Winter in Myrtle Beach

What's the big idea?!?! It's supposed to be warm and sunny in Myrtle Beach. It was freezing cold and windy. When we got to the hotel, the valet guy came to open my door and when he did, the wind blew into the car and blew everything that wasn't tied down out into the driveway. I was so embarrassed! All 50-gazillion pages of the Atlanta Journal newspaper, our mail, my birthday cards, my Southern Living magazine, an empty water bottle...literally everything that was loose in the car went flying out of the car. Me, Tim and the valet dude were chasing papers all over the driveway! After we finally got it all collected and the luggage on the cart, the valet guy looked at me and said "Welcome to Myrtle Beach, ma'am." What a welcome!

We went upstairs to check out the room and unpack and then left to roam around the hotel and go get something to eat. We had not eaten since breakfast at Cracker Barrel. We went to this really great place called Captain George's. The concierge recommended it. It's an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet with over 150 items. There are 4 full food buffets and then a huge dessert buffet. The bars had everything anybody would want...a huge salad selection, a whole section of breads ... rolls, hushpuppies, etc., American fare or Italian for those who don't eat seafood (fried chicken, meatloaf, roast pork, ham, pasta dishes, chicken parm, mac & cheese, veggies, etc.), and then the biggest seafood selection I've ever seen. They had fried, baked, broiled and casseroled everything! Oysters, crabs, clams, fish, fish, and fish, crab cakes, crab salad, boiled shrimp, fried shrimp, scallops, lobster, seafood pasta salad, seafood pasta casserole, and more fish. They had seafood dishes I had never heard of. And Tim's favorite...crab legs! A group of young men came in and the only thing they ate were the crab legs. They would go to the bar and get a plate piled high with crab legs, eat them, and go back for more. They never ate any salad or veggies or any other seafood...just crab legs! There is no way anyone could eat some of everything there. We walked around it to see what all was there and then chose the items we wanted. It would be very easy to eat yourself sick at a place like that! The food and service were both great, and the decor and ambiance made you want to come back. It was very relaxing and had - of course - a nautical theme. The food bars were shaped like a boat with huge sails above them, so it looked like it was served on big sailboats. Neat! We ate til we were full, then had coffee and just relaxed for awhile. I had wondered what the hours were, because people just kept coming in and they just kept refilling the serving dishes and it was getting close to 9:00 p.m. As we left, I looked at the posted hours...it said they were open "Monday through Saturday 4:00 pm until..." The hostess said they keep serving as long as people keep coming. Glad I don't work there!

When we left, it had gotten even colder. We were wearing our leather coats! We drove through Myrtle Beach just taking in the sights and getting familiar with the area before going back to the hotel for the night. What is that, Tim? Is that rain??????????