Every spring, thousands of golfers from Virginia emerge from hibernation and head for Myrtle Beach, which boasts much warmer weather and wall-to-wall golf courses. But there is one problem.
You can’t get there from here, at least by normal means of transportation.
If you go to Virginia Beach, it’s Interstate all the way. If you go to Nags Head, you go on four-lane highways. If you go to most any major destination, the roads are wide open. But not when you go to Myrtle Beach.
For starters, it’s a really long drive. It’s like going to Nova Scotia.
Nancy and I went to Myrtle Beach last weekend for golfing (me), shopping (her) and a family get-together.
We drove and we drove and we drove. I think we went through 12 states. But somewhere below Fayetteville, we had to leave the four-lane roads and make our way through what they call the Low Country.
Folks in the Low Country still belong to the Confederacy. They don’t have U.S. highways down there. All the roads are named for Confederate war heroes. It’s so far back in the sticks that our GPS lady had to stop twice and ask for directions.
At one point, she told me to cut through Elmer Smith’s driveway.
“He’s not at home and it’s a shortcut to the General Beauregard Davis By-Pass.”
This part of the drive was after dark and some of the towns looked like the Yankees had recently burned their way through. It was depressing.
Eventually, the GPS lady figured out a way to get us back on a 4-lane road and we breezed into Myrtle Beach.
If you’ve never been before, Myrtle Beach is a string of fireworks stands, golf shoe outlet stores, gentlemen’s clubs, Hardy’s and then repeat.
But the weather was glorious – mid-80s, sunny skies and low humidity. The golf course was inviting, I played pretty good and Nancy did her share to kick-start the South Carolina economy.
We had a ball.
Too bad Myrtle Beach can’t figure out a way to get us down there a little easier. Elmer Smith does not like it when people go through his driveway.