A little more than a year ago I published an entry to my blog titled "The Medieval Times Experience - Myrtle Beach, SC Edition", which you can read for yourself by clicking the hyperlink. As you might assume, that particular entry was more or less a gushing love letter to Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament. My wife and I are huge fans of Medieval Times, you see, so much so that we visit their Myrtle Beach castle at least once a year. On top of that, we've also been to the Atlanta and Orlando castles as well but to be completely honest with you of the MT locations we've visited Myrtle Beach is the best of the three in our opinion.
All that having been said, I'd like to share with you a vlog we recorded after a recent visit to MT in Myrtle Beach. I wanted to take the time to document the entire experience, from getting into the parking lot to ticketing, and from navigating the great hall to the tournament itself. I'd like to think I did a fairly thorough job which is why the video clocks in at just under 40 minutes. You people should know me by now - brevity is not something I'm good at.
Showing posts with label Medieval Times. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Medieval Times. Show all posts
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Thursday, March 6, 2014
A Trip to Duluth, GA for Valentine's Day Weekend 2014
I'm going to be blunt here for a moment. I'm not a fan of Valentine's Day - never have been and probably never will be. Why? I fail to see the point of the thing, quite frankly. If you truly love someone then you should tell them specifically that each and every day of your life (either with words or, better yet, by your actions), not just the one day of the year that retailers feel it's best for you to do so.
That said, Valentine's Day 2014 was a step in the direction towards changing my mind about February 14th (I refuse to refer to it as a holiday) because my wife and I took a weekend road trip over to Duluth, Georgia. Right about now, you might be asking yourself "Where's that and what's there to make the drive worth it?". Duluth is about an hour or so north of Atlanta and it happens to be home to Medieval Times Atlanta which is the only MT location in the southeastern United States we hadn't yet visited.
A month or so prior, we received an email from MT that contained an offer for a Valentine's Day package. The offer was actually a really good deal considering the usual cost of admission and what was included; for $99 we would receive our meals, a tour of the dungeon, a split of champagne (in etched keepsake flutes), a framed 8" x 10" photo, cheering banners (read, flags on sticks), and what I can only describe as a light-up "wand". ("Wand" is the only word I can use to describe it with eloquence; it looks like a fluorescent tube light bulb only shorter and it flashes with various colors when turned on.) The special package and the fact that we had the opportunity to take in an experience that was familiar but yet still new were more than enough to get persuade us to hit the road.
In describing my/our road trips in the past, I've mentioned how I prefer to take back-roads as opposed to interstates and main highways. Driving can be such a stressful thing these days - I figure why not enjoy it, if you can, by taking in sights and scenery between where you are and where you're going? Duluth presented us with an opportunity to do more of this kind of travel as we would leave our base of operations in Saint Matthews, South Carolina and head west via SC highway 6 before hitting I-20 west for a stretch only to then get back off the main road as we made our final approach.
The drive was very enjoyable for me as my wife is always great at maintaining a conversation. We talk all the time as is, so the fact that we were cooped up inside my truck for a few hours only gave us more of an excuse to rattle on about anything and everything. One area of contention we will probably never see eye to eye on are our favored radio stations. For me, it's usually either rock (I'd say hard rock & metal but you hardly ever see a station on terrestrial radio fitting that description) or sports talk whereas my wife prefers country. Not that I can't listen to country, it just starts to sound silly after a while (said the guy who listens to a number of bands known for wearing masks, face paint, and assorted costuming).
We'd had breakfast earlier in the day at a Sonic Drive-In and since we knew we were bound for a bountiful supper we opted to grab something from a convenience store while we'd stopped for fuel as opposed to a full-scale lunch. I forget what town we were in but I do remember that the store was a Flying J truck stop for two reasons: 1) they had a soda fountain capable of dispensing flavored shots into your beverage such as vanilla, lemon, cherry, and others and 2) they had a chill-chest embedded in the checkout counter that was stocked with, among other things, hard boiled eggs.
