Horizons at 77th

Horizons at 77^th in Myrtle Beach South Carolina. My vacation here started as the continuation of my trip that started at the Carolina Grande you can read about my first few days here.

Day One Arrival at Horizons at 77th

I had been farther North in Myrtle Beach the last few days near 27^th street. Now I was going to be 50 blocks south on 77^th. It was a close move as far as vacations go. The resort itself had much the same feel as the Carolina Grand. It had a great location, and some limited beach views since it was just 1 row off of beachfront.

Here the resort set next to a section of million-dollar properties and luxury estates. At this location your eyes have a clearer shot of the ocean since you are up higher than the local homes that sit on one side of the resort between the resort and the ocean. So, you do get some nice views of the sea from a short distance. It makes for great views from the balconies of the rooms here.

After checking in, I spent some time on the balcony just relaxing and listening to the waves for a bit. Here you find the rooms well laid out and full of standard amenities.

Villa Amenities

Then the resort itself offers all of these options.

Resort Amenities

Video Credit GO GlobeHopper

The rooms here start at 625 sq ft 1-bedrooms and go to 3-bedroom units that are a great size 1457 sq ft. You can travel solo, or travel with a large family and find just the right sized room here to meet your needs.

After checking in I went to Lombardo’s Italian Restaurant, one of my favorite Italian restaurants anywhere. The menu here is outstanding and includes most of the Italian Favorites we all love. I went to Lasagna myself.

Then after dinner I returned to the resort to hit the pool. The night before, I had snuck in for a late-night solo swim at the previous resort. Today I was still feeling day one of my vacation and all the walking on the beach I did. I would walk, play in the water, stop and sit, then repeat. It was likely about a 10 mile walk and that for a guy that does not walk enough was a lot.

Chilling at the pool was a win with legs that still felt muscles I had not remembered that I had. June is a great month at Myrtle Beach and the first week of June is hot but not that hellfire level of heat that one feels in the first week of August.

Day Two Sunrise at Horizons at 77th

This was the 3^rd morning sunrise I had caught on my vacation. The first was from the balcony of my first resort, the second was on the beach, and now the 3^rd was from my balcony here at Horizons at 77^th. I had picked up a few small items for breakfast in the room today and I had charged my Kindle so I could go out on the balcony, watch the sunrise then eat breakfast and read the local news. I wanted that full fresh morning at the beach feeling. So, I had made myself ready for the full experience.

I say breakfast but really it was just a danish, and some fresh squeezed juice. A fine start to the day, but in a few hours, I still felt the desire for a full breakfast and I headed to a new local spot. Well knew to me anyway.

Blueberry’s Grill was the location I chose for breakfast. I love blueberries so going somewhere that was based on my favorite fruit seemed like a damn good choice. I ordered the blueberry muffin and eggs, which was an amazing breakfast. The meal comes with a large wonderful blueberry muffin, granny smith apples, two eggs and sausage.

I slathered the muffin with fresh butter and let the heat melt it well, then enjoyed that muffin. After breakfast, I headed back to the resort and then to the beach. The beach here is nice and wide. Not maybe as wide as the north beach area, but still much wider than many beaches on the East Coast.

The beach here is just a part of the draw and the magic that is Myrtle Beach. There is so much to do off the beach that is fun and great family fun as well. That is why millions choose Myrtle Beach each year for their family vacations. Some people also take the opportunity to take the quick drive from the beach to historic Charleston South Carolina. That was going to be me today.

The last time I had stayed in Charleston, I promised myself I would get back and spend some more time looking into the rich local history of the town and area. Charleston was originally formed as Charles Town named for Charles II and established by English settlers in 1670. As far as American history goes it is one of the few key players in our Nations founding and history. Like Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia, you can touch our Nations history and founding hands on. You can even see historic sites that date back almost as far as Jamestown. Which was settled in 1607, or Williamsburg, Virginia in 1632.

Charleston was a very successful port for goods that would travel to and from the colonies to England and other ports of trade from over the World.

It would become the center for trade of rice and indigo. Charleston was also the foundation for the struggle for States Rights and the fight over Fort Sumter was likely the fight that truly began our Nation’s Civil War. Today it was a tour of Fort Sumter that I had come to Charleston from the beach to enjoy. On my last trip to Charleston, Fort Sumter was closed to tours for some reason or another, and I was back to finish this on my Historic bucket list of sorts.

A tour of Fort Sumter includes a boat ride to the site, and a harbor tour as well. It is really at least a half a day tour and with the drive to and from Myrtle Beach along with a meal in the area you are really looking at a day of your vacation. For the non-history buffs in a family, you can always break up into groups and the shoppers can really enjoy Charleston for that, and some amazing art in town. So, everyone can travel together and then break into groups if you are worried about some not being into the more historic aspects.

For me I enjoy two things the most when visiting areas. American History and my own history or memories and nostalgia.

It was going to be a hot day on the water but not too bad with a cool breeze and the boat worked its way from the port to the Fort.

The site was maintained well, and the tour with the very knowledgeable staff was excellent. I hope people continue to value and learn from our Nations history. All too much of what we see on TV these days is negative about history, or is giving attention to those that wish to rewrite our history for their own narratives. That should not be allowed. We should learn as much as we can from our past, both the good and the bad, and pray it better informs our shared future.

