Too often, those of us who actually live on the Grand Strand forget how many great attractions we have at our fingertips and we take for granted all that Myrtle Beach and the surrounding area have to offer. So it’s nice every now and then to get out and try a few new things! The other day I wanted to try some places out other than Murrells Inlet, so a friend and I headed up to Myrtle Beach. We started off at the always excellent Chestnut Hill in the bar area for Happy Hour food and drinks. Chestnut Hill has some of the best Happy Hour deals around, with an extensive menu of appetizers all for around $5. And we’re not talking chicken wings and French fries either. Between the 2 of us, we had Mushrooms stuffed with Crab Meat, Beef Tips, Mini Crabcakes, a truly delectable Seared Ahi Tuna app and 2 small Caesar salads and everything was great, and more than enough food for 2 people. They also have Shrimp and Grits, Mussells, Scallops in Bacon, Eggplant Parmesan and Fried Green Tomatoes, just to name a few. If you want a nice, upscale atmosphere with great food, this is your place! Just be sure to get there right at 5 or a little before, because the bar gets pretty full (obviously the secret is out!).
From there we proceeded to Ocean Annies, which is an outdoor bar located on the oceanfront at the Sands Resort, off Lake Arrowhead Rd. I had heard about Ocean Annies, but had never been so we decided to give it a try. It was a really nice night, with a great breeze. There was plenty of seating and a fun band singing classic rock and beach music. If you’re looking for a variety of beer, you might want to look elsewhere, as they only serve Natural Light draft and Landshark draft. But they had a variety of frozen and tropical cocktails which they sold by the pitcher, so if you have a pretty good sized crowd, that’s a good bet. Overall, a nice time, and one of the few venues in MB right on the oceanfront, so it’s a can’t miss.
We finished off our Myrtle Beach night by cruising down Ocean Boulevard (ALWAYS good people watching!) and hitting up some rides at the Family Kingdom. Once again, despite having lived here my whole life, I had never been to Family Kingdom (we had always gone to the Pavilion growing up). We rode the swings and a few other little rides, but the main objective was to ride the Swamp Fox Coaster, which has been around since 1966. I’m glad I can say I rode it, but being a wooden roller coaster, it’s quite a bit jarring, and that’ll probably be the last time; I love roller coasters but prefer ones that are a bit smoother. Nevertheless, it was a fun night!
