Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and Beyond
We spent a little over a week exploring Myrtle Beach, Georgetown and everything in between.
Jason’s brother Jacob drove down from Wilmington to hang out for a couple of days. We spent all of about 2 hours on the strip of Myrtle Beach and we couldn’t force ourselves to do anymore. It was just one giant tourist trap! There was nothing unique or special that we could find. Unless you count having every single Ripley’s attraction all within 5 blocks of each other as special. Although, I’m not going to lie… we did visit a couple of the Ripley’s for giggles and the Mirror Maze was a little trickier to navigate than we expected.
We started chatting up every local we came across and they weren’t exactly helpful. We got a lot of, “well, we go fishing”, “hang out on the fishin boat” and “we go to Murrells Inlet”. That was it. Seeing as we didn’t have a fishin boat, we did the one logical thing, we headed for Murrells Inlet.
Murrells Inlet is an old fishing village that is now party central. The wooden boardwalk is lined with restaurants and bars just waiting for us to take a seat. At first glance it looked a bit touristy but once we learned that you could drink on the boardwalk and drink from bar to bar, we knew we were going to fit right in. And yes, I said from bar to bar! We have never been anywhere that let us walk in with our drink from next door and not kick us out! There is free live music most days and the view isn’t bad either!
After scouring the visitor’s website we did find one thing that caught our attention. There was an old rice plantation that allowed tours and served Southern Style Tea. We are suckers for tea time! We jumped in our little car and headed for Georgetown. It’s about an hour drive from Myrtle Beach and well worth the trip. It’s a quaint little town lined with pretty houses, cute shops and local dives. But we are here for the Hopsewee Plantation and afternoon tea!
We love the mix of history, tea and being served on silver platters!
Back in Myrtle Beach we had a local sign business called Digital Arts help us out with some sweet new logos for the smart car and the RV. After calling several Fast Signs and other chains with no call backs and sad excuses for customer service we came across this small locally owned business. The guys showed us how to apply the stickers to the car and prep Jason for his solo application on the RV. The Company owner Scott was kind enough to hook us up with some killer pricing. If you need any graphics and you find yourself near Myrtle Beach make sure you give them a call and tell them you want The Wynns discount! ha. I’m sure he’ll hook you up too.
The application all seemed easy enough until he busted out a torch! Nothing better to make you a little nervous than a man torching your all plastic car.
Jason installed the stickers on the RV like a pro….and he seemed to have a little too much fun doing it.
We did get an excellent recommendation for lunch from the guys. If only there was a Mrs. Fish everywhere! This has been one of our favorite spots for fish and chips ever! A great Asian family owns and operates this little understated dive.
Super fresh fish that is hand battered right in front of you, a potato that is cut and dropped directly into the fryer and some homemade slaw and seafood gumbo…..my mouth is watering just telling you about it.
It was cheap, fresh, and tasty served with a smile. What more could you possibly want in this world! (there is a cool looking coffee shop/bar next door that we didn’t get to explore, if you visit, tell us how it is!)
All in all we enjoyed the beaches and the southern charm of the outlying areas. Myrtle Beach itself was fine; it was the boardwalk that was a turnoff for us. If you’re planning a visit there’s plenty of entertainment, but stay off the boardwalk if you want to see any local culture.
We stayed at the largest campground on the east coast and we can honestly say…our campground was freakin awesome!
If you’ve been to the Myrtle Beach area tell us what you think…we’re not sayin’ we’re experts or know-it-alls so please share 🙂
Leesa
I wish you would’ve gone to Myrtle Beach State Park. It’s close to Ocean Lakes, but NOT touristy at all. The beach is quiet and the park…you’d never know you were in the middle of one of the biggest tourist attractions in the country. For ANY RVer who likes the beach or has a family, so you NEED those tourist traps for the kids…I cannot recommend this campground more. One word: the walk to the beach isn’t a short one, and you can’t see the ocean from the campground. It’s not a bad walk, just know you can’t get any beachfront or beach view site.
Nikki Wynn
Great tip, thanks for sharing!
Mark
Where did you stay while in Myrtle Beach ?
Mike
They stayed at Oceanlakes campground. It is a large campground and has houses too. Look at their website and it will tell you what sites best fit your camping experience. The sites up close to the beach do get a little noisy in the evening, due to a nightly golf cart parade. I have been going there for 20 years stored a camper there for12. I am going to pull our camper out and return home with it to explore other places.
They are right about the boardwalk it’s nothing to write home about and can be a bit rough and dicey. I recommend you stay away from it there are other places like broadway at the beach, barefoot landing and the common market to go to.
Karen M.
I just stumbled upon your site while doing research for my “retirement” years. I have been to Myrtle Beach a couple of times and I can tell you one thing for certain. The only good reason to go is to eat at Marvins. Honestly, they make the best tacos on the planet.
peg
hi. We saw the lead in show where you bought the rv, we’ve traveled acrossed our fair country camper,rv,motor cycle camper isn’t it grand. Enjoy your travels take many pictures es even some of them can’t really truely show the beauty. Take care.be safe….are you finding hard finding
Enough places to get camp sites.? Safe journey 🙂
gonewiththewynns
Peg, sounds like you have some amazing adventures under your travel belt!
