From all-night driving to Atlantic Ocean sunrises from our balcony, this trip was full of excitement the whole way through.
Even though Chad and I were only in Myrtle Beach for a few nights, it was one heck of a summer adventure to say the least.
Originally, we planned to leave early Tuesday morning. But at 11pm on Monday night, we were still awake and too eager to sleep. So what else could we do then leave right away – we were out the door by midnight and heading down from Muskoka, Canada to Myrtle Beach, USA. Crossing the border at 3am was no problem at all… actually, we were the only car there!
It took us about 17 hours total to get there, including stops for food, restrooms and stretching our legs (it can get pretty cramped if you’re just doing a straight drive down).
Oddly enough, staying awake when it was dark was no issue at all – it was later in the day that proved difficult.
Driving through the forest-covered mountains was an incredible experience. We’d both done it before, at separate times when we were in high school, but didn’t remember much. This time was new and exciting!
We drove south through Ontario, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina and finally South Carolina.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have my Nikon with me during this trip, so I only captured a handful of images on my iPhone. Still, I think they’re worth sharing with you. 🙂 Most of the trip was actually shared on my Instagram stories if you happened to be following along at the time.
Apart from listening to (and getting sick of) what seemed like every genre of music on the face of the planet, we discovered an interesting podcast called Casefile True Crime and quickly became hooked. The episodes are an hour long and we listened to a ton! They are criminal stories, usually murder tales or serial crimes, so it’s definitely not for everyone. (Use caution and your own discretion if you’re going to check it out.)
Funny thing – we had the air conditioning on the whole way down, so when we stopped to get out in North Carolina briefly, we were hit with a HUGE shock when we opened the truck doors and it was like a sauna outside! Not sure when it became so hot, but it was definitely time to change out of our long pants.
Once we arrived, it was after 5pm so we got ready and went to dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. Chad had never been, and being rock fans, we obviously had to eat there one night.
The next few days and nights were spent at Broadway at the Beach – a huge outdoor shopping and entertainment center with restaurants, shops, attractions and a boardwalk connecting everything together. Including small crowds feeding the fish and ducks.
The following nights (yes, more than one), we ate at Señor Frogs. One of our favorite restaurants of all time. If you’ve never been, it’s a high energy, good vibes and BIG drinks sort of place.
We tried going to Margaritaville two nights in a row, but we were starving and there was a 45 minute wait time to get a table the first time we tried, so we were going to go the following night instead. Then the following night we tried again but the wait time was over an hour! Oops haha.
During the day you could find us jumping through the ocean waves, sipping drinks on the beach and soaking up as much sun as we could.
It was a good time, free of technology and the pressure of taking photos.
The swimming was only the first day.
After that it rained for a couple days and we couldn’t do much outside, but we didn’t mind. We drove around the city and enjoyed some indoor fun instead. Including eating a dozen donuts in two days (…Krispy Kreme is my weakness).
And SURPRISE… we got his and hers tattoos! No, it wasn’t planned. No, we never even mentioned it until mid-week when Chad suggested it. But we thought, why not? Let’s just do it. And we’re both so happy that we did! If you’re curious to see, check out my Instagram. There’s a story saved in my Travel highlights. 😉
We left mid-afternoon on Friday, drove straight through the night again and got home on Saturday at 7am.
What a LOOONG drive it was on the way back. No matter how much caffeine we consumed, we were still half asleep the whole way and had to take turns driving super often. Stopping for snacks became a frequent thing just to give us something to do to keep our hands and minds occupied (and awake haha).
Somehow we ended up driving through this abandoned-looking town in the middle of nowhere, but it made for some good shots.
One awesome thing about the way back was that we got to watch the sunset over the Appalachians and all I have to say is WOW. It was breathtaking.
A great trip where the excitement never died down.
Thanks for having us, Myrtle Beach!
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