Myrtle Beach, SC
After an inevitable breakfast at a Waffle House, we head straight for the South Carolina coast and Myrtle Beach. We walk the pier at Myrtle Beach State Park and stroll the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk before engaging in an intense duel at Captain Hook’s Adventure Golf, one of several dozen mini-golf venues in town.
Waffle House
On this trip, it was inevitable that we would find ourselves at a Waffle House.Not every hotel has a breakfast buffet, with its synthetic eggs and bacon piles surfing a layer of grease. Sometimes you have to find an alternative way jumpstart your day, to get the necessary caffeine and calories required for a demanding itinerary. So you venture out, and if you're in the Carolinas, you will almost immediately find a Waffle House.
Ours was right across the road from our hotel.
Soybean field
Myrtle Beach State Park
After a drive of less than two and a half hours from Fayetteville, we arrived at Myrtle Beach State Park, on the southern end of the city. We drove through a mile-long stretch of coastal forest filled with oaks, wax myrtles, hollies, poplars, and magnolias. We then arrived at beach parking and walked out and arrived at onto the pier.
Myrtle Beach Boardwalk
We walked first down Ocean Blvd. -- a colorful collection of architectural hodgepodge, shopping, amusements, and eateries -- stopping for snaps of the shut-down SkyWheel.After lunch on Myrtle Beach Pier, we came back by way of the boardwalk, built in 2010 among the wild grass that fronts the beach.
Captain Hook's Adventure Golf
Myrtle Beach is famous for its mini golf, with some 50 courses scattered across the city. We had to try one.Dad and I tapped our colored balls around Captain Hook's Adventure Golf, a pirate-themed course not affiliated with any particular media empire. We welcomed the cave, a respite from the relentless heat. The match came down to the last hole, and I managed to eke out a one-stroke victory.