Firefly Pilgrimage?

The Charleston Tea Plantation - where Firefly gets its tea

Our favorite national but Cape Fear based columnist is Celia Rivenbark. Celia’s newest book title elucidates, “You Can’t Drink All Day If You Don’t Start in the Mornin’”.  We’re pretty sure that it was one of Celia’s columns that set us off on a quest to find and try Firefly, a sweet tea infused vodka distilled from Muscadine Grapes.  Although we don’t consider ourselves to be Firefly connoisseurs, we, like most everyone else who tries it, have numerous recipes – combining it with: more sweet tea (must be brewed), various flavored sparkling waters and juices, straight up with mango, lemon, strawberries, etc.  Although Firefly is distributed nationally, it has quickly become one of the South’s favorite beverages.

So… getting to the point, whilst on our journey we were outside of ChuckTown Coffee (very good place by the way) in Mt. Pleasant SC a guy waltzed out of the coffee joint carrying a tray of coffee & drinks.  HE WAS WEARING A FIREFLY Tee (maybe it should be tea?)! Well of course I stumbled after him, most likely looking like an out of control mugger, yelling Firefly, shirt, where get, how and other articulate statements.  He however, possibly because he is used to such approaches, turned and in a gentlemanly southern manner explained he made them – me thinking, he’s a tee shirt maker? Anyway, he asked if we knew the area, and we said a bit, having spent some time in Mt. Pleasant, Isle of Palms, James Island and Charleston (2 visits in 2 weeks).  He asked if we knew where Wadmalaw Island was, to which my response was a blank stare.  He went on to explain it was an island just south of Charleston, and that’s where Firefly was made and we could visit, taste, and tour.  We could also find various clothing articles on their website.  We, still being stunned and thinking about an immediate trip back to the southern side of Charleston to find Wadmalaw Island, mumbled a thank you.  Later, after visiting the website, we realized that he wasn’t a tee shirt maker.  He was Scott “the Firefly Guy” Newitt, a native of Honey Swamp Island, LA and one of the two founders of Firefly, the other being Jim Irvin the guy with the Muscadine grapes and winery.  We were, so to speak, touched by greatness.  We immediately started planning a pilgrimage to Wadmalaw Island.  Spring would be nice especially if we want to take in the Charleston Tea Plantation (Bigelow Tea) – the provider of teas to Firefly and the only tea plantation left in the United States, but we might just not be able to wait, we’ll see.

Murrells inlet, Surfside Beach, Garden City Beach

Nibils - Surfside Beach

Surfside Beach, Garden City Beach and Murrells inlet lie south of Myrtle Beach and are considered part of the “Grand Strand”, however these areas are quite different from MB with few high rise hotels and condos, and numerous restaurants that range from gourmet to hot dogs.  In particular Nibils, in Surfside is on the pier, has wonderful views, great staff and provides simple tasty lunches and dinner at reasonable prices and of course lots of fresh fish.  From what we hear, Nibils also has a marvelous breakfast.  It’s located in the heart of Surfside right at the pier.

Murrells Inlet has numerous restaurants on the water overlooking the marsh and inlet.  Most have excellent seafood as well as steak, barbeque and other specialties.  Many of these restaurants have entertainment, and much of the entertainment is very good, attracting both regional and national acts.  None of the entertainment involves having bison run by your food or knights on horses – for that type of excitement you’ll just have to go back to Myrtle Beach.   For a good listing of restaurants throughout the area try http://www.myrtlebeachscrestaurants.com.

We have been inextricably drawn to the same place on numerous visits.  The Dead Dog Saloon, it’s not some pseudo cowboy bar, there is a “legend” about the Dead Dog and it can be found on their website. The Dead Dog has a fairly simple and straight forward menu, fish prepared in any number of ways, steak, good burgers and plenty of adult beverages.  However the best feature is the back bar which overlooks the inlet and marsh, the outside areas and the general laid back – "this must be paradise" atmosphere.  We’re sure there are many similar venues on the inlet – we just like this one.

