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GoTravels Most Excellent Myrtle Beach/Hootie & The Blowfish Fundraiser Experience!
Since Myrtle Beach gets such a bad rap, I thought I'd do a Myrtle Beach trip report. To give you a little background, my family has a vacation home in Pawleys Island and we have spent time south of Myrtle Beach for years. Mr.GoTravel and I also spend a week every May in Myrtle Beach for Bike Week. A friend sent us VIP tickets to the Hootie & The Blowfish Monday After the Masters Celeb Golf Tournament. Mr.GoTravel and I go every year and it is a blast. Last year, Fred Funk about took off my big toenail and Winston Marsailis played the sax with H&TB. Sunday, we left our home and drove up to Pawleys Island (http://www.townofpawleysisland.com/). What a GLORIOUS drive! It was such a beautiful day! I'd guess it had to be 80 degrees. Went out to dinner at Louis's Fish Camp (http://www.louisatpawleys.com/) located in the Pawley's Hammock Shops and it was excellent! We ate outside at the bar at the Fish Camp and Mr.GoTravel had the Blue Plate which was skillet fried chicken, mac & cheese souffle, and fried okra. Of course I had the Shrimp & Grits. Excellent! Sat outside, enjoyed dinner then headed up to The House of Blues (www.HOB.com) in Myrtle Beach (technically North Myrtle Beach) for the cocktail party and silent auction. Neat things on auction, Gone With The Wind movie poster, Dan Marino signed jersey, and a bunch of other celeb signed stuff. Samual Jackson, Dan Marino, Stuart Scott, and Winston Marsalis were some of the celebrity friends (not ours of course) at the party who were playing in the golf tournament. We had a lot of fun watching Tiger win the Masters. The House of Blues provided excellent food. The food at these things is usually awful but they had Angels on Horseback, excellent wings, sushi, huge cold boiled shrimp and tons more. Got in the car and made the long trek back to Pawleys Island for the night. Tomorrow: The golf tournement, staying at Ocean Creek Resort (www.oceancreek.com) and the concert featuring Sister Hazel, Edwin McCain, and Hootie & The Blowfish. |
A couple of short additions: The Azaleas are just starting to bloom in Myrtle Beach. Not quite at full bloom but past the opening stages. Ours have already bloomed south of Charleston. The fundraiser is for the South Carolina Junior Golf Foundation. It takes juvenile delinquents off the street and puts them on the golf course. Weird but whatever works. I went to school with a bunch of the musicans from the other bands and all the guys from Hootie & The Blowfish at South Carolina so I love to see them giving back to their home and participate whenever possible. While I didn't know them and they were a couple of years ahead of me, we used to go see them play all the time at bars in Columbia. |
Thanks for the great report. Never been to that area but would love to see it--especially if I could attend one of these "dos" with you and Mr. GoTravel.
By the way, I belive it's "Wynton" Marsalis. AL ((d)) |
<i>"skillet fried chicken, mac & cheese souffle, and fried okra."</i>
Mr GoT obviously has no weight problems LOL and I am wishing I were having that for dinner! Yes it is Wynton and isn't he incredible?! I have seen him a couple of times in NYC and enjoyed his music very much. I am sure your Myrtle Beach is not the one I remember from summer beach vacations as a child, it all sounds great! I think the Yankee needs to venture up to NC soon :) Our azaleas are all starting to fade out now- they peaked this week, I think..at least the ones at my house did! Now I have Pink Amaryllis that stand about 3 feet high! Thanks for the report, GoT! |
And I "believe" when I spell "believe" it should be spelled with an "e".
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Fun report GoTravel, thanks! We went to MB when the kids were babies and always had a good time. Used to stay on the beach in the area of Barefoot Landing and what was then called 'restaurant row'. Is The Chesapeake House still there, home of huge, kick butt awesome sauteed garlic scampi...yum ;)
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GoTravel...did you actually get into Augusta and see the play or was this a side tournament? Did you see Tiger's incredible chip? My husband would drool at the thought! He went twice for practice rounds only, when we lived in Savannah, never for the final day. He was invited this year including flying over on someone's (a pro golfer but not one in the tournament and whose name I've already forgetten) private jet and TURNED IT DOWN!! I was shocked, but what wonderful thoughtfulness (the secret to our many years of marriage). He sensed it would not be a good time to leave me sitting by myself for the weekend in this house of boxes, and he was probably right. In fact, he'd probably had to have gone looking for me in St Pete at the end of his weekend. :D It's been a hard move!
