From Myrtle Beach

yesterday I rode 325k from Jacksonville Florida to Harderville South Carolina, most of it on I95. Some have commented that I could be covering a lot more ground if I simply set my mind to it and rode up the Interstate. They are right; at 75 mph (the posted limit is 70 mph) the miles go whipping by. But 1 mile of interstate is much like the last or the next one, pretty boring. Some of the secondary highways are more interesting; that is those sections that aren't lined for miles with strip shopping malls interrupted by churches of various denominations (or maybe it's the other way around, churches broken up by malls?).

I stopped early at a Holiday Inn Express along Interstate 95 because the skies had become quite dark and the lightning that seemed to be closing in on me was not very friendly looking. However as it turns out, no sooner had I stopped, booked in and brought my luggage to my room, the sun came back out and it didn't rain till sometime during the night. I bought an early dinner from the Subway next door and used the extra time to study my maps and make hotel arrangements for the next two nights.

This morning after breakfast at the hotel I rode some backroads to Myrtle Beach. My route took me through Charleston and Goergetown South Carolina. I arrived in Myrtle Beach shortly after noon and quickly found the Happy Holiday Motel on Ocean Blvd, the only establishment I've stayed in on this trip so far without wifi. On the positive side, it's just accross the street from a Starbuck's and I was able to get into my room and change (even if it hadn't been cleaned yet) and cross the street to the beach and play around in the waves. The beach is wonderful and the municipal facilities, showers, walkways, etc are excellent. The hour spent being tossed around by the waves was a lot of fun and it reminded me of the times Jane and I have played in the surf at Cocoa Beach and Daytona. The long and narrow beach here is much like at Cocoa Beach, and I can see how it would be an attractive destination for students on spring break. I resisted the temptation to be shot up in the giant slingshot or to ride the giant Ferris wheel. I did however walk out the the end of Pier 14 from where there are impressive north and south views of beach.

The plan for tomorrow is to ride to Havelock in North Carolina from where on Saturday I'll ride to Cape Hattaras Outer Banks.

Tonight's dinner was at a packed all-you-can-eat seafood and other stuff establishment. The crab, of which there were three kinds, the different fried and baked seafood fish dishes, the shrimp and the crayfish were all surprisingly good. The rest was your usual buffet fare, oh hum!