With beaches less than a three-hour drive from Washington, why trek nine hours to Myrtle Beach?
There are several good reasons to take the longer drive to the South Carolina shore:
* The Myrtle Beach area has more than 80 golf courses.
* Warm Gulf Stream waters lap miles of uninterrupted beach.
* Shoppers like the hundreds of specialty and outlet shops.
* The night life varies from sports bars to country-music theaters.
* Dining options range from fried Calabash-style seafood buffets to elegant meals at ocean front.
When we discovered Myrtle Beach 13 years ago, our expectations were merely of a well-groomed beach and a few days in the sun. Since then, the resort has grown into a thriving tourist center. Visitors enjoy a beautiful beach and fun in the sun, but they can enjoy the resort without getting sand in their shoes.
Myrtle Beach has become a golfer's paradise, with a variety of championship courses. Many of the courses are challenging, with difficulty ratings in the low 70s out of a possible 75. Slope ratings vary. You can choose a course with a 117 or seek greater challenges at Brick Landing's difficult 141. Expert instruction is available at many facilities on courses designed by the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Dan Maples, Gene Hamm and Tom Jackson.
Fans of the sport who plan to be in the Myrtle Beach area during early November may want to see the Energizer Senior Tour Championship at the Dunes Golf and Beach Club. Tickets are usually available until the event, although they are more expensive at the gate than if purchased in advance.
Hotels have been quick to accommodate golfers, and numerous beach-front hotels offer golf packages. Captain's Quarters, where we stayed, has golf packages along with indoor facilities that include a 20-lane bowling alley, arcade, pools, whirlpools and river pools to entertain the golfer when the weather is brisk or in the summer when it is raining.
From our ocean-front room, we enjoyed the breezes from the south. Pleasantly warm water temperatures are the norm from late spring well into October because of the strong influence of the Gulf Stream.
If you are a non-golfer, there's plenty of entertainment.
For our family, it's not a trip without a stop at the Fun Spot Arcade. We like playing everything from skee ball to video-game oldies such as Galaga and Centipede. This arcade allows you to have fun without feeling ripped off. Even our 9-year-old won a stuffed animal without breaking the bank. We also enjoy the small amusement park in sight (and walking distance) of Captain's Quarters, as well as the Myrtle Beach Pavilion.
Ripley's Believe It Or Not, across the street from the pavilion, is a museum of oddities that has been a Myrtle Beach fixture for years. Although we've never been inside to see its display of the unusual and grotesque, we did go on the space-chase ride. As our theater seats rocked and jerked in time to a film, we were reminded of similar rides that have become popular at many theme parks. A roller-coaster simulator provides thrills for those who are squeamish about the real thing.
If you'd rather spend your vacation hunting for bargains, try the Outlet Park at Waccamaw. This complex has more than 125 factory stores under three enclosed malls. Boutique shoppers are apt to enjoy Barefoot Landing, which has more than 100 businesses and restaurants and is similar in concept to Tackett's Mill in Lake Ridge, Va. Our children enjoyed Barefoot Landing's carousel, a replica of a model made about a century ago.
Broadway at the Beach has its share of specialty shops. We always stop at the Fun Art Galleries store, which displays cartoon cels of our old favorites, such as 'The Flintstones' and 'Bugs Bunny,' as well as a selection of cels from Disney films. Prices for these famed collectibles range from the low $100s to well over $1,000. Cels from older cartoons are rare because most were discarded rather than preserved.
Once the sun sets, an evening's entertainment is only minutes from most accommodations. New theaters have earned Myrtle Beach the nickname 'Branson [Mo.] of the East.' My parents, who joined us on vacation, made reservations for the Ricky Van Shelton concert in the Alabama Theater, and they gave the popular country singer a good review. They've also seen Glen Campbell and Jerry Lee Lewis at Myrtle Beach.
Other theaters include those named for Ronnie Milsap and the Gatlin Brothers, and the Place Theater, which presents country acts as well as popular singers and comedians such as Howie Mandell.
But what is a good vacation without good eating? You can try a different restaurant every night for a month and still miss plenty of good places in Myrtle Beach.
The Sunrise Pancake House is our favorite breakfast place for two reasons: It is within comfortable walking distance of Captain's Quarters, and the food is excellent. Bacon and eggs are available, but so are pancakes and Belgian waffles with chocolate chips, pecans and fruits. Our meals were well prepared and enjoyable, the service was prompt but not rushed, and there was no line.
The long line outside Mammy's downtown location late on Sunday morning indicated that the breakfast buffet at this Myrtle Beach tradition is no secret. For $4.75, adults can fill up on scrambled eggs, French toast, pancakes, corned-beef hash, biscuits, sausage, bacon, hash browns, biscuits and gravy and grits. Children under 10 are charged $3.45 each.
The previous night we ate at Mammy's dinner buffet at the newer and larger North Kings Highway site, where savvy early birds head for the all-you-can-eat seafood buffet. We were pleased that the selection included foods fried Calabash style and broiled selections. Children under 3 eat free at dinner time. Children under 12 eat for $5.75 and adults for $11.95.
The selection was excellent for the price, particularly since you can choose shrimp, oysters, deviled crab, scallops and flounder. The variety of vegetables was adequate, but we were disappointed that the buffet didn't inlude pudding for a touch of sweetness after the meal.
