- Continued -

On the patio at UMI Pacific Grille

Note About The Contents of This Report

Since first publishing this report we've received some comments which made us realize that at least a few of our newer readers were missing the fact that there are six pages in the main body and those are followed by five pages of photos.  At the bottom of each page is a "Next Page" which should be clicked to move forward in the presentation.  There is also a "Table of Contents" link which can be used to navigate to the pages containing various subjects in the write-up.

Introduction

This trip coincided with the latter part of the SOS (Society of Stranders) Spring Safari which this year spanned the period of April 18 - 27.  It is a huge gathering of Carolinas Beach Music and shagging aficionados with most of the related activities concentrated in the North Myrtle Beach area.  Many thousands of participants flood the Beach Music clubs and party places which offer lots of opportunity for non-stop day and night entertainment.  It is a wonderful festival atmosphere especially appreciated by those who share a love of this unique genre of music and dance.  With one notable exception, we thoroughly enjoyed the various events in which we participated and must say at times were quite challenged to choose among the many concurrent opportunities.  But, that's a nice problem to have.

In addition to enjoying the Beach Music festivities we concentrated on continuing our exploration of the more upscale restaurants that Myrtle Beach has to offer.  In terms of our dining experiences there were no disasters and for the most part lots of successes.  In fact, we're giving one of the restaurants, though not perfect, our highest rating yet for a Myrtle Beach establishment.  Now, if we could just find a place capable of serving a really great Hollandaise sauce - but, more about that later.

Thinking about what we've just written in the preceding paragraphs we find ourselves wondering how much confusion we probably add to the already sufficiently confused situation of the area's names.  When we use the term "Myrtle Beach" we mean it in a general, almost generic, sense and, as do many native Carolinians, include the entire area reaching from Surfside in the south to Cherry Grove in the north in that context.  It's never meant to identify the legally constituted city by that name unless providing a specific address.  Pity the poor visitors trying to cope with these various designations and meanings including that extremely unfortunately named city of "North Myrtle Beach" created 40 years ago through the merger of Cherry Grove, Ocean Drive, Crescent Beach and Windy Hill.  How many people have found themselves trying to decipher the madness of numbered avenues running north and south in North Myrtle (home of Vannah White) from those same named north and south avenues located in Myrtle Beach proper?  The idiot who invented the name of North Myrtle Beach should be flown hogtied behind a banner plane for several hours and then dropped in the ocean sufficiently close to the Apache Pier for the anglers there to try snagging him and reeling 'em in.

The SOS Parade

We were greatly surprised and pleased when several weeks beforehand we received a message from Greg Moseley asking us if we would consider transporting him in the parade using our Cadillac XLR-V roadster.  We responded we would be delighted to do so and then set about learning what was involved (we had a notion of the parade but had never attended one and were pretty much in the dark about it).

We did learn it is a fourteen year tradition to hold this parade honoring SOS, Carolina Beach Music and shagging on the last Saturday of the Spring gathering.  It begins on Main Street in Ocean Drive (aka North Myrtle Beach) close to its intersection with Hwy 17 and continues to the "horseshoe" at the ocean and then right along Ocean Boulevard South for several blocks.  Frankly, we were truly amazed to discover how large the parade is in terms of the number of significant flatbed type floats, decorated golf carts, unique vehicles and nice convertibles from many different years carrying dignitaries and celebrities.  There's a theme assigned each year and shag clubs all over the southeast create entries for the parade that are judged and the competition is quite serious.  In addition to conducting research on the internet, Ed talked by telephone with Parade Chairman, Don David, who was very helpful in terms of providing detailed explanations of what to expect for the upcoming event including staging and timing.

The morning of the parade Ed was up early and in the parking deck of the Hilton where we were staying cleaning and polishing the XLR-V - not an easy undertaking in that location including having to remove the accumulated ocean spray.  But after a couple of hours it was spotlessly clean and sparkling.

Don David had recommended we arrive at the staging area no later than 11:00am even though the parade didn't start until 1:00pm.  Upon arriving there and having the opportunity to meet Don in person, we realized how appropriate his advice had been.  The large lot set aside just for golf carts and cars was packed and we felt fortunate to obtain one of the last parking spots available in the paved section.  Many others had to park in the adjoining grassy area.  The various floats were assembled in another large lot that was fully paved.

We had been told by various people and found it to be true that the parade staging for the participants was one huge party in itself with many arriving as early as 8:00am and with music from car stereos filling the air and copious amounts of adult beverages being consumed the entire time.  Some were even doing food and drink tailgating much like one would see beforehand at a football game.  It was great fun wandering around, as everyone did, seeing all the beautiful cars, old and new, and talking with the owners about their pride and joys.  Ours certainly attracted a lot of attention and many questions.  Eventually, we just left the hood up and the top poised in the half way position in its automatic opening cycle.  Not surprisingly, most people had no clue what the car is and were amazed when they realized it is a Cadillac.  We say "not surprisingly" because it's rarely advertised and so few of them are made - only about 1,100 of the regular XLRs and 400 of the supercharged XLR-V version like ours are hand built each year.  Yes, it is quite a unique, head turner.

Greg Moseley and his wife, Gina, arrived soon after we did and it was great to see them again.  Subsequently, we were introduced to Greg's dad, Raymond, and his dad's friend, Gail, who are a marvelous couple that live nearby on 1st Avenue South.  After the parade we enjoyed their hospitality at their place.

As promised, the parade began moving about 1:00pm.  It was forty-five minutes later that our time came to enter the stream and we were far from being the last.  That may give you some perspective on the length of the parade.  At the beginning the onlookers were spread out, but the further we slowly moved along Main Street the crowds became larger and larger, and eventually became shoulder to shoulder rows deep and were spilling heavily into the street.  The weather was perfect and the crowds were in very good spirits as they cheered the parade along.

Of course we had Greg's signature song "Carolina Tan" and occasionally his highly appropriate "Cadillac Ridin" pumped up on the XLR-V's Bose megawatt system.  He certainly was enthusiastically recognized, greeted and celebrated along the entire route as he waved at everyone.  Greg and Gina's daughter, Kelsey, and her friend Tequila preceded us with signs featuring Greg's CDs including his latest production, Grooves in the Sand.

Indeed, we found all aspects of the parade to be huge fun and an extremely memorable event, and in that regard we're referring to more than our pleasure of driving Greg Moseley in it.  The happy crowds, participants and viewers, were terrific.  The floats, decorated golf carts, and costumes worn by individuals were extremely well done and quite clever.  Yes, it definitely was a fun filled event and certainly the highlight of our trip.

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