Stay Away From Myrtle Beach SC

You know what I like about summer? School is out and the camping season really begins.

Know what I like about fall? The kids go back to school.

After this year's summer camping season, the boss decided we were going to Myrtle Beach for a two week camp out at the Myrtle Beach State Park. The park was easy to find, it is across the road from the airport.

The entrance to the park is very nice and the remainder of the park area lived up to expectations. The park is located on the ocean and has a fishing pier with small store attached. There is an abundance of picnic areas scattered along the coast, just behind the dunes. Showers could be found at many of the ocean access points.

The campground itself has a small store and office. All the campsites generally loop around this store and are in the trees about 200 yards from the ocean. Each loop has a shower house with laundry facilities. Everything was clean and orderly.

All in all, we were very pleased with the campground. The sites may be just a little tight for our liking, but we managed to find one with some privacy. The staff was nice and check in was easy.

Like many campgrounds these days, reservations were recommended. We did not have reservations and were provided a list of sites to choose from that suited our length of stay request. We drove in and picked our site, then returned to the office to advise of our choice.

We visited two other state parks while in the area and were delighted to find that they were operated and maintained to similar standards.

I grew up about 2.5 hours from Myrtle Beach and made the trip on several occasions. I had not been to Myrtle Beach in about 12 years prior to this visit and I regret to say that nothing has changed.

Myrtle Beach is THE tourist trap. Under tourist trap in the dictionary, it should say Myrtle Beach. I know, you want some examples. OK.

To play 9 holes of golf on a par 3 course, the fee was $42.

To play 18 holes on a regular course, the fee was from $70.

It cost $9 to play disc golf, this is free almost everywhere else in the USA.

On the way to Myrtle Beach from eastern NC, you will pass near a small town called Calabash which is famous for it's seafood restaurants. You can get an excellent meal for about $12 and eat it on the waterfront. Each block in Myrtle Beach has a Calabash style restaurant. Prices start at $18 and you are nowhere near the water.

After tiring of seafood, we opted for barbecue one night. At a restaurant similar to those we have at home, our meal was $17 each. At home we would have spent about $10 for the same meal.

On every block there are beach stores selling t-shirts and swim suits and the like. Most of it is the same kind of stuff you can get at flea markets, but, the prices are more like New York.

What was extremely irritating to me was the way the locals treated us tourists. But, on the way home I realized they were probably correct. After all, we were the dummies that went to Myrtle Beach.

This started at the Alabama Theatre when the lady in the ticket office there tried to tell me that the band Alabama has sold more records than any other artist in the world. I told her that I didn't think they had outsold Elvis, The Beatles, or Michael Jackson. She assured me that those artists weren't even close to Alabama. I thought about sending her a listing of best selling artists that was easily obtained on the Internet, but she probably wouldn't believe it.

Next we went to Radio Shack for some electrical part that I don't even remember now. When we asked the clerk for it, instead of telling where they were, he wanted to know why I wanted it! Wanted to argue about what I needed it for. Made me so mad I walked out and decided we could do without it until we got home.

Same thing happened at the RV supply store. Matter of fact, other than a waitress and the staff at the state park, I can't remember anyone being nice to us the whole time we were there.

Mostly though I am outraged at the way the local law enforcement picks on drivers with out of state license plates. This has been the case for over 30 years that I can personally attest to. This is the reason it had been 12 years since I had been to Myrtle Beach. And, it will likely be another 12 before I go back.

We got a ticket for driving without a seat belt. We had just pulled out of a coffee stop and had not gotten around to putting them on yet. I know the law says I am supposed to wear a seat belt, it also says if you are a resident of SC you must wear a seat belt. I only saw cars from out of state getting pulled. This action was happening across from the motel the boss's family was staying in, so I had ample time to survey the situation.

It's just my own personal opinion but I think states that allow people to ride motorcycles without helmets shouldn't be allowed to cash in on the seat belt ticket scam.

I might add that I have gotten a ticket for one thing or another on most every visit to Myrtle Beach. If it were not for Myrtle Beach I would have a crystal clean driving record.

A week after our visit my son and some of his friends went on a golfing trip. He called to advise they had started issuing $1,000 fines for littering. His boss had gotten one for throwing a cigarette butt out the window. Ruined his golf game for the day.

Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. You can tell them greedy folks down in SC that it will probably be another 12 years before I go back, I'll eat my Calabash style seafood in Calabash. Calabash, North Carolina that is.