I think in some way one of the reasons I went to Charleston on this trip to Myrtle Beach is that I am concerned that some of our history is in danger of being lost, or dismantled. I wanted to see it firsthand myself.

It was a great day of history and travel and one every history fan should make time for.

After the tour I struggled to choose from all the restaurants in Charleston so I just headed back towards the resort and beach instead. I went to a chain which I try not to do as much on trips but like Paula Deans Bonefish Grill is a chain that there are not as many locations of, and the food is outstanding. When the idea struck me to go there, I drove back to the beach to eat there for an early dinner.

Bonefish Grill is close to 74^th ave, so it was very close to the resort on the way back from Charleston. Here is truly enjoy their version of the appetizer Bang Bang Shrimp. Everyone tries to duplicate their take on a spicery shrimp sauce but theirs is by far the best. I started with that for dinner, then moved into the entrée.

For my entrée I chose the Blackened Salmon Pasta which has a nice sauce of its own which is a white wine and olive oil paring that brings together all the items in the pasta really well. It always has a fresh taste. I also ordered some Bang Bang shrimp tacos to take back to my room. It was early for dinner and I knew I would be hungry later. I also love that shrimp sauce.

You know with some foods with a good sauce like spaghetti, or even something like this if you let them rest a little in the sauce, they taste even better in 1 hour or 2. Other items benefit from a day in the fridge but I was not going to let shrimp sit in the fridge too long.

After the early dinner I headed back to the room to put my next meal or snack in the fridge for later than headed down to the beach to rest and relax. Today was , but it was another day with a good deal of walking. I would likely even get back into the pool to cool off in a bit, but I wanted to play in the ocean some. I believe some part of me (even having a fun day) did not want to blame myself later for not at least going to the beach today.

I felt like 2 hours after dinner swimming in the ocean and then transferring myself to the pool after sunset was the winning thing to do to end out my day.

Day Three getting into nostalgia mode

As I said earlier the two things I tend to enjoy most on trips are learning something new about local history in an area, or enjoying some nostalgia from my childhood. I never realized when I was young how good of a childhood I truly had. Much of my best memories was of vacation times and travels with my family. In part, because we went to amazing places, but also those strong memories of good times with those you love.

On this trip I had already road rides and enjoyed some mini-golf. Then I also caught a local Pelican Minor League Baseball game. For me, this meant I was well down memory lane and loving it. Today I wanted to find some spots that still existed after all the change here at Myrtle Beach.

One of the things that has been around for years is the Ferris Wheel. It has changed from one type to another over the years but the fun of the wheel was much the same as it was 30 years ago or more.

These days it is called the Sky Wheel, and it is much nicer than it used to be, but the idea and fun is much the same. Unlike many Ferris Wheels you can go even on a hot day because these days it is air conditioned.

This same company runs the one here in Myrtle Beach and the Sky Wheel in Panama Beach. One amazing thing they started to offer some time back was an annual pass. That pass is actually 465 days so more than a year to come back and enjoy the ride again an unlimited number of times. It costs about the same as two trips so for me a fan that was a no brainer.

I would truly take advantage of that if I ever choose to move to the area (which is a daydream of mine). You could make it a weekly or even daily thing for a while if you wanted. That would be neat to make like Thursday, your Ferris Wheel day.

For me on this trip I was using my new annual pass for 3 rides. As long as there is not a line, you can stay on and enjoy a few trips while you are here. If there is a line, they are reasonable and ask that you get to the back of the line so other guests do not have to miss out. For me I was going early enough in the day that the lines had not started yet and I was able to get 3 rounds in.

The Sky Wheel opens at 11AM so after I did 3 trips around it was almost noon. The average trip lasts 10-15 minutes and a little more with loading and unloading the gondolas.

I think I have been on Ferris Wheels more than an adult than I did as a kid, but I do remember going on them with both my Grandfather, and my father at some point. They are a neat trip down that memory lane for me. Also, since they do not put people in with strangers when I am solo, it is neat because I end up in one all by myself.

Here at the Sky Wheel, they get enough proposals that they even have special things they do, and they have a VIP Gondola to make that even more special.

Next up working on my theme of today was Nostalgia City and Museum. This is a tourist spot that is like 70% gift shop and 30% something else but it roped me in with the name.

This spot is great for people who love older trucks, and collectable signs, and really the kinds of finds you see on those picking shows on TV. It was a neat location but most of the cool stuff would have made a bigger impact on my grandfather or Father thinking about their childhoods. Still, it was neat to see, and that staff was nice. They were used to answering questions about the vehicles on display, and some seemed into the whole thing, which was neat. This is a good spot too if you want to pick up a replica gas station sign, or other collectable.

After some fun time checking into some old spots (kinda driving around and seeing what was still there kind of deal) I headed back to the beach.

This vacation was going to continue tomorrow at another resort. Recently when doing the travel writing I had realized that when time allowed, I could go and stay at several resorts back-to-back thanks to TZort and write about them all and reduce the driving and travel time.

Follow me to the next resort here.