Memorable Memorial Day Weekend at Myrtle Beach

June 12 Update- My Myrtle Beach photo that begins this post was a winner in today’s Post and Courier photography contest. The topic is “Summertime.”

It was fun to return to Myrtle Beach for the first time in many years. For the Memorial Day weekend, it made a nice getaway that was not too far away. 

We had an oceanfront room on the 15th floor at Marriott’s Residence Inn. We were there two nights…

…and Three days. Alesia and I spent most of the time on the beach. The weather was perfect! 

That's the hotel behind me. It has 18 floors. We were on the 15th, Room 1508 to be exact.

This is a really nice hotel! I would definitely recommend it. 

The water temperature was very comfortable for taking a dip. We brought our favorite beach chairs and I had a good book to read (Harlan Coben's "The Final Detail" to be exact). So life is good! 

This is under one of the Myrtle Beach fishing piers. A few pix of the structure to follow…

The beach did have lifeguards who were very vigilant, blowing whistles and alerting swimmers who were out a little too far, in their safety-minded minds. 

Here are more photos that capture the festive yet relaxed holiday vibe of Memorial Day weekend at the beach. 

Traditionally Memorial Day marks the official (or is it unofficial?) start of summer. 

A small pond in the sand was occupied by a “straightness” of Least Terns. 

The smallest member of the gull family, this bird has one of the more unusual collective names.  

Straightness or not, they seemed to enjoy splashing around in the water.

The Least Tern is a colorful shorebird with a forked tail. 

Here’s one splashing around in the water like the humans were doing in the ocean. 

Great Egret- Spotted this big beauty in a narrow stream connected to the ocean. 

Warbird Park located adjacent to Myrtle Beach’s airport is a neat place to visit for those of us interested in military matters. The park is a tribute to the 40 years that Myrtle Beach had a U.S. Air Force Base. 

There are exhibits of the warplanes that were based here. When a federal base “realignment” in the early 1990s closed this and many other U.S. military installations, Myrtle Beach AFB had a fighter wing of fierce A-10 Thunderbolts, better known as the tank-killing Warthogs. 

Below, the A-10's nose-mounted 30 mm cannon.

Signs tell the story of the A-10 and the men and women who flew and supported it. The A-10 had a storied role in the 1990 war with Iraq. 

Prior to the Warthog, the air base here was home to the planes below: the A-7 Corsair and the F-100 Super Sabre.

One partial plane is a colorful exhibit of warplane nose art. 

 

Warbird Park borders the airport. There are swings and benches for people to sit and watch planes arrive and depart at the busy facility. 

This Spirit airliner took off, destination unknown. See the bird in the photo too. 

My eye was also attracted to these birds on the airport fence. These are, I believe, Barns Swallows. Like the Least Terns shown earlier, this bird is also forked-tailed. 

From the beach, a steady stream of airliners could be seen departing the airport, 

The yellow Spirit planes really stand out against the blue sky. 

From our 15th-floor balcony I got up early to see and capture the glorious sunrises. This was at about 6:10 a.m. EST. 

Once a little sliver of the sun appears, it quickly rises. 

Never gets old seeing the dawn of a new day like this! 

Some more sunrise scenes….

Another highlight was enjoying two fine dinners. The first evening we dined at Tupelo Honey in Myrtle Beach’s Market Common, which is billed as the city’s “Uptown Downtown” area. 

My bourbon peppercorn glazed meatloaf meal was delicious and reasonably priced. My sides were green beans and heirloom grits with goat cheese. 

Alesia also enjoyed her meal of bone-in fried Chicken with Brussel sprouts. 

The pecan pie dessert was as good as it looks. 

Almost forgot. This Bloody Mary garnished with bacon among other things got things started off with a spicy kick. 

The next night was all about seafood. We drove to Murrells Inlet to Hot Fish Club. 

I had the Blackened Red Snapper and Alesia the Lobster Pot Pie. Both were really good. As was our “Bam Bam” shrimp appetizer and rolls. 

Hot Fish Club has a relaxed family atmosphere and even a playground. 

Leaving Myrtle Beach on Memorial Day, we had a really good late lunch at Famous Joe’s Hamburger at Surfside Beach. 

Pretty basic meal this burger and fries. But excellent light fare to help us the rest of the two-hour drive home. 

A fun few days up Highway 17 in Myrtle Beach! Hope to return to these sands in the years ahead. 

We really liked the Residence Inn on South ocean Boulevard and hope to be back. The scenery, service and breakfasts were all good. 

Underneath the A-10 Thunderbolt at Warbird Park. Would never want to be on the receiving end of the Warthogs wrath.