To Camp Or Not To Camp?

Southport, NC to Myrtle Beach, SC

October 18, 2014

By: Mark

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Southport, NC to Myrtle Beach, SC

Thanks to Bob, Nancy, and Lucy!

For some unknown reason, I woke up fairly early this morning – as in, before my alarm went off. It would seem I had enough sleep as I felt very well rested. So, I packed up my things and prepared for the day ahead. Today’s goal was to cross into South Carolina and get to Myrtle Beach. About 120 km away. Myrtle Beach was another one of those destinations that seemed somewhat significant from an “I biked there” point of view. Probably just because it’s a well-known destination. However, before embarking on another day of riding, first thing on the agenda was breakfast.

Bob and Nancy (and Lucy) were also awake early and they were kind enough to take me out for breakfast (Lucy stayed behind). We drove over to a local restaurant, Taylor Cuisine Cafe, which makes an excellent breakfast – in my case, it was an omelette. We talked of various things over breakfast including movies and TV shows that have been shot in the area – including Safe Haven, Nights in Radanthe, Dawson’s Creek, Under the Dome, and several others.

After breakfast we returned to the house and I made my final preparations for departure. Nancy packed up a container of her incredible apple pie to take on the road with me. The challenge would be not eating it before I reached the end of the driveway. Bob gave me some directions to get me on the bike route heading south and by 9:25 I was on my way. Thanks again to Bob and Nancy for hosting last night – especially on short notice. Very much appreciated. And hopefully my bike won’t suffer the same fate as Bob’s did at the end of his Northern Tier trip!

Today’s ride was much like yesterday’s, only warmer. It was mostly flat and windy. A headwind, of course. I managed to go 45 km before stopping for some apple pie. And I have to say that I was proud of myself for not eating it all in one sitting. A few kilometres before that I had stopped briefly and met another cyclist, Ted. He wasn’t on a tour, just out for a ride – although, he mentioned that he did a cross-country tour back in 2004. Speaking with him seemed to make him want to go on another tour. I obviously encouraged that!

Welcome to South Carolina!

While most of yesterday’s ride was on Highway 17, today’s saw me return to off-highway riding. This went especially well for the first half of the ride as there were a lot of “Bike Route” signs along the way which meant I didn’t have to stop every few minutes to check my directions. Sadly, those signs disappeared once I crossed the South Carolina state line. On the upside, I crossed the South Carolina state line.

My accommodation plan for tonight was the Myrtle Beach State Park for a return to camping. There aren’t any Warm Showers hosts for the next little while so it’s back to camping or motels. For tonight, it was to be camping. I say, “it WAS to be camping”, but that ended up changing. As I made my way along the beach road I noticed there were a plethora of resorts, hotels, and motels along the way. Most showed vacancies. And some were advertising some very low rates. As in, only slightly higher than the campground. Throw in a free continental breakfast and it just seemed to make more sense to stay in a motel. So that’s what I did.

The motel is pretty simple but it’ll do for the night. On the upside, it’s right on the ocean so I wandered over to check out the Atlantic Ocean from yet another city. Considering it’s the middle of October, I was surprised to see how many people were on the beach – although, not many actually in the water.