I'm not a huge fan of eggs in any form (other than scrambled and even then they need a healthy compliment of cheese or various other proteins to make them edible), but boiled eggs are about my least favorite food, ever. The consistency and flavor of a boiled egg is just this side of wretched. I saw them and all I could think of was some trucker making his way on the interstate, chowing down on those things and stinking up his cab to high heaven with sulfurous ass-gas. I hate to drum up a stereotype of trucker culture but it's difficult not to given that there's apparently a market for such food items in stores such as these.
I made the comment to my wife before we left home that I've made more trips to Georgia in the past year than I have over the course of my entire life, which was an entirely true statement. (Purposeful trips to Georgia, that is - it would've been a horrible lie if I counted the number of times I passed through with my family as a youngster on our way to Florida.) We stayed overnight last May in Covington, GA for our anniversary trip that included stops in Atlanta and Porterdale. In July I got to spend a week in Atlanta as I was in town to attend a pair of training classes. And here we found ourselves going to another Georgian city, that being Duluth.
I couldn't tell you much about the town other than to say that Duluth is one of many cities that benefit from their proximity to Atlanta. What little bit of Duluth we did have time to see (we were only in town for one night, after all, and our arrival was delayed after we wound up having to take a lengthy detour to get around the scene of an accident that happened on a bridge we needed to cross) appeared to be incredibly busy. Traffic is something that folks living near Atlanta seem to have gotten used to over time, so as an outsider I'll say that the volume of traffic we encountered was a bit startling. Duluth's not that close to Atlanta, but even though there aren't any high-rise buildings nearby it sure felt like Atlanta.
Our hotel for the evening was the Duluth Hyatt Place. I'm not sure how old the Hyatt Place is as a chain but we've now stayed in two of their locations (the other being in Charleston, SC) and been very pleased with them both times. You get a modern, no-nonsense room fit for travel geared towards business or leisure at a price that would make you think its quality wouldn't be anywhere near what it is. It's almost like they took the sensibility of a franchise like Microtel and combined that with the luxury of a Hyatt. What's more, they have a great continental breakfast with plenty of variety - no do-it-yourself waffles, though.
After we checked in, we relaxed in our room for a short while before making our way to Medieval Times. You might read between the lines when I say that we, a young couple on a Valentine's Day jaunt, "relaxed in our room" but the funny thing is we sat there, watched TV, and played around on our phones. Bear in mind, we were still emerging from ICE-OCALYPSE 2014 and we'd been without cable or internet for most of a week. Suddenly having access to those creature comforts was too much to pass up for us, I guess, although that probably speaks to there being a larger problem of our addiction to content and the gadgets we use to consume it than anything.
Medieval Times Atlanta is an anomaly in terms of its setup when compared to other MT locations in that it's attached to a shopping mall, the Sugarloaf Mills. (The name is taken from the fact that the mall sits on a road called - you guessed it - Sugarloaf Parkway.) As far as I'm aware, all the other MT castles are stand-alone structures. That it's connected to the mall detracted from its presentation somewhat for me, not because the decor was sub-par (quite the opposite, actually; MT ATL is one of the more authentic-looking MT castles we've visited as the interior of the lobby is made to look like the walls are constructed from stone and wood) but because Sugarloaf Mills is essentially an ultra-high end flea market. We were shocked to find that a majority of the shops there seemed to specialize in cheap baubles and knock-offs. There were big chain stores but the landscape was dominated by what came off as fancy flea market booths. In all fairness, I can't not be critical of our home castle's location as well seeing as how Medieval Times Myrtle Beach sits in between a deserted shopping mall and an abandoned theme park. At least MT ATL is a part of a still thriving outlet.