I know you had a fabulous time. Hootie and the Blowfish played in Savannah during the summer Olympics (we were the yachting venue) and it was a terrific concert...it was a thrill to be there especially as they were at the height of their popularity at the time! (And it'd still be fun today.) Our daughter's husband has family that live on Pawleys. I've never been, but she says it's very nice, peaceful. Is that within or adjacent to MB? It sounds lovely...not at all the horror tales you read here. |
OO, Pawleys Island is a barrier island about 45 minutes south of Myrtle Beach. The island itself incorporated back in the 70s when developers discovered the island and we incorporated and forbid any businesses or dwellings other than single family homes on the island. There are three B&Bs but they were grandfathered in. To stop the glutton of mansions being built that could be rented out for a zillion dollars a week, we capped the amount of square feet that can be built to 5,000 hsf. I mean really, what can you do with a 10,000 square foot beach house? Pawleys was originally settled in the late 1700s by wealthy plantation owners wanting to get out of the summer heat. There is a historic district and some of the beach houses are almost 200 years old. One of the oldest still has the old slave quarters out back. It is so lovely on Pawleys. It is like being on a slow drip valium IV. As far as the Masters, we didn't go this year but have been in the past. We lucked out and got tickets to first and second round play in 2003 and practice round in 1999. I much prefer the practice round because the golfers will talk and joke with the crowd. Come Thursday, it is crunch time and they get serious. |
Hootie must be making a "comeback!" I just heard that they will be playing in the new casino in Niagara Falls and thought I'd like to take my hubby to see them.
I hope you'll post back GT and let me know how the concert was! |
Sounds like a great trip, GoTravel! Your trip reports almost make me want to visit the South - the heat and humidity always make me reconsider, though. :-)
Isn't it Branford Marsalis who plays sax? Wynton is a trumpeter - or am I confused? Lord knows it wouldn't be the first time! Lee Ann |
GoTravel,
thanks for your fun report! Some friends of ours went to the tournament on Monday and followed ever-popular John Daly around. They said the highlight was when he hit a t-shot off the beer can he had just emptied! Ellen, Chesapeake House is still cooking. |
Lawsy Chuck, John Daly got drunker than snot and I don't remember seeing him at the concert that night. To pick up where I left off. We drove up to North Myrtle Beach Monday morning and checked into Ocean Creek Resort. Beautiful. It is a 57 acre oceanfront resort with mature gardens and landscaping. They have something like 12 pools (indoor and outdoor), tennis courts, restaurants, beach club, and workout room. We got a Two Bedroom Lodge Villa that could not have been nicer. It wasn't oceanfront but a short walk to the beach. Two bedrooms, two and a half baths, full kitchen, living room dining room and screened in porch/balcony. Great place. Dumped our stuff and headed across the street to the Barefoot Resort (http://www.barefootgolf.com/ and http://www.barefootliving.com/) which is just gorgeous. It is not quite finished but a truly world class golf resort. Condos, townhouses, and eventually a hotel from my understanding. We arrived and went straight to the clubhouse for lunch. It was set up as the VIP tent so free food and booze was very nice. The food was enchaladas, fajitas, different sandwiches on homemade bread, cheesesteak sandwiches, chicken cheesesteak sandwiches and salads. For as many people that they served the food was excellent. Oh and homemade chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies. Four plates later, I went off to the bar for a beer. We followed John Daly around some. His antics were amusing if not those of an 8 year old boy but hey, we all had fun. He threw clubs into the water several times and not only his own but those of others in his foursome. Darius Rucker, the lead singer for H&TB was in his foursome. |
The Gallery was wild and in the mood to party. I think between Chapel Hill winning the NCAA big dance and Tiger winning the Masters the day before, everyone was ready to play. That or a full moon. Anyway, by 2:30 the crowd had drunk the clubhouse out of vodka. No rotgut, no nothing left. They had to make runs to the House of Blues for vodka. Me? I'm a beer drinker outside. So we watched golf until the tournament ended about 4:30PM. Went into the clubhouse and talked to a few of the players and some other people. One of the cool things about this tournament is that people are very accessable and everyone talks to everyone. Because Mr.GoTravel looks like the ex-jock he is, people kept asking him what pairing he was in and who he played with. He just signed a couple of autographs "Donald Duck" and smiled. I'm surprised his big giant head fit through the door of the clubhouse:-D but it was fun. Left Barefoot to go back to Ocean Creek and get ready for the concert. By the time we got back across the street to Ocean Creek, it was 6PM and we had to be back at 7PM for the concert. |
Great story!
We stayed in a condo at Barefoot Resort for a month a few summers back (waiting for our new home closing), and it is a great place. Once the green light is given to develop the rest of it, the expectation is for a town center, etc. to be built. |
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