The content of this chronicle about our visit to Myrtle Beach is considerably different from our normal travelogues and that difference goes well beyond just the type destination being addressed (an example of our more typical travelogues focusing on the Caribbean can be found here). Those familiar with our reports will recognize familiar subjects such as accommodations and dining presented with the same unrelenting attention to detail and, of course, our characteristic verbosity. The differences include more emphasis on the special event which prompted the trip along with many personal historical perspectives related to it. In that context it has the potential for being exceedingly boring for some readers.

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For those who have some notion of what to expect and want to continue, for those who are genuinely intrigued and for those who truly wish to know more perhaps from a different perspective to which they are accustomed, we say "Welcome and thank you for taking the time to share and appreciate our experiences."

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Our visit to Myrtle Beach was a brief one from June 14 to June 17, 2007 and its purpose was to celebrate and commemorate our wedding, which occurred there at First Presbyterian Church twenty years earlier. Pictured with us at the time is Jason, Sandra’s much loved friend, and Ed’s son and best man. 

During our visits together beginning in 1985 we became regulars at the various venues featuring beach music show bands such as The Embers, Chairmen of the Board, The Tams, Part Time Party Time Band, The Entertainers, North Tower, Band of Oz, The Catalinas, The Fantastic Shakers, and The Showmen and the list goes on and on. Performers such as Jackie Gore, General Johnson, Craig Woolard and our good buddy Johnny Barker became so familiar with our presence at their shows they would wave as soon as they saw us in the audience, visit with us to share drinks during breaks and more often than not serenade Sandra at some point. On our wedding night, once the reception was done and all the guests were finally gone, we changed and headed out to party with the group Shagtime who gave us a wedding present – one of their tapes noting the occasion and signed by all the members of the band. Those were the days.

Then something changed in 1988 and subsequently we went only infrequently to Myrtle Beach and then no more after 1992. Did Myrtle Beach turn us off? No, not really – rather you might say something else seriously captured our interest – the Caribbean. Our first visit was to St. Thomas and nearby St. Johns and Tortola. That’s all it took: seriously white sand, crystal clear azure water, lush sub-tropical foliage with plenty of real palm trees, gorgeous flowers, wonderful snorkeling, fabulous food, always warm weather with clear blue skies and lots of sunshine plus much more. Yes, it was pretty much over for Myrtle Beach once we discovered there were significantly nicer "beach" destinations – no more gray brown sand and murky water in which knee deep you couldn’t see your feet. But on that first Caribbean trip and on more subsequently to dozens of islands over the ensuing years, often multiple times, we always took our Beach Music with us while also developing quite a taste for Reggae.

We said a few sentences ago that Myrtle Beach didn’t turn us off, but we must say during that period it was undergoing rapid change and losing for us a great deal of its original appeal. The all-you-can-eat buffets were proliferating at an alarming rate while high quality, more upscale restaurants seemed to be decreasing and those strange theme show complexes were appearing in greater numbers to cater to visitors of a type we never knew existed in our sheltered, provincial worlds – well, at least not in the droves we were then seeing.

As we contemplated our return after a considerable hiatus we knew a huge amount of unbridled change had continued and, in fact, had some firsthand sense of it. Last year after one of Sandra’s business meetings at Pawleys Island for which Ed tagged along for the ride, the return trip home was deliberately altered to include a much out of the way drive along the full length of Myrtle. Let’s just say, though we recognized some things, we knew how seriously we were out of touch when we could no longer locate the Main Street turn off US 17 into Ocean Drive. Missed it completely because our previous landmarks were totally gone and now replaced with other structures and a changed landscape including preparatory work for a new link across the intercoastal waterway. We had to circle back around via Ocean Boulevard wondering all the time where the heck we were. Who would have ever thought it possible we couldn’t find OD?!

We found ourselves wondering in which area we wanted to stay during our anniversary visit and seriously considered the various possibilities offered by the Grand Strand. An obvious first thought was where we had accommodations for our wedding reception and honeymoon, the Sand Dunes, or perhaps a few buildings away at what was known then first as the Sheraton and later the Martinique where we had used the penthouses many, many nights. But, fact of the matter is we were hugely disappointed with what we saw as we slowly drove by during our reconnoiter last year. The whole complex of buildings in that immediate vicinity, which had seen some substantial additions, was overrun with children and appeared as if it had taken a definite downscale turn. That was quite disappointing.

With that not so nice perception in mind we thought about trying to identify what today would be considered the most upscale accommodations that could be found and let the selection of one of those dictate our location decision. Among those contemplated were the venerable Hilton and other parts of Kingston Plantation, and the new Marriott Resort complex at Grand Dunes. But the more we discussed the matter and what especially interested us about the trip, we kept coming back to wanting to focus on our memories which in so many ways revolved around Beach Music and that led us finally to conclude it had to be Ocean Drive in North Myrtle Beach. Yes, that’s where we would concentrate our time while venturing out for drives to restaurants of particular appeal in other areas.