The back bar at Dead Dog, plenty of screens....

or if you prefer, view the inlet...

Heck, do both...how about a Margarita while deciding?

Myrtle Beach, Miniature Golf and Pancake Houses

Myrtle Beach - mini golf capital of the world!

What can you say about Myrtle Beach, SC?  Mama always said if you can’t say something nice…

Lots of nice golf courses, a destination for many that golf, something we do occasionally but not with great passion.  Beaches are nice and wide; many hotel options, lots of good restaurants (recommend the Soho) excellent steak, seafood & sushi plus it is one of the hottest spots in town.

Besides golf and the beach, other things MB is famous for include:

•  Bike Weeks – several motorcycle rallies have historically run consecutively and are among the biggest, and some say rowdiest in the country.  MB, Horry (pronounced “orry”, by the way – the H is silent) County, and several surrounding towns have moved to make it more difficult for the rallies to take place and numbers are down. See http://myrtlebeachbikerinfo.com/message.html

• Mini or miniature golf – MB and surrounding areas have over 40 mini-golf courses.  We did an informal survey and counted over 22 on our route through town, some of the most amazing are pictured above.  North MB is also home to the U.S. ProMiniGolf Association, read all about it on their website http://www.prominigolf.com/index.html and the ProMiniGolf Masters Tournament.

• Pancake houses – like pancakes? Got syrup? Go to Myrtle Beach, we counted over 20 just on the main roads on our drive through.

·         

Why We Are so Slow to Post....

Rolling Rock at Surf's, with the Beachside Motel Inn across the street, picture is a little wavy due to plastic wind curtain protecting us from frigid 65 degree weather.  Atlantic in background, not yet frozen over.

We seem to be a little behind in our posts, might have something to do with our goal of finding out of the way motels & other accommodations within walking distance to drinking & eating establishments.  We are currently in a classic seaside motel, with a great bar and restaurant across the street in Fernandina Florida on Amelia Island. We are in that little bit of Florida's east coast that juts into Georgia, so there are parts of Georgia south of us.  Other places we have been and will post about , include:

• Myrtle Beach, SC & environs
• Murrels Inlet, SC - great views
• Georgetown, SC - great restaurant
• Isle of Palms, SC - great beach & location
• Charleston, SC - possibly the most beautiful city in America
• Beaufort, SC - surprising mix of urban design & the old south 
• Hunting Island State Park, Harbor Island SC - an amazing discovery for us
• Savannah, GA - 
• St. Simons Island, GA
• Fernandina Beach, Amelia Island, FL
• plus several interesting stops, drive-through's, more goofy signs, other interesting sights and as few acerbic observations as possible (not counting Myrtle Beach)

Right now we figure we're averaging about 65 miles a day, and most of the time we have difficulty remembering just what day it is.  We gauge that as a success factor.

Calabash the Self Proclaimed Seafood (fried) Capital of the World

Calabash,  the name is synonymous with fish platters fried up Calabash style.  Calabash has long been home to a fleet of shrimpers and fishing boats. Although the shrimpers and fishermen remain, Calabash is now more of a tourist based economy with numerous seafood restaurants and tourist shops. Not really our cup of tea, so this was more of a drive-by than a visit.  I’ll say this much, they must have very good photographers because every Calabash photo I’ve seen looks a lot better than the actual place.  Must be very hard to Photoshop those tour buses out of the pictures.  If you like fried fish, and we sometimes do, by all means go.

Beach the Way it Used to be - Sunset Beach NC

Wait your turn on the old pontoon bridge...

For soon there will be no wait, but will Sunset Beach still be Sunset Beach?

