Brookgreen Gardens

I visited Brookgreen Gardens near Myrtle Beach recently. The upper photo shows one of the many sculptures at the Gardens. The lower photo shows two bald eagles that were injured and now can't survive in the wild. There's a huge variety of sculptures, animals and lots of grassy meadows to see there. There's also a lot of walking if you want to see it all. Here's the link to their website.

Bar-B-Q

I think we are all influenced by the food we eat when we are young. My Mother is an excellent cook and there are many foods that only she can cook the way I like them. I had other influences on my food preferences when I was a kid, too. I lived in Charleston, SC for a while when I was growing up and that’s where I first had barbecue. There was a drive-in restaurant called Piggy Park Drive-In that made the best barbecue I have ever eaten. I assume that is now the same barbecue made by members of the Bessinger family. So I compare all other barbecue to that Piggy Park barbecue, which I consider a 5 on a scale from 1 to 5.

Today I had lunch at Oink’s Bar-B-Q at 4503 Socastee Blvd. in Myrtle Beach, SC. It’s a small dine-in, take out and delivery restaurant in a strip shopping center on the outskirts of the City. Their motto is “So good, you’ll squeal!” The people are friendly and the place is clean but Spartan with a small dining area. They have pork, chicken and Texas beef brisket barbecue. The sauces they have are mustard base, tomato base and vinegar base. My favorite is the mustard base, which is the kind Piggy Park used. I had the regular pork platter, which included two sides and a drink for $7.50. Being a senior citizen, I usually look for cheaper lunches. I used the mustard based sauce on the barbecue pork. The pulled pork itself was very good. The sauce was good, but not quite up to my Piggy Park standard. On the other hand, Piggy Park didn’t offer the option of the other two sauces. Overall, I would give this barbecue a four on my scale. It was very good.

First Blog on Myrtle Beach

I am originally from South Carolina, but I have only been to Myrtle Beach a few times in my life. I retired about 3 years ago and moved from Michigan back to Charleston, SC. Last year I found a condo in Myrtle Beach and decided to move here. I was writing other blogs and decided to start this blog to share my exploration of Myrtle Beach with other’s who might be thinking about moving here or vacationing here. The Grand Strand, as the coastal area from Georgetown, SC to Ocean Isle, NC is known as, includes Myrtle Beach and has about 2000 restaurants and about 90 golf courses. I’ll let you know what I find as I explore this place.