Introduction

Here we are barely into the New Year and already making another "quickie" visit to Myrtle Beach.  The specific motivation for this one was to see our friend Johnny Barker performing with the Legends of Beach at Nightclub 2001.  The picture above taken at that performance shows Johnny on the left and on the right Gerald Davis, another of the Embers alumni.

In addition to that attraction, we also were interested in taking advantage of the opportunities to see a few other Carolina Beach Music groups performing in the North Myrtle Beach area that weekend and, of course, while there continuing to explore some of the better culinary offerings.

As is altogether too often the case with us, or to be more accurate as is too often the case with Ed's ambitions, we found ourselves unable to undertake all the activities which appealed to us.  In one instance we would have liked to take in the performance of one more group one evening, but instead crashed after a long day of partying and a long, late dinner.  Another event we had to save for a subsequent trip is a visit to the Ragtops & Roadsters Auto Museum in Murrells Inlet - something we both very much want to do.

The weather was considerably less than auspicious with heavy, cold rain the first day and, though for the most part bright and clear, the remaining days were even colder - indeed, bitterly cold by our standards in the Carolinas.  Though we didn't see it, The Sun News reported there was a very light dusting of snow which fell one morning in the vicinity of North Myrtle Beach - not exactly the image most likely to pop into one's mind when thinking of this destination.

We must say for this time of year, January 19 - 21, we were a bit surprised at the amount of traffic we saw and the patronage of retail, dining and entertainment establishments.  Everything seemed quite busy, comparatively speaking, and if the prevailing less than desirable economic conditions for the country were having any adverse impact, it certainly was not apparent to us.  And rest assured we did our part to help keep the local economy humming as we completely enjoyed ourselves.

Traveling

This for us was definitely an Escalade type of trip - no doubt about that.  The morning of our departure from home the forecast was we would awake to several inches of snow with a bit more to follow and then the precipitation would transition to freezing rain.  Lovely.  Fortunately, the weatherman was off on his timing and instead we actually found heavy mist and fog which turned to intermittent cold rain as we made the 3 1/2 hour drive to North Myrtle.  Enroute the visibility was awful, the back roads slippery and the wind buffeting, but the all wheel drive Escalade demonstrated why, in addition to its luxury and comfort, its "sure footedness" and stability even while passing and moving along at higher than posted speeds under such conditions make it a favorite of Sandra's.

There was quite a surprise awaiting us when we reached the point on US-220 S where the 4-lane road normally terminated and we would begin our trek along the back roads of North and South Carolina.  It didn't terminate this time.  In fact it took a couple of minutes to realize something was very different.  Among other clues was the onboard navigation screen showing us meandering around on the greatest off road adventure ever for an Escalade.  It was totally unaware of the newly opened section which was disappointing since we had the very latest map DVD for it that was only a few months old.  Yup, it showed us driving across terrain with nary a road in our proximity.  As we moved toward Rockingham, NC on this newly available splendid bit of finely engineered highway we decided it wasn't a good idea to proceed since we had no idea of where it might end.  Consequently we turned ourselves about at the next available exit and backtracked in order to follow our traditional route.

After returning home from this trip we've been in touch with a NC Department of Transportation Construction Engineer who informed us "All of the US-220 bypass of Ellerbe and Norman has been open since 1/6/08.   This is approximately 17 miles of new 4-lane divided highway and completes the 4-lane section from Greensboro to Rockingham."  He also inferred this new road opening has not been significantly publicized.  In a follow-up inquiry we asked whether the older section of US-220 at Rockingham was a thoroughfare without traffic lights and reduced speed.  The response was "US-220 is 4-lane all the way to Rockingham.  Once you begin to approach Rockingham, you will hit 2 - 3 signals, but it's not bad."

With the preceding in mind for our next trip, we'll try going all the way to Rockingham on US-220 where we'll pick up US-74 to Laurinburg and from there US-501 / NC-130 to Rowland.  From Rowland we'll continue on NC-130 to NC-904 to Tabor City, and then use US-701 for a short distance to SC-9 which will take us to US-17 into North Myrtle.

For those of you who travel a similar route you may find it nice, as we do, when moving beyond Laurinburg to switch off the CD's or satellite radio and tune to 94.9 FM.  That makes the remainder of the trip all the more pleasant listening to the broadcast from North Myrtle Beach.  Of course, it also helps if you like or can at least tolerate Carolina Beach Music; otherwise, don't bother.

Oh by the way, a call the evening of our arrival to one of our neighbors who was caring for our Ragdolls, Muffin and Scooter, revealed there had been a decent snowfall there.  Glad we left before that started.

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