Sunset Beach is the beach the way it used to be, for now.  I say for now because the one lane wood pontoon swing bridge entry to the island is in the process of being replaced by a 65 foot high half-mile long concrete bridge with 2 12’ lanes and a pedestrian/bike lane.  The island now has many older well kept beach cottages, which rent for less than many other areas (under $1000 per week in season) and has hotels such as the Sunset Inn where rates for standard rooms range from $99 - $169 depending on season.  The beach is very nice and there is a pier dead on from the bridge with typical old style fishing supply store & bar.  You can go on the pier for free, but pay per fishing pole.  The only disappointment was the parking lot to the pier where a significant amount of garbage had been thrown about, but then there were a lot of out of state plates so we’ll blame in on them.   If you do go, please dispose of your rubbish in the plentiful containers.

The island is not overdeveloped at this point with less than 50% of the beachfront developed including the southern tip of the island which is in South Carolina.  It is a very relaxed atmosphere and we hope the bridge will not ruin it.  We’ll be going back and hope you will give this not oft mentioned beach a try as well.

Entrance to the pier, very nice, old school but please...

keep it clean!

Typical beach cottage rental

Ocean Isle and Goofy Signs

Ocean Isle GIS Aerial

There’s no easy way to get from one adjacent Island to the next if you’re not in a boat.  We had the choice of going out to Route 17 and heading back in the direction of Oak Island to reach Holden Beach or going out to 17 and continuing south and heading to Ocean Isle. We chose south heading to Ocean Isle via business 17 and 179.  The drive is pleasant rural coastal North Carolina with occasional golf and resort communities.

It also seems to be goofy sign territory, several notables, from here and further south were:

·         Bad Spellers Untie
·         Worms & Coffee
·         Eat and Get Gas at the Same Time!
·         Damifino Equipment (got to figure they were trying to think up a name and said….)
·         Backache Acres (on a small farm plot)
·         For sale sign on a 15 passenger van – had a picture of the van, think about it.
·         Street sign: “Bogus Lane”

Getting back to our travels, coming over on the high rise bridge (no draw bridge delays), Ocean Isle looks a little like a Jersey shore town, lots of houses, and few trees. Upon closer examination, there are some treed areas in the older areas that have one and two level homes.  The island has an interesting layout; a good portion of the islands housing has direct water/boating access through a series of canals.  A map or satellite view resembles a comb.  Ocean Isle’s beach’s were restored in 2008 and are consistently ranked among the widest, cleanest and best beaches in Brunswick County and North Carolina.

Note the Canals, or /Channels

There are a number of food & drink establishments and lodging venues on the island.  We have been recommended to Sharkey’s as a friendly place with good food and great views – but we arrived pre-lunch, so missed our chance to try it out.  Sharky’s and several lodging opportunities which looked good have links in www.oceanislebeach.com. We hope to stop by on the way back.

Oak Island and our Pink Motel

As seen from Southport, the spit of land across the bay to the right, is Oak Island

From Southport we proceeded south to Oak Island, note of caution – avoid driving to/from Oak Island during rush hours when it tends to back up on the bridge.  Oak Island or OKI lives up to its name with many Oaks along with pine and numerous other tree species providing shade, wind protection and a general sense of substance to the Island. We lucked out on accommodations by identifying the newly renovated Island Inn – our Pink Motel.  For under $70 you get a very clean, very recently renovated and updated room with microwave, coffee maker and refrigerator.  In season there is a pool, otherwise there are few amenities (besides the caretaker’s 2 miniature Dachshunds), but hey you’re a couple of blocks to the beach and there are numerous restaurants, bars and shops in the immediate area.

Upon arrival on the island we first drove southeast (Oak Island has south facing beaches)  and visited Caswell Beach, the beach was nice in appearance but we weren’t thrilled with the numerous fist sized chunks of what looked like granite rip-rap underfoot at the tide line and in the shallow water.  Additionally the water although still warm was somewhat murky with a lot of suspended cinder like particles, not very appealing. These conditions may have been a temporary or may be a result of this beach being so close to the mouth of the river catching debris from both the river and the generally northern currents.  The beach further down Oak Island was better looking with less rock clutter and the water was better. In general the beach and water did not compare well to the east facing beaches on the other side of the river, such as Wrightsville Beach.