Katie
My family and I have been to Myrtle Beach, NC, though it’s been many years ago. We had a camper trailer and stayed in a campground that probably isn’t there anymore. We had a hurricane called Hurricane Bob come through while we were there and spent one night at a high school. My dad wanted to go out onto the pier and watch the storm.come in. We had parked next to the bathrroms on the lee side and we going to wait it out until we were evacuated by the police. I could see the highh rise hotel next to us swaying in the wind. The next day when we returned everything was covered with sand and there was debris washed up on the beach.
Steve & Donna Fox
Just stumbled across your website complements of MaxAir and Facebook. Outstanding. We couldn’t agree more about Myrtle Beach. We have been vacationing there fro many years. We are from Northern Virginia, just outside DC. We are hoping to begin full timming within the next 3 to 5 years. Congratulations on your sight and all of the insight for us future full timers. Hope we can bump into each other on the road some day.
gonewiththewynns
Steve and Donna thanks for checking us out! Glad you like the site and I hope we do meet up on the road somewhere!
Suzeebee33
I will watch for your dates. We have been wanting to check our Lake Havasu. We have been there before but not in a camper. I make a great Long Island Ice tea.. Not Typically considered a winter beverage but remember its Arizona. Hope to see you there.
gonewiththewynns
Ha Ha, I can’t wait to try you Long Island Tea! It’s my dad’s drink of choice. I will let you know about Havasu soon.
Suzeebee33
I love all the info on the places you stop. My husband and I bought a Camper and we use it as our Hotel Room. We like to explore local farm markets to find unique items home made by locals. We live in Phoenix AZ so we do a lot of weekend trips. Tucson has an Airplane Museum and a State Campground in Oro Valley, great views. We also have done San Diego and Lake Powell. So much to see all within a days drive. Your blessed to be so young to experience all the best of USA!!
gonewiththewynns
Suze, we are headed to Arizona this winter so maybe we will cross roads. 🙂 We will be spending some time in Yuma and Lake Havasu. Let us know if you want to be camping buddies!
Kim Swanson
You are doing this right sister! I have to wait until I retire. Have some fun for me!
Box Canyon Mark
I hope my rig grows up someday to be just like yours:))
And darn, now I want “stickers” too…
tiffany of camp1899
love the car emblem!! and myrtle beach is such a let down after charleston! we never send anyone that way because it is such a tourist trap. it’s sad because i think in other parts of the country they hype it up as this amazing beach town and then it’s all bars and heavy partying.. when we very, very briefly stopped in lake havasu we couldn’t believe it, it’s the west coast version of myrtle beach! haha!!
gonewiththewynns
Tiffany, Lake Havasu is definitly a party town, especially spring break. During the winter it is a totally different place!
Kathy
So glad you guys are still having fun! Yes, Myrtle Beach can be very much the tourist trap, glad that didnt stop you from finding the fun. Love the new vehicle graphics, great idea 🙂 Ya;ll continue to inspire my dream of traveling….Have fun!!
gonewiththewynns
Thanks Kathy! We found plenty to love about South Carolina!
Pastor Diane
We felt the about the Myrtle Beach strip. For a truly natural beach experience go to Jekyll Island, GA. The Island is a state park and charges a parking fee. Beautiful 18 acre camp ground, natural beaches, lots of outdoor rec and some events. http://www.jekyllisland.com/
Very interesting place. Hope you are still in the area & can try it out.
Blessings & Save travels,
Pastor Diane
gonewiththewynns
Diane, we are not in South Carolina right now but Jekyll Island is on our list for our next stop through. We did visit Tybee Island and Savannah GA and loved both.
mary van
Cool pctres of you 3.
mary van
Love the logos on the car and the RV! I think I recognize the band that is playing.
Jan
I love your blog and videos! We bought an rv a couple of years ago to use mainly for trips to the drag races. I have found that I love traveling in it and taking short vacations. I hope someday to be able to do it more, maybe even on the level that you are. Keep the great posts coming!
gonewiththewynns
Thanks Jan! That is the beauty of an RV. It’s great for quick road trips, vacations or full time. It’s always a good get a way!
Lou and Mary
Love your video’s, just started following your blog…love it. We have RVd for 20yrs and you bring out the best in this lifestyle. Keep it up!!
gonewiththewynns
Welcome Lou and Mary! Thanks for checking us out and subscribing!
Tammy
As I was reading this whole thing, I was thinking “I hope they stayed at Ocean Lakes” ~ then I got to the bottom and voila!! isn’t it just AWESOME!! We don’t care for the boardwalk, either … we usually drive down to Charleston one day while we are there and spend the remainder near Ocean Lakes and Murrell’s Inlet, too! Glad you had FUN, after all!!! Safe travels …
gonewiththewynns
Thanks Tammy. We do love oceanlakes and Charleston was one of our favorite spots on the East Coast!
kitty kat
You guys are to cute! I don’t think you missed anything.