Text Box: Smith Family Newsletter March  2010 - 1

Text Box: Why Do We Love Myrtle Beach?

Text Box: Every time we arrive in Myrtle Beach, I feel like I am coming home.  I fell in love with South Carolina and Myrtle Beach when Bob & I came down here both on our Gold Wing and by car years ago.  It was usually late Spring or  Summer and I will never forget the smell of the sweet Magnolias permeating the air as we rode, plus the beauty of the landscape.  I have always loved the seashore and Myrtle Beach has such a  beautiful shoreline.  It is a wonderful beach to walk on, to swim in, to fish, or to just sit and enjoy the breeze and sun.  Myrtle Beach is about an hour and a half to two hours from the Interstate, which I think has been responsible for its slow growth compared to other coastal areas.   It is a very diverse area with the huge hotels and time shares dotting the shore line along with homes large and small. This busy shoreline has many Public Access Areas so everyone can access the beaches easily.  Being that it is a popular tourist destination, there are tons of eateries to choose from, with seafood the dominant theme.  If you like golf, go no further, whether it be miniature golf or professional golf.  If you are not a golfer like myself, there is always shopping.  I personally like the discount stores like Marshalls, Roses, Ross, Tomlinson’s, Tuesday Mornings and others.  The Malls have all the big name stores and the Outlets.  There is also theater entertainment up and down the beach with a festival for every occasion.   The City of Myrtle Beach is in the middle, with the Hotels and Motels, discount beach stores, bars, game rooms,  the Convention Center, barefoot beachgoers running around, and an amusement park.  An older one was dismantled a year ago.  Recently, a brand new mile plus ocean front boardwalk was  completed as an added attraction.   Going West from the shore is 17 Bypass and here one can find the Coastal Grand Mall, and more restaurants.  A little south of this is the new Market Common, with more up scale shopping and restaurants.  South of here we reach Surfside Beach, Murrells Inlet with the Marsh Walk and eventually Huntington Beach State Park and Brook- green Gardens.  The state park and the gardens have the Huntington family as a common denominator.  Mrs. H. was an accomplished sculptor and artist.   Going North is North Myrtle Beach with more restaurants, another Mall, more outlet stores, theaters, Barefoot Landing (smaller version of Broadway at the beach), and of course Briarcliffe RV Resort, where we stay.  Above us is Little River where fishing boats dock, and more restaurants that serve the catch of the day.  We are right next door to Barefoot Landing and walk through there regularly for exercise.  We are right on the Inter-Coastal Waterway, which is an amazing water way.  I never knew that boats can travel this water way  from Boston all the way south and across Florida without ever going out into the ocean.  It is 3,000 miles in length. Close Window

Text Box: You may wonder what we are doing with all this time on our hands?  This newsletter is not on time and I really have no real excuse, except that I am following a different set of priorities….what I feel like doing!  Don’t the pictures on page 2 tell it all?  This was a very laid back month for Bob & I.  We are here with Paul & Angie, who are a few sites up from us.  We are both doing our own thing and periodically get together for lunch, a local show, or just sit and chat. Dean & Winnie dropped in to visit us for a few days and we really enjoyed their company.  Briarcliffe was host to a group of rowers from a Williams College during Spring Break.  We volunteered to wash dishes during one of the many breakfasts prepared for the students. The students were very polite and appreciative. They used the inter-coastal water way to practice racing their skull boats.  This is an annual event that this park hosts.  Once again I get to visit with my little ‘furry friend, ‘Nicky’, who has adopted Briarcliffe as her home.  Everyone knows her, and she enjoys a ‘buffet’ each day by patrolling  the campground, visiting her favorite people. She makes herself at home where ever she settles in!   With no pressures or schedules, Bob & I have started a diet to take off the pounds we put on…..which means I have to cook!!!! Well, we have survived so far and we have actually begun to lose weight. To compliment the diet Bob & I have tried to walk at least a couple miles each day.  We walk around the park, Barefoot Landing, the beach, or down to the Shopping Mall.  Naturally, I have been shopping at my favorite stores for replacement items or just for fun and relaxation.  Gradually, we have been working on cleaning up the coach on the outside and inside, along with a little reorganizing. Bob is  working on the up coming 400 rally and where to go and what to do after the International Rally.  Therefore we have both been on our computers planning and exploring, Bob more than I.   Well, there is no reason to ramble on more.  I will close with some pictures I took to describe this month.  It has been a month of transition into Spring and that is exactly what it has been like here.  The pictures reflect this.   The two top pictures are of the beach and of an custom car show by the Convention Center.   Except for ‘Nicky’ in the lounge chair, the rest of the pictures were taken on our walks through Barefoot Landing, which include 3 boardwalks that cross a lake.  I call  one picture ‘Turtle Island’ which is being shared with a good sized alligator.  You get to see him in another picture swimming.  I thought the two little turtles looking up in the air were cute!  They must have been looking at birds or something.  We visited Brookgreen Gardens, which has a new butterfly house, which is why the butterfly picture.  Finally, What is Spring without new born baby animals and birds?  Don’t they really look comfortable sitting in the Sun?  

Text Box: Smith Family Newsletter March  2010 - 2