Author: rob

South Carolina: Surfside Beach

I happened to find a Holiday Inn right on the beach. Not a block away from the beach or across the street – you could walk out of the pool area directly onto the sand and into the water. If you go, make sure to upgrade to the beach side of the hotel.  You can see and hear and smell the ocean from your room.

It looks like Myrtle Beach rivals Las Vegas for hotel numbers as the beach is mile after mile of highrise hotel buildings.  Surfside was much more home owner occupied.

There are 50 miniature golf courses in town, I have never seen anything like that.

We rented an umbrella to stay out of the direct sun and watched the waves all day long – like the video above.

There were also lots of birds and even goats on the shore.   The whole photo collection on shutterfly is here.

Egret hanging out looking for breakfast

Sunrise from the hotel room

Sandpiper running in the waves digging for crabs
Goats on an island in Murrell’s Inlet
High tide at Murrells Inlet
Mile after mile of clean sandy beaches
Another swampy high tide at Murrells inlet

South Carolina: Charleston

We flew out to Charleston SC for a few days.  We spent a couple days in the Charleston area in the historical district and then spend a few more days south of Myrtle Beach.

Here are some pictures of the city.  We toured the old Yorktown aircraft carrier deployed in 1943 and then went downtown to see some pre-revolutionary buildings.

Tourist selfie
Typical alleyway between houses in the historical ‘rainbow row’. All the houses are very well maintained and painted in pastel colors. Lots of brick and cobblestone.
Dungeon underneath the pre-revolutionary exchange building. They stored prisoners, slaves, gunpowder, in here over the centuries. The arched brickwork ceilings are amazing.
Charleston has a very nice tree lined parkway along the shore.
The Yorktown museum is a must see. You get to tour the living quarters and mechanical rooms on this 1943 air craft carrier.

The whole photo collection on shutterfly is here.

Vinny’s Pizzaria

We don’t have TV (I haven’t watched TV in 10+ years even when traveling and in a hotel) but a local pizza place made it on the Food Channel.  Vinny’s is in our rotation here in town.  They made a stuffed spaghetti and meatball pizza which I cannot even type on this low carb diet.  They do a pretty good eggplant parmesan and will put it inside a calzone if you ask.   I typically get the Stromboli.

We were there last month and noticed all the changes. I don’t think they really do all the renovations in a single day as they were shut down for a few weeks.  It is very nice inside now.  We drove by last night and the parking lot was overflowing so many people are trying out the new menu.

Chat Thai Bistro

Somebody got to pick a restaurant for a birthday and that restaurant is my favorite Thai place in the country. Yes, we have to drive 92 miles out to a Pahrump strip mall to get magical Thai food.  I found this place years ago when working at the local hospital in town.  I stayed there for about 4 weeks or so and went here every day. We come back as often as we can.  3 hrs of driving and $5 gas it is still worth every penny.

Thai tea and Thai coffee
Angel Wings. These are hard to find. Take a chicken wing and remove the bones but leave the skin. Stuff it with a pork chicken eggroll filling and make it crispy. These are to die for.
Spring rolls
Panang Curry
Pad Thai
Yellow curry (Goong Pad Pong Garee)

 

Damboree Time

The small town puts on a big 4th of July.  7am is a pancake breakfast followed by the Dry/Wet parade at 9am.  The first floats are dry like a normal parade.  The last half are wet floats who fire water cannons at the crowd and the crowd fires super soakers at the floats.  The antique airplanes start the parade with a flyover in formation.  Then an afternoon of food trucks at the park followed by fireworks.

Last year’s post is here.

Horse club led the parade. The police have horses too.
Flank steak, corn, peppers, and cauli-egg salad. (one month on low carb)

 

Bone and Belly

Right outside of Green Valley Ranch casino in the District in Henderson is a tiny Ramen shop called the Bone and Belly.  We have been here before and they consistently have some of the best chashu around.   They don’t have a ton of noodle / topping / broth options like other places but what they do have is dialed in perfectly.

Chashu Donburi
Tonkotsu Ramen
Calamari (Sriracha is noticeably absent from the dipping sauce)

Veterans Day

Volunteers spent the day putting up 16,000 flags at the Vet Cemetery.  Lots of people there the night before.  Some teenager was playing taps.   The local cemetery also had a few dozen flags flying.  There are official ceremonies today along with the annual motorcycle ride from the dam.