Saturday, September 15, 2012

Litchfield and Huntington Beach

Two weeks ago we had another adventure at the beach. This time the target was Myrtle Beach and the surrounding area. We actually stayed at Litchfield Beach in a great called Litchfield Beach and Golf Resort, but not so little, resort. It was like a small town. We shared a house with the Vachon/Leblanc clan not too far from the beach itself.

The four bedroom house was just a few minutes from the beach and ten minutes from the resort restaurant where we had our breakfast each morning. The resort had several complexes and lots of different kids of housing to suit every need. The main resort had a pool and a small water park that the kids really enjoyed.

We enjoyed two great mornings on the beach and some time at the pool. Unfortunately there no kayaks this time but the water was about 24°C and there were waves to play in. The body board got a bit of use and we built a few sand castles and flew the kites.

In some ways the best part of the trip was the food. Jane always manages to find us some pretty neat places to eat and this time was no exception. The plan was to eat breakfast in the resort and then to have a light lunch in the house. Dinner was to be out each night.

Our first night we were just arriving and decided to eat along the way. Driving through Georgetown we stopped at what I call a local diner and had a great meal. There was fried chicken for some, and meatloaf for others. I had one of my favorites: shrimp and grits. It was called Aunny's Country Kitchen and I would highly recommend it. Georgetown itself was nice, even though we only saw it in the dark. To get to down we drove by a huge industrial building that we later found out was an iron works. It was practically in the middle of town and looked like something from a Batman movie, all dark and sooty.

The second day our meal was almost as good as the first. This time we headed just down the road to a little place called Roz's Rice Mill Cafe. It was nestled in a little shopping complex that looked like a little outlet mall from the 1950s. The food there was just as good if slightly more upscale. I had some fried flounder with more grits and Jane had a soft shelled crab. We'd never had soft shelled crab but this one was simply lightly battered, in the shell, deep fried, and then served on a bed of grits. It was good but I don't think she'll have it again.

Our last meal was a more modern place near the resort. It was called Quigley's Pint and Plate and we ended up having to wait a while to be seated, but the kids were pretty patient. We took them out for a walk and watched the turtles and fish in the pond by the restaurant. Off course I had my third round of shrimp and grits, this time with andouille sausage. Jane had a pasta and there were burgers and fish tacos for the others.

So that sums up the food, which is always a big part of the trip in our household. Our final day we split up from the Leblanc/Vachon family and headed to Huntington Beach State Park. In case you haven't figured it out by now I am a big fan of the SC State Park system. This park I had heard about but we never seemed to in that part of the state.

This time we arrived mid-morning and poked around the boardwalk for a while. The saltwater estuary was full of bird from large egrets to little shorebirds. Afterwards we spent some time at the beach and spent lots of time in the water. We did a little beach combing and found some treasures, including a really neat Sand Tiger Shark's tooth. We all had a few good swims in the warm waters.








In the afternoon we toured Atalaya, the Huntington home built on the park grounds that eventually become a state park. The history of the building and the stories surrounding it are quite interesting. Anna Hyatt Huntington was a sculptor and made some great sculptures that are displayed all over the world.

As for the house itself it must have been an incredible thing to build since it was made mostly built with local unskilled labor. On the day we visited it was not difficult to see why the Huntingtons only lived there in the winter, it was very hot and humid. Here are some pictures, including a little tree frog we saw on our tour.





The return was a little rough, arriving late due to some traffic, but the trip was worth the time in the car. Unfortunately it could be one of our last trips to the beach as our time here nears an end, but I'm sure there will other adventures.

1 comment:

Jean A Vachon said...

Very detailed and interesting Paul. I had heard a bit from Rita. My blog: http://janolapin-larecherchedutempsperdu.blogspot.ca