The view from my bedroom balcony - Myrtle Beach welcoming me with a beautiful sunrise.
Breakfast this morning was again at the Omega Pancake & Omelet house where I had breakfast with the boys when we were down in May. Mom and I were talking about it on our way out, looked up, and there it was - practically behind the hotel. So we went on in. They were nice as ever, and Mom's eggs came out right (she likes them soft-scrambled, which is difficult to get in a restaurant), and her bacon was crispy, so she was happy. I had a rather flat but tasty omelet, and some pancakes, so I was happy too. I LOVE breakfast, I love pancakes, and we both like to have breakfast out.
Today was designated as a store shopping day. We were headed to some places we usually go, but on the way we were stopping if we saw anything interesting. I didn't realize there was a Tuesday Morning at Myrtle Beach, but there it was. The staff there was a couple of gay guys, and they were super nice without being overly attentive, but got me all signed up to be in Tuesday Morning Perks (their discount program - Russ is gonna shit). I hit the jackpot there. I found bear Christmas cards (I had been in no condition for the after-Christmas sales last year, and that's when I usually get them), part of my bear Christmas gift for the gift grab, a searcy for Rhondee, and Grandma's Christmas present. I get her a calendar every year, and it is surprisingly difficult to find a large print religious calendar. Last year I had to order one off Amazon. But this year, there it was - and on sale too. So score. We had a good time looking around at the stuff, and hit another couple of little galleries before moving on.
The next stop was B & B Antiques. We go in here every year. It used to be a really cool antique place with a bunch of dealers, but sadly through the years it has become progressively more junked up with tourist crap. We saw today that the trend continues. I did note that one of the major depression glass dealers that used to be there has closed his booth - small wonder. His prices were so ridiculous that he couldn't have sold anything in years. We looked through the crap, and perused the antiques still on offer, but again left empty-handed. I don't know what the booth rentals there are, but they have to be crazy high.
We were on our way back down to lunch, and rode into Barefoot Landing. We were looking for a place I had seen a billboard for on the way down that advertised Clemson and Carolina gear as a specialty, but there was no mention of the place online. Our attention was caught when we saw a place called Purpleologist - everything in the store was purple. I love purple, and was intrigued, but the actual store was a bit of a letdown. It's true, everything in there was purple (even the floor), but most of the merchandise was women's clothes and jewelery. I manfully resisted a $30 purple kettle (which I kind of wish I had bought, even though it wouldn't match a thing in my kitchen) and a pair of earrings (can you manfully resist a pair of earrings?) before we moved on. We were hungry, and it was getting late. Ordinarily I don't do chain restaurants on vacation, but Ultimate California Pizza was right there...
I was pleasantly surprised. We had salads for a lighter lunch since it was late in the day, and they were excellent. It wasn't very busy, so the bartender actually waited on us, but the food was excellent, and we both really enjoyed it. We had eaten pizza at another UCP years ago, but this was our first visit to this location. We went through The Olive Shoppe and looked, but the prices were high, and I didn't like that there was no ingredient list on the bottles - they had to be infused with something.
Leaving there, we stopped in Coastal Grand Mall. I need a swimsuit. I spent hours shopping for one before we went to the beach in May. I did buy one, but never had it on during the trip. Blessedly, as it turns out. When I did finally don it over Labor Day weekend in Savannah, it was too small. I swore I'd never wear that one again, and I didn't. As soon as we got home, I washed it and then it went to Goodwill. The real issue is that I like my OLD bathing suit. If it was up to me, I'd just buy another one exactly like it, but of course they don't make that one any more. I would just keep wearing it, but it is at least ten years old now, and is looking a bit worse for wear. Sadly, there was no luck today, as we were crisply informed by the stores there that they had clearanced out all their bathing suits back in August. Typical.
We'd had a long day today, and were both tired. But my light lunch was gone by this point. We got ready and headed out for supper.
Dinner tonight was at the Sea Captain's House restaurant. Although Dad and Eve eat there when they are down, I had only eaten there once before, years ago, when I was down with a guy who was a real jerk. I ate there at the time because I had always wanted to, but despite the company I remembered that the food was good. Mother had never eaten there and wanted to do so. There is always a wait at the Sea Captain. It's been there since 1930 (!!), and the food is good enough that it is a must-have meal for a trip to Myrtle Beach. It had come to Mother's attention because of an article I had found online and printed for her to read, touting the five 'best-of' dishes on the grand strand. They were supposed to have the best she-crab soup. I LOVE she-crab soup, so I was easily convinced. We were told there would be an hour wait, but we were game. We settled in to wait, and it was only about thirty minutes before we were called. I was not disappointed, nor did my memory fail me here. The place has been re-decorated since I was there last, but they didn't take away from the charm of it. Our server was friendly and attentive without interfering. The soup was scrumdiddlyumptious, as was the rest of the meal. Mom really enjoyed hers, and I think we have a new favorite for her. She had never been because she and Dad were too poor to go there when they were married, husband number two was too cheap, and husband number three categorically refused to wait for a table anywhere. It made me happy and proud to take Mama there for the first time. Usually when we eat seafood at the beach she wants to go to Nance's down at Murrells Inlet, but that could change after tonight.
We had a lovely, relaxing meal, and were both quite ready for bed when we got in. It had been a long day, but a fun one.
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