Mammy's kid-friendly atmosphere is great for families, especially with free face painting and creations made out of balloons for the children. An arcade is available for older youngsters.
At Sonic Drive-In, high-tech meets car hops. The kids will recognize the electronic menu from favorite fast-food drive-throughs, but you may find it interesting to park the car so a waitress can bring the order and set it on a tray propped on your car door. The only things missing are bubble gum and roller skates.
The night we visited, the ice-cream machine was broken, which is unfortunate for a restaurant that devotes half of its menu to ice-cream treats. The menu offered no coffee, and the Sonic was out of onion rings. 'Sorry we didn't have anything you wanted,' the waitress apologized, which went a long way in easing our disappointment.
Cooked-to-order fare takes a bit longer than the fast food, of course, but it was worth the wait. I enjoyed a foot-long hot dog with all the trimmings: chili, cheese, coleslaw, onions, mustard and ketchup.
Sonic offers kids' meals with prizes and upon request provides a special prize for children under 3. The prize for the older children was a neon-green plastic biplane with a neon-orange propeller and pilot (waving from the cockpit) and black wheels. The prize for the 3-year-olds was the same plane, minus the wheels.
At the Filling Station, which lives up to its name, our dinner was $7.29 for each adult and $2.99 for children, plus $1.09 for each beverage. The pizza bar was never empty, although the crowd snapped up slices of every variety before the steam dissipated. Spaghetti came with a choice of meat or vegetarian tomato sauce. Another counter offered deli meats and cheeses along with make-your-own-sandwich ingredients. The diet-conscious can feast on salad.
By the time we left at 6 p.m., a line had already formed outside.
On the night we decided to eat in our room, California Pizza delivered a delicious steak, onion and cheese pizza at a reasonable price. The menu says, 'From the traditional to the exotic - we've got it.' Since lime chicken, peaches, dates and bamboo shoots are listed along with pepperoni, cheese and sausage among the toppings, most customers would agree that the pizzas live up to their billing.
Fans of the Hard Rock Cafe chain should not miss the Myrtle Beach version. The pyramid-shaped structure is a presence all its own in Broadway at the Beach. Be prepared to cool your heels at least 20 minutes and perhaps another hour indoors.
But while you're waiting, you can see a vintage 1969 Diana Ross doll, along with a concert poster advertising Dinah Washington as the headliner.
White jumpsuits with silver studs worn by the Osmond brothers are reminiscent of Elvis' Vegas costumes. Buddy Holly and the Crickets are represented by shoes, while other memorabilia include concert tickets, lunch boxes and other odds and ends.
We decided to buy T-shirts. If we were waiting 1 1/2 hours to eat a burger, we figured we had earned the right to wear proof positive of our ordeal. It wasn't until the following night, when we wore our T-shirts, that we realized that eating at a Hard Rock Cafe is an event. Upon spying our shirts, several people stopped us in stores and on the street to ask about Hard Rock and to get directions. Our 15 minutes of fame made us finally believe that the wait - as well as the drive to Myrtle Beach - was worth it.
****BOX
FOR GOLF AND MORE
With more than 80 courses in or near Myrtle Beach, the resort city is ideal for a golf holiday, and one organization is named just that: Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday.
Call 800/845-4653 for more information or for a book that contains photos of resort hotels and golf courses. Also included is information on restaurants, tournaments, airlines and car rentals.
Hotels offering golf packages include Captain's Quarters Resort, 800/843-3561; Kingston Plantation, 800/846-5552; Litchfield Beach and Golf Resort, 800/845-1897; and Ocean Creek, 800/845-0353.
A special golf event this year is the Energizer Senior Tour Championship at the Dunes Golf and Beach Club from Nov. 4 to 10. The schedule is as follows: practice rounds on Monday and Tuesday; a pro-am on Wednesday; the first round of play for the top 31 senior players and also the first round for the top 16 MasterCard grand masters, both on Thursday; the second round for seniors and grand masters on Friday; the third round for seniors and the final round for grand masters on Saturday; and the final round for the top 31 seniors on Sunday. For ticket information, call 800/868-7563.
FOOD: California Pizza, 803/626-8900
Mammy's Kitchen, 11th Avenue and North King's Highway and 23rd Avenue and South King's Highway
The Filling Station, 17th Avenue and North King's Highway
Hard Rock Cafe, 1322 Celebrity Circle
Sonic Drive-In, 200 N. King's Highway
Sunrise Pancake House, 506 S. Ocean Blvd.
ENTERTAINMENT: Fantasy Harbour Tickets, 800/681-5209 (for the Gatlin Brothers Theater, Magic on Ice and Ronnie Milsap Theater)
Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament, 800/436-4386
Palace Theater, 800/905-4228
Alabama Theater, 800/342-5209
Carolina Opry, 800/843-6779
Motion Master Moving Theater, 917 N. Ocean Blvd.
Fun Plaza, 902 N. Ocean Blvd.
Dixie Stampede, 800/433-4401
Myrtle Waves All Day Water Play, U.S. Route 17 Bypass at North 10th Avenue
SHOPPING: Outlet Park at Waccamaw, Route 501 at the Waterway
Barefoot Landing, North Myrtle Beach
Broadway at the Beach
