Myrtle Beach 2009

By the time we left the Mobile area, the weather had cooled off and warmed back up again two or three times. We visited Bellingrath Gardens over in Mobile last spring (click HERE and HERE to read out two posts about Bellingrath Gardens from 2008), and we wanted to see the gardens again in the fall. However, the warming of the weather toward the end of our stay when we planned to go to Bellingrath brought with it clouds and a chance of rain every day, so we decided to save a fall visit for another time.

It was about 700 miles from where we were staying in Summerdale to our next destination in Myrtle Beach, so we decided to break the trip down to three days of driving. After about a four-hour drive, we stayed the first night at Leisure Time Campground near Auburn, AL. The roads at Leisure Time were paved, and pads were a combination of gravel and dirt. They had full hookups with 30/50-amp electric and cable with a limited number of channels. The photo below shows our site at Leisure Time Campground.

 

The campground is built on a hillside, so some of the sites aren't real level. The hillside overlooks a municipal park with four ball fields, and there were several games going on in the evening when we were there. Fortunately, the the games weren't noisy, and the lights were out and everyone was gone before 10:00 PM. However, we could hear the traffic noise from the nearby interstate all night.

After another four-hour drive, we stopped for the second night at Flynn's Inn Camping Village. Flynn's is an older campground that is located a little south of Augusta, GA on U. S. Highway 25. Highway 25 is four lanes, and it's a busy road. Our site was only a couple hundred feet from the road, and there is no barrier of any kind - no shrubs, no fence, and no buildings - to block the traffic noise. Flynn's has full hookups, and a few sites have 50-amp electric. The main road is paved, but it is very rough and uneven. The sites are mostly grass. The next photo shows our site at Flynn's Inn Camping Village.

 

We usually don't like to drive three days in a row, so we scheduled two nights at Flynn's. While in the Augusta area, we checked out a Corps of Engineers campground north of the city. It was a nice campground; but as we suspected, it turned out there were way too many trees for good satellite reception.

We also stopped to visit one of Margery's former coworkers from back in Pittsburgh. It was great catching up with Andy and Liz Reid along with their children (l-r) Helen, Noah, Sam. This very talented family has an author, composer, and sports fanatic among their children.

The next morning, we had another drive of a little over four hours to Myrtle Beach. We discovered Ocean Lakes Campground in Myrtle Beach our first year of full-timing, and we have returned every fall since. Ocean Lakes is a large campground with hundreds of sites and beach houses. In the summer, there are activities (especially for kids and teens) and special events like concerts, a golf cart parade, and a craft fair. The campground is so big, it's almost like a small city. We hear things can be a little zooey in summer; but by fall, things quiet down quite a bit and the lower winter rates kick in November 1.

Ocean Lakes has paved roads and full hookups including 30/50-amp electric and cable. Wi-Fi is available at extra cost. Many of the sites are paved, and they continue to pave even more every year during the off-season. The paved sites cost $5 more a night, so we always chose an unpaved site in the past. Early this year, we got a letter stating the site we had reserved had been paved and the price would be going up. We had the option of calling the reservation desk if we wanted to change to a lower cost, unpaved site, but we decided to keep the paved site. The pavement is really nice to keep the sand out of the rig in spite of the higher cost, and we didn't want to give up our site which is just two back from the beach. The photo below shows our site at Ocean Lakes.

Our friends from North Carolina, Barbara and Dick, were going to be returning home from Jekyll Island about the time we were planning to be in Myrtle Beach, so they made reservations for a site near us at Ocean Lakes for a few days. We originally met Barbara and Dick last year in Davenport, IA, and we look forward to when our paths cross. The last time we saw them was last winter when they visited us at Blueberry Hill RV Resort in Bushnell, FL.

Our first full day in Myrtle Beach was cool and cloudy which precluded riding bikes or sitting on the beach to chat, so we all piled in their car and drove over to a shopping area called Broadway at the Beach. Broadway at the Beach is a collection of about 40 or 50 shops, a couple dozen restaurants and snack shops, and a number of entertainment venues. The shops are laid out around a lagoon and there are sections that have different themes such as Caribbean, New England, and Charleston. The whole thing has a little of the flavor of Disney's Epcot.

It was a cool, dreary weekday so it wasn't very crowded as you can see from the next photo.

We strolled around a while checking out some of the shops. Barbara bought some gifts for her grandkids, and Paul was attracted to a shop selling saltwater taffy. We are still watching our carbs, but we couldn't resist buying a few pieces of taffy. Yum!

 

And, of course, we couldn't pass up the opportunity for a tourist photo.

 

So far, we're just having a good time hanging out, sharing dinners, and visiting with Barbara and Dick. You never know what else will turn up, so stay tuned.

Comments

[Don]

We just happened across your site while shopping for a Tiffin motor home. We love your site!!! It sounds like you are having fun and have been blessed!