Life hasn’t been easy lately for anyone with all of the fear that the government and media have been spreading. Without a break from it once in a while, it can get to be too much. I know that we’re not supposed to have any fun right now during the pandemic, but we decided for our mental health to go to Myrtle Beach over the Memorial Day weekend 2020 to try and find some “normal”. And I’m very glad that we did.
Myrtle Beach and Barefoot Landing
We arrived at Myrtle Beach at around noon and decided to go to the Barefoot Landing shopping area for lunch. We normally go to the Ultimate California Pizza restaurant. However, when we got there we discovered that it was not going to open until Monday. We walked around the shopping area to see what else we could find and there was only one restaurant open that we could see. That was Blueberry’s Grill, and it had a lot of outdoor seating and was crowded. The rest of Barefoot Landing had stores open, but was dead. There were barely any people walking around. We decided to leave there and look elsewhere. This was not what we were looking for.
Hamburger Joe’s
We drove down route 17 past Myrtle Beach and ended up at Hamburger Joe’s in Surfside. I have to tell you that we thoroughly enjoyed our experience there. He had a BBQ sandwich with slaw, and I had a hotdog with chili and slaw. Plus, we got an order of fries and an order of onion rings to share. Hamburger Joe’s has a lot of character with old signs and dollar bills from tourists hanging everywhere. And the food is good. We were in a side room off to itself with only three other tables occupied, so they are social distancing, but it was really nice to eat Inside a restaurant again.
Broadway at the Beach
After we ate we decided to drive to Broadway at the Beach, another shopping area. And this time we happily found other people of a like mind enjoying themselves. The fear was nowhere to be seen. Broadway at the Beach has restaurants and stores open, and the aquarium was also open. The rides were being ridden, and there were a lot of smiles. And kids were allowed to be kids. And still everyone was considerate of their fellow human being by giving them space. Anyone that didn’t want to be around others was not out and about. The rest of us decided that we have the right to live our lives.
Right now everyone needs to escape the fear and loneliness, and I was very happy to see that happening. I’m not sure what the government is thinking by locking people into their homes, because at some point, there will be an escape. If things would have been left open people would probably not be as desperate as they are right now and things not as crowded. People could have been considerate of others without a lockdown. But now finally people are choosing to live their lives if they want to, while being consider of others.
The Beverley Beach House
We had found an affordable room on Hotwire in Myrtle Beach at the Beverley Beach House on Ocean Blvd. On the drive to Myrtle Beach I got a phone call from them asking for my email address. They sent me the registration form that I needed to fill out, and asked for our license plate number and a photo ID. Seems like they could have done that the day before the trip instead of on the drive there. When we got there the clerk was locked into the office and the keys were on a table outside. We ended up having to yell back and forth to figure out which room we had. We ended up in room 202.
They were still cleaning when we got there but we got into our room around 3:15. Be aware that the clerk leaves at 5 and there’s no one around after that. The room was clean, and we had a balcony overlooking the pool and the ocean. The safe was locked so we couldn’t use that, and the door was hard to close and neither of the deadbolts worked. Being that there had been some gang shootings in the area, that did not make me happy.
Boardwalk
We decided to go to the beach and walk down to the Boardwalk, which is about a mile away. It was so nice to just see the ocean again, even though we can’t cruise anytime soon. There were a lot of people on the beach, but it seemed like they were social distancing pretty good. It was not packed like sardines, but umbrellas were a distance apart. And they were having fun. It was nice to be happy for a while. I’m a traveler and social at heart, and being cooped up alone most of the time while working from home is not good for my immune system or my mental health.
Things were open on the Boardwalk, shops and restaurants alike. The ferris wheel was not running. There were plenty of people, but once again, they were being courteous. Not a lot of masks at the beach, but that didn’t bother me at all. I’m not going to give into the fear, it’s not worth it. I’m not wearing a mask either.
We ended up getting sandwiches to take back to the hotel at NY Pizza Kitchen on Ocean Blvd. We knew that we didn’t want to go out walking later because of the gang activity after dark. I got a meatball sub and he got a philly cheesesteak. He liked his better than I liked mine. Not enough sauce. And then we walked back down the beach towards the motel. I just can’t get enough of the ocean.
And then came the fireworks!
We tried to relax the rest of the night but it was pretty noisy. Lots of teenagers who’ve been cooped up for too long celebrating and yelling. And then towards midnight a bunch of teens started putting off a fireworks show on the beach right by the motel. It’s against the law to shoot of fireworks there, and the police eventually came and shooed them away. And finally we could get some sleep.
Carolina Pancake House…yum
We left the motel on Memorial Day and went for breakfast at Carolina Pancake House on route 17. We are really enjoying it now when we can go into a restaurant for a sit down meal. The food was very good, the waitresses were friendly, and the prices were good. They were social distancing, and it was not crowded.
And back to my prison
We left Myrtle Beach early and headed home. I would have liked to stop at the Tanger Outlets, but it wasn’t open till 11 am. I had to admit that I was dreading going home to my “prison” after breaking out for a couple of days, but I do have a job so we had to leave. Myrtle Beach is not for you if you’re really afraid of the virus, but if you’re not and need a break, head on down and enjoy the ocean for a little while.
The Quiet Cruiser 