Greenville, SC

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In recent years, Greenville has really become a hot destination city, and if you visit, it will be no surprise that this is the case. It has two qualities that you don’t usually find in the same place – it’s both under the radar and teeming with activity. It’s casual and still fun.

Along the tree-lined Main Street, there are several nice hotels, from big and name-brand to more quaint and personal, and mostly at pretty reasonable prices. It’s also lined with boutique stores, and plenty of excellent restaurants that even the foodies in your group will find difficult to criticize. One such restaurant is the Tupelo Honey Cafe. Though it does have locations around the country it doesn’t come off as a chain in any way. It’s good old southern cooking that even a lifelong Southerner will love.

In addition to the southern charm and cool atmosphere, Greenville offers visitors stunning natural beauty. It’s nice to add a hike or an outdoor excursion of some sort to any trip, and the nearby Blue Ridge Mountains offer plenty of opportunity for this. You can trek, or if you stuffed yourself too much at Tupelo Honey Cafe the night before you can drive, to beautifully scenic vistas. You actually don’t need to stray too far away from the city for nice natural scenery. It’s the sort of place that incorporates the natural landscape into the design of the city, with brooks and rivers running right through it.

Greenville is definitely worth the visit if you haven’t been. If you have, there’s probably no need to tell you it’s worth another trip.

Myrtle Beach

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South Carolina has several great beaches, both for day and weekend trips for those who live in the state, and for longer trips for those from around the country and abroad. On my Charleston blog, I’ve already written about one such beach/island getaway: Seabrook Island. Myrtle beach is also a terrific beach that people from all over travel to. Fortunately for Charlestonians, Myrtle Beach is only about a 2 hour drive away, thus making it a potential day trip, but if you travel there, do yourself a favor and stay for longer than that.

Myrtle Beach is like one of those ideal beach towns from a summer movie, and the days there follow a certain very calm and relaxing, but still fun and enjoyable pattern. In addition to the beach, there are plenty of little activities that are fun for everyone in the family. For example, this area has an inordinately high density of Putt Putt golf courses. As a parent, you will be grateful for this if you travel there with small children, because not only does this provide a fun activity to always fall back on, but it also never gets repetitive since there are so many. The Skywheel is also a great addition, and offers a great view of the water, beach, and boardwalk.

I also recommend taking in the “Pirate’s Voyage” Dinner and Show while at Myrtle Beach if you have the chance. A lot of these dinner theater type shows can be a little hokey, and I’m not going to say this isn’t, but somehow it fits the atmosphere of the town well, and it winds up being a very fun and entertaining show. Again, this is good for the whole family, but also enjoyable for anyone.

So this is just another one of the many great beaches and beach towns in South Carolina, but also one that is particularly worth visiting.