We had dinner at the Fish House http://www.southporttimes.com/fishhouserestaurant.html which is adjacent to the Blue Water Motel and Marina, http://www.bluewaterpointmotel.com/  which also looked like it would be a very good choice from what we could see without buzzing the night clerk (we peeked in a few windows).  The Fish House was quite crowded, with mostly locals which is usually a good sign, and was.  The menu had plenty of choices and the food was good and well prepared and quite reasonable. The location is superb: on the inlet with a marina, great and interesting views.

Ocean Isle, Sunset Beach, Calabash and Goofy Signs

There’s no easy way to get from one adjacent Island to the next if you’re not in a boat.  We had the choice of going out to Route 17 and heading back in the direction of Oak Island to reach Holden Beach or continuing south and heading to Ocean Isle. We chose south heading to Ocean Isle via business 17.  This is pleasant rural coastal North Carolina with occasional magnificent golf and resort communities.

The Island Inn Motel

Southport and The Yacht Basin Provision Company

A cold Pacifico at Provisions...

Exit the ferry and into historic Southport, NC.  Southport is a pleasant town on the southeast side of the mouth of the Cape Fear River.  Historic homes, live oak lined streets in a waterfront setting and as the name evokes, it is a port and protected by Bald Head Island, Oak Island and other natural features.  It is by definition, off the beaten path, more accessible by boat than auto at least a half hour drive from the nearest major road, US 17.  Southport is a boater’s paradise with many marinas and more than several fine drinking and eating establishments on or very near the water.

We were recommended to the Yacht Basin Provision Company and “Fishy Fishy”. The two establishments were side by side; Provisions , as it is called by the locals is precariously perched on the edge of the dock and has that old time appeal of a long established hangout making it an easy choice for us.  We were not disappointed and debated finishing the month out, sipping Pacificos and watching the boats come in and enjoying what we were told was the end all Halloween celebration commencing with the Stede Bonnet Regatta and party.  Inside, Mindy greets you from behind the counter and expounds with enthusiasm about today’s fresh catch and other tasty specials and old standards.  For beverages we were directed to help yourself from a refrigerated case and grabbed ourselves a couple of the aforementioned Pacificos.  Per Mindy, when you want more just come and grab em out of the case, keep a count and let me know how many when you’re done – it’s an honor bar. We both chose grilled Yellow Fin which was prepared perfectly with a side of red skin potato salad which had some zing to it. Our seat yourself table was a few feet from the docked boats and there was steady traffic between the boats, the bar and restaurant.  When a large, older cabin cruiser pulled in, several bar patrons interrupted their conversation to assist the boat in tying up. Quizzing a patron with a Florida Gators cap about similar places on the Florida Gulf and Atlantic coasts, he ventured there were none like this.  It was a great crowd of regulars and visitors, all having a good time with conversations that centered on the water, boating and the Southport area.  It was extremely relaxing, and as noted, difficult to shove off and continue our trip.  If you are anywhere near the area Southport is worth the trip, allow a few extra hours to while away at The Provision Company.


