Vacation 2011 - First Edition

Vacation was this past week and I know some of you like to read my vacation posts about what I did, what I saw, and what I thought of the whole experience. So I thought I would post a quick blog about the most recent vacation. The reason the title is "First Edition" is because I have another vacation planned for October. I'm going to be going back to my favorite city, New Orleans, in October. The last time I was there was back in 2009, so I'm due another visit soon. Believe me when I say, October can not get here soon enough.

Now...back to this past week.

I'll keep this simple because I know a lot of people have been to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, so I won't bore those folks with details that they have experienced themselves. So here's the skinny...

Our first stop was in the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area of Tennessee. Neither Mom nor I had ever been to either of those spots. Go figure. I mean, we live about three hours away from there and most people we know have been there multiple times, but I guess Mom and I are always trying to travel to distant lands when we go on vacation, so we never think to try somewhere close to home. Anyway, we started in Tennessee.

The only tourist thing we did while there was visit the Titanic museum. It was nice, but I had seen much of the same thing way back in 1997 on a trip to Memphis with a program called Educational Talent Search. So the museum stop was more for Mom than for myself. It was neat though and if you haven't been and if you are interested in the Titanic, then I suggest you give it a whirl. You pretty much tour it at your own pace and there is a lot of history to explore about the ship. I'm not sure how I felt about the music that sometimes played throughout the museum and my little earphone thingy because it was music from the movie "Titanic" and quite frankly, the best part of that film was when the ship went down. That sounds horrid of me, I know, but you have to keep in mind that it was a movie about love and romance and if you know me well enough, then you know I don't have a lot of patience for those types of movies. I thought the special effects were nice when the ship went down though and I remember getting teary eyed in the theater when all those folks were drowning. That's the same effect the museum had on me. At the very end of museum while looking at the mural of the ship going down and while hearing/reading the stories of some of the people that died...I got a little watery eyed. Those deaths were tragic and unnecessary and the fact that most of those that died were the ones that were poor...well, that just pisses me off. So given the right circumstances, it can be an emotional experience.

We ended up getting a room at the Pigeon River Inn while in Pigeon Forge. It was in pretty decent shape for a cheap hotel and our room had a little balcony that overlooked the Little Pigeon River. I also enjoyed chatting up the guy who ran it because he was originally from Berea.  A few too many beers that first night and I was having a pretty good time just hanging out in the hotel room. :-)

The next morning we headed toward North Carolina. This required us to venture through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I would love, love, love to go back there someday when I have more time and the temperatures are cooler. Just driving through the area was beautiful, although it did cause me to develop a headache as we climbed up the mountains (I'm assuming it was sinuses. All I know is when we finally started back down, my head stopped hurting.) We ran into some road work and what should have taken minutes to get through, took hours. It was horrible. It was made worse by the blistering heat. People were pulled off the road because their cars had overheated. Some people gave up and turned to start back down the mountain. We ventured on and eventually we made it to Cherokee.

Now, I'm not 100% certain on just how much Cherokee blood pulses through my veins, but it is there. I'm no genealogist and I don't know a whole lot about my family history other than what folks have told me from family legends and stories. I'm pretty certain I'm a nice hearty mixture of Cherokee, French, German, and Irish. I always tell folks this mixture is what makes me so stubborn...and have a love whiskey and beer. ;-) But the truth is my Cherokee bloodline comes from my Mom's side of the family tree and I know very little about that side, so like I said, I'm not sure just how much Cherokee I am. It was important to Mom though to explore our heritage and so we went to Cherokee, North Carolina.

It was a lot smaller than what I thought it would be but it was nice. I loved all the painted bears in the streets and the Cherokee Museum was neat as well. If you are looking for a cheap little history lesson, then head on into Cherokee.



After the critter cuddling, we headed on towards South Carolina and ended up spending the night in some rinky dink motel about three hours from Myrtle Beach. It was a little scary because it was right off the interstate exit and the only other buildings around were a run down gas station and a dirty looking restaurant. That being said, that is typically how we travel. I don't know what it is about us, maybe our lower class backgrounds or our badass attitudes or whatever, but when we travel, we don't typically do it in style. We have been known to find some of the most run down looking hotels/motels to stay in while on the road. If you don't believe me, just ask my friend Tabby, because she's traveled with us when we've stayed in places where the floors were peeling up, there were suspicious stains on the blankets, cigarette burns in the pillow cases, and you could only sleep when you propped a chair in front of the door for added protection. This place in S.C. wasn't hardly that bad, but it was pushing it. ;-)

Finally we made it to Myrtle Beach and checked into our hotel. This one was super fancy (at least for us). It was complete with a kitchenette and the staff were super nice and helpful. To be honest we spent most of our time in Myrtle Beach just chilling out on the beach. We did a lot of night walks along the shore because it was so dang hot while we were there. Even with the heat though I can't complain because the weather was perfect, the beach wasn't crowded, and the people were really friendly and nice. This is with the exception of another tourist on our last day there. She was rude and snotty and I wanted to toss her into the middle of the ocean.

On our last day in the area, after checking out of the hotel, we went to Brookgreen Gardens. We made a quick trip back to Broadway on the Beach for some photos and a few more postcards for people before we headed to the gardens though. I loved some of the shops there but I quickly realized I needed to stay out of them or I would blow all my money while I was there. :-)

Brookgreen Gardens was my favorite! I loved the sculptures and all the different gardens with their beautiful flowers, shrubs, trees, and ponds. I loved the butterfly house as well.  I could spend days there I'm sure. While we were leaving from there we got lost again and ended up in Litchfield and I fell in love with that little town as well. It is precisely what you picture when you think of a beach town.

Coming home we ended up having to stay in another ratty motel just shy of the North Carolina border and then we got up bright and early the next day we headed back to the hills of Kentucky. We got home later that evening and I've been relaxing at home ever since.

So here is my opinion of Myrtle Beach: It was nice. Everyone should do it once. But it was also one of my least favorite places that I've been. It was actually too touristy for my tastes. I think I would like the beaches of South Carolina if I could stay in a place that was a bit quieter and farther away from the big hotels. So if I ever go back to the area, then I fully intend to rent a beach house in Litchfield or someplace like it. I think I would enjoy that much better.