Reluctant to leave the ocean after Ocracoke, we spent the weekend camped at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Myrtle Beach markets itself as an affordable family vacation getaway. For the Brits – think Blackpool. Fairground rides, amusement arcades and piers. And some of the most OTT crazy golf courses you’ve ever seen.
In an effort to avoid all the craziness, we stayed a few miles down the road at Myrtle Beach State Park, enjoying the relative peace and quiet.
Charleston, SC
Next up: Charleston, South Carolina. A city with oodles of colonial history if you’re into that sort of thing; a lot of nice old buildings if you’re not. A fleeting visit for us, but long enough to explore the delightful market square, residential districts and waterfront. A very charming city.
Good job we only had a couple of nights here though as the overnight parking situation left a bit to be desired. Similar to Knoxville, we were in a car park next to the bus station downtown. That’s where the similarity ended. No open rooftop with city skyline views here. Um no, in Charleston we were huddled up between a U-haul trailer and a van in a covered car park.
What we hadn’t banked on was the humidity levels – you’re not in California now Toto! Overnight in the BaseCamp with no electric hook up (get real, this is a car park), our teeny tiny fan was not quite cutting it. It started with a mere muggy stuffiness, rising overnight to a stagnant stickiness, and by morning the air was heavy and stifling. I swear I dreamt of being buried alive.
You’d think it would help then to spend the day in an air-conditioned office. But no, I’d forgotten the penchant for humidity-overcompensation with icy blasting AC, experienced previously when working in Miami offices. From one extreme to the other, I was surrounded by people in shorts and t-shirts – meanwhile I spent my days in the office sporting not just one but two fleeces, only just drawing the line at the woolly hat.
(See, even Darren’s got a fleece on, having just left the office!)
Savannah, GA
Another day, another state. A couple of hours down the road and we were in Savannah Georgia.
With a rich heritage as Georgia’s first city, established in the early 1700s, it is now home to enormous paddle boats and mystical magical trees. (And I’m sure much more but I’m not big on city write ups. If you’re interested, come visit and do the hop on hop off bus tour.)
I don’t want to appear fickle but I’m in danger of defaulting to a new favorite tree. Abundant in Savannah is the Live Oak tree, so called because it doesn’t lose its leaves over the winter. These majestic trees, wider than they are tall, become even more impressive when draped with Spanish moss (which is neither Spanish nor moss).
Just how cool are those trees.
The moss makes the Live Oaks look rather ghostly at night, which no doubt helps to fuel Savannah’s reputation for ‘most haunted city’.
Our ‘office’ for a few days in Savannah was our hotel room. Mixed it up a bit with the open rooftop area at the top of our hotel.
As we were staying in a hotel, we dined out. Found a cool bar aka The Ordinary Pub.
There’s no fooling me, that’s a cube if ever I saw one.
Seafood gumbo and low-country mac’n’cheese did us for two nights.
One of Savannah’s primary claims to fame is for being the location of the Forrest Gump bench. You know the one, where Forrest tells his life story to any poor unsuspecting passer by, sat on a park bench waiting for a bus. One of those iconic movie moments just begging to be re-lived.
We toured the many squares in the city, classic mini parks with trees and benches, until we came upon Chippewa square where the famous scene was filmed. Soon to be renamed Disappointment square, as it turns out the actual bench is located in the Savannah history museum. Undeterred, we took the picture anyway.
Don’t think this one would cut it, but gotta love those trees
Having done our sightseeing during the week, we treated ourselves to a COVID-friendly walking tour of various drinking establishments. Starting off by sitting outside a British pub that served Pimms! Complete with cucumber (no strawberry but you can’t have everything).
On to a brewery that was not only light, bright and well-ventilated but also did beer flights. Kind of. Well, we worked our way through the board. A spacious distillery and a roof-top bar completed our beverage experience.
But now it’s time for us to Run Forrest Run to our next destination…