The bar at Provisions

the dock at Provisions

Taking the Ferry to Southport

The first post of this blog noted we wanted to avoid interstates and highways, there’s no better way to do that then to take your car, but, go by boat. Driving south on the Cape Fear peninsula we took the Snows Cut bridge to the island community of Carolina Beach, passed though Kure Beach (pronounced “Currie”), and proceeded to the Ft. Fort Fisher / Southport Ferry (which one of us being from Jersey pronounces “furry” versus my Southern California counterpart's  “fairy”). We arrived at the park like ferry terminal a little past 2PM. After a short wait we were guided on to a small ferry that accommodated roughly 35 vehicles. The ferrys run frequently and are an ideal way to see the wide mouth of the Cape Fear River where it meets the Atlantic guarded by Bald Head Island (also reachable by ferry from Southport). At $5 per vehicle, it’s probably cheaper than driving up to the Cape Fear Bridge and back down again to the coast, certainly safer and a lot more fun. We were lucky in being directed to a bow spot, kind of like finally getting to be in one of those short lived Amphicars (see www.amphicars.com) that came out in the 60’s. Spectacular, is not a word that does justice to the panoramic view, under a warm (mid 80’s) sunny sky and a salty breeze. We were on our way to Southport!

Just What We're Looking For! Savannah, Jacksonville, Flagler Beach

One of the main reasons we wanted to start this blog was to jog other peoples memories of great hidden, off the track places that retain the flavor of seaside living without the glitz. We're getting really interesting responses back by email and encourage everyone to post these on the blog, if you've got a memory of a good place or location on any coast, share it. These responses are just what we're looking for. Here are a few - My friend E.L. from Queens, who apparently has relatives in every city in America, sent a request to his cousin a long time resident of Savannah. He identified several restaurants, hangouts and B&B's in Savannah. Since we're most assuredly going to stop in Savannah we'll write about that when we get there.

And then my friend R.R. asked one of his friends, who formerly lived in Jacksonville FL for local, off the tourist trail, restaurants, hotels along the coast.
She sent the following:
Have fun
good "local" restaurants:

1. St. Augustine [Vilano Beach, off A1A] - Aunt Kate's
good food; you can sit on the deck outside on the intracoastal waterway.

Aunt Kate's
612 Euclid Avenue • Vilano Beach
(904) 829-1105
Members of the Usina family rebuilt this new 5,000 square foot waterfront restaurant on the former site of Oscar's, a popular fish camp which was destroyed by fire in 2001. The Usina family has owned the property for more than a century and the new restaurant is named for matriarch, Katherine Usina, who bought the property in 1904 and ran the restaurant for many years. With 2,000 square feet of deck outside overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway and 150 feet of floating dock, Aunt Kate's is sure to become a favorite St. Augustine dining destination by car or by boat! General Manager Matthew Williams and his staff look forward to welcoming you for wonderful, Southern-style dining in the most relaxing setting in St. Augustine. For more information, call (904) 829-1105 or e-mail aunt-kates@att.net.

2. St. Augustine [HWY US1] -Schooner's
good food but not much atmosphere
http://www.schooners-seafood.com/

3. Blue at The Topaz Motel [Flagler Beach, A1A...this is between St. Aug and Daytona]
Our favorite! Great food, you can eat outside on the porch overlooking the ocean

http://www.flagleronline.com/blue

http://www.vacationplanning.net/blogs/blog_pack/09-09-21/Blue_at_Topaz_is_Flagler%E2%80%99s_%E2%80%98Hidden_Gem%E2%80%99_Restaurant.aspx#

We passed through Flagler a few years back on our way to Key West and were particularly pleased with the old low-rise beach town, right on the ocean, feel of the place - so we're really looking forward to stopping there. The Blue at the Topaz Motel sounds very interesting and we're going online to check out the "Motel", there's just something about a beach motel that shrieks sand on the floor, towels draped on the railing, steps to the beach and a few beers on the porch....

Going Coastal - lookin' for funky little motels, beach bars, good food, interesting people...

Going coastal is our non-scheduled, non-interstate, unmapped exploration of what's left of the old coast. We're looking for the gems that didn't get torn down for condo's, the local dive bars, mom & pop motels, restaurants with butcher paper on the table and a bucket for shells. Nothing fancy or overpriced. We're starting from our home on Cape Fear about a mile from the intracoastal waterway (ICWW)and will meander south. Help us out with a few suggestions and tell us about your favorite places. We promise not to tell too many people!