After a very poor night I am up really late and only just manage to vacate the room at 11am. What a shithole… sorry, but nasty.
I then attempt to get into downtown historic Charleston, but of course it is Saturday so the traffic is murder. I give up as I know it is going to be pretty much the same as Savannah and New Orleans architecture wise.. I’m not much of a tour guide am I! Of course this is a motorcycle tour so it’s all about the riding and that is what I am happiest doing.
Just on the way out of Charleston I pass through Mount Pleasant. On the outskirts I spot this historical marker…
I think these are the earthworks..
If they were built in 1861 and Federal forces occupied the town in 1865, I would say they didn’t work, but hey, what do I know.
This church is next door.. it is probably contemporary to the earthworks… certainly looks the part anyway.
That’s 2 Georgetown’s I’ve touched upon, the other being in DC of course.
Nice onion I must say… as you can see I am still following the coast more or less. Highway 17 is the main road around here, (apart from the interstate), as far as I can tell. There are so many inlets and waterways that it doesn’t really allow for other routes.. I have been constantly crossing bridges since I entered Florida; the coastline is very convoluted.
My next stopping point is Myrtle Beach, this, like Daytona Beach, is another biker mecca. They too have a couple of rallies a year and their Fall rally is this coming week. I do wonder if I should perhaps stay the extra week and spend some of it here at the rally. I check out accommodation and there is some available at a reasonable cost. What will I do at the rally? I don’t have a lot of funds left so I can’t shop… don’t have the room for it even if I did have the dosh. The organised rides seem to be towards the end of the week and I definitely don’t want to stay that long. The evenings are all about drinking and such, which is not for me so I guess there’s not much point… and I am tired and ready to go home.
I do drop in to the dealers and get a pin… I also pick up a rally t-shirt as a souvenir, even though I am not going to actually be here… so what!
I ride down to the seafront to look for somewhere to eat… Wow am I glad I decided not to stay here.. talk about commercial. The seafront is just mile upon mile of high rise hotels almost completely blocking the view of the sea. It really is vacation city and reminds me of Spain and the Costa Del Sol, really not for me thanks. I’m not looking down my nose at it, I have stayed in places like this before, including in Spain, and it is a type of holiday that I have been on in the past, but that was then, it really isn’t something I would enjoy now.
Miles of restaurants and fast food places…
Crazy golf seems very popular, there are a number of them along the road.
However, in North Myrtle Beach, there are some very nice looking hotels that have been buit in an art deco style that I like very much. I suspect this is the more expensive end of town
one of them is a Hilton.
I eventually stop for lunch, at 5.30! I think it’s time to find something for the night. The plan was to ride to a place called New Bern, which is a further 170 miles… mmmm think I’ll find something a bit closer. I have a look at Wilmington about 60 miles away, but the hotels there are quite expensive, so the next place is Jacksonville… yep another one… at 130 miles away. Ok that’s doable so I book in.
Very soon it’s So long South Carolina and Greetings to her sister, North Carolina
I stop for petrol and it is still just daylight when I go in to pay and by the time I come out again its dark! Again the temp has dropped considerably so I put my jacket on… so glad I brought it.
I arrive at the hotel at about 9.15 and meet this handsome, debonair chap… Casanova!! Isn’t he adorable? Only 2 years old and already blinged up to the eyeballs… daddy was very pleasant too, had a quick chat, mostly about Casa of course. A very well behaved affectionate animal and not overweight, which is unusual for a Bulldog in my experience, so well done owners.
So two Georgetowns and two Jacksonvilles, the latter in two days… the hotel is great by the way; clean, comfortable and only $45 including tax!
Just passed the 9000 mile mark as I arrive here… no wonder I’m tired.
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