Our Favorite, So Far: South Carolina

Today we have to find the Toyota dealership in Myrtle Beach, SC and have the oil changed in the car. We hit this point two days ago....

Yesterday we drove from Orlando, FL to Pawley's Island, SC, about an hour north of Charleston. We stopped for a bit in Savannah, GA...which was, I must say, a bit disappointing. I've found that a lot on this trip. I've expected things to look a certain way and experiences to feel a certain way and most of them haven't. Savannah was neat, though. We went to River Street, which is cobblestones and lined on one side with tall old buildings holding restaurants, stores, bars, etc and the river on the other. It was pretty and relaxing to walk along the water. We also picked up some Rocky Road bark and Butterfinger bark from a candy store. Hopefully it's not melted in the car....

River Street in Savannah, GA

From Savannah we crossed the stateline into South Carolina. The landscape changed almost immediately to nothing but trees (surrounded at the bottom by swampiness) and everything was so green. It was like we were driving through a tunnel of trees. It started to get dark soon, though, and by the time we got into Charleston, it was dark. I searched the internet for "Charleston's best bbq" because Jim still needed his souther barbeque experience, and he wasn't disappointed with my choice. We went to JB's Smokeshack just outside of the city. The place offered either a plate type meal or a buffet. The owners recommended the buffet, so we did that. I munched on sides while Jim ate mostly the meat, and both of us left completely stuffed. Jim said it was exactly what he was looking for.

I know it's backing up the boat a little, but I mentioned above that we were somewhat disappointed with some of our experiences. Well, one of the biggest disappointments was Daytona Beach, FL. For being the "World's Most Famous Beach," it sure was a dud. The picture below even makes it look a little more glorified than it was. The little area to the left ended just past the people you can see and the beach was more or less desserted beyond the people with umbrellas. I was expecting something more like what my mom described Miami Beach as being: completely full from one end to the other of people on blankets and under umbrellas and I certainly expected something more like Santa Cruz with the boardwalk and pier. No such luck.

Daytona Beach , FL

We ended up in a Holiday Inn Express somewhere just south of Myrtle Beach late in the evening. We've been staying at a lot of HIEs because I have a rewards card and they have hot breakfast every morning. In fact, I don't think we've stayed in a place yet that didn't offer breakfast.

Ok, time to write up and post yesterday's...I'm behind.