrtle Beach is spacious and provides plenty of room for sun bathers, swimmers, fishers, and, of course, sand castle builders.
Bottom Line: If you only have two or three days to spare and you’re only vacation goal is to sit on the beach and soak up some sun, the obvious choice is to stick with your usual drive south to a spot on the Gulf. However, if you have a little more time and are looking for more than just a pretty beach, you would do well to consider giving Myrtle Beach, South Carolina a try.
More Columns by Richard Harris
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(Richard Harris is also the author of various "Daddy Duty" columns.
To view samples of those columns, click here.)