We'd arrived at MT ATL about an hour before the doors were scheduled to open so we killed the time by browsing a few stores. Like I said in the previous paragraph, we couldn't help but laugh when we saw the sort of stores that make up the majority of Sugarloaf Mills. The only one that was all that interesting, realistically, was a Sears that had nothing but appliances, most of which were of the scratch & dent variety. We made a lap of the mall and by the time we got back to MT a line had formed at the gate so we took our place in the queue.
Right before the gates opened, a number of serfs & wenches (read, the MT wait staff) appeared before the crowd. Their presence was heralded by a pair of trumpeters as well as the Lord Chancellor who drew attention to the event by making an announcement of the tournament and feast to come that evening. The Lord Chancellor's role is more or less that of an emcee, which made this moment all the more fitting. If I remember correctly, I believe they do something similar to this at MT in Myrtle Beach but it's more of a walk-over in that the King, his daughter, the Lord Chancellor, and a few other players make a public walk from one side of the castle gates to where the crowd enters the castle just before guests are let into the building.
Not long thereafter we were allowed to enter. The admissions staff won't always honor this type of request but we asked to be seated in the Black & White Knight's section as it's in the middle of the arena and makes for ideal viewing. After we had our crowns we got our picture taken then made our way to an area that was set up for patrons who'd purchased the Valentine's Day package to pick up the accessories that came along with it, including our split of champagne. I'm not a connoisseur of wine or champagne by any means, but the champagne we were served was not like the champagne I've had in the past. By that I mean it tasted bitter and dry, and it left me willing to sip my wife's Diet Pepsi just to get the taste out of my mouth.
We toured the dungeon, which was exactly like every other MT dungeon we've seen in that it has the same set of replica torture devices on display. I must say that the setup in the pre-show bar/lobby area of MT ATL is quite the sight to behold. The bar itself is an impressive visual but the real draw is the absolutely massive fireplace that dominates one whole section of wall. It's a fantastic addition to the room and a useful one on a chilly evening like this.
As an aside to the story I'm telling, I'd like to say this. If you're a parent taking a child to MT, I encourage you to do all that you can to make the occasion memorable, but for the love of God DO NOT BUY A TOY SWORD FOR YOUR CHILD. We watched a group of kids whack at each other mercilessly with plastic, light-up fencing swords for a good 15 minutes. They were beating the bejeezus out of one another, meanwhile every sensible adult nearby was looking at them wondering "Where are their parents?" who, of course, were nowhere to be found!
Finally, we were called into the arena. Guests are seated by section according to the color of crown you were given at admissions; the procession is always red-green-red & yellow-black & white-blue-yellow. We usually will wait until almost everyone is in the arena before we enter because you're more likely to wind up with a seat at the end of a row, which allows me to have a little more leg and rump room than I would otherwise (me being the Rubenesque fellow that I am). We thought we'd timed it right but I wound up being in the middle of a row - it wasn't bad, though, because the people who were seated next to me acted like I had the plague or some other communicable disease as they immediately began shifting their plates down the table.
Our serving wench (I think MT may be the only place in the world you can get away with calling someone a "wench" and not wind up getting your teeth loosened) was an outgoing young lass with an accent that most definitely wasn't that of a Southerner. It wasn't even American, for that matter. I think I caught her off guard when she asked if anyone had questions and I chimed in with "Yeah, where are you from?" Her response was something about not being able to answer because it would ruin the illusion. If I had to place it I would say she was from somewhere in the United Kingdom. She would've fit in well as a cast member at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal Studios Orlando, for sure.
The food at MT is always consistent in terms of its quality and their chefs are to be commended for that. No matter how many times we've had it, we can never get enough of the roasted baby dragon (half of a rotisserie chicken), barbeque ribs, herb-crusted potatoes, and desert pastry. A slight difference to the usual bill of fare exists at MT ATL as we were offered Pepsi products, water, and sweet tea as beverage options. I guess it goes well with the culture of Georgia but we're Southerners too and we don't get sweet tea at our castle in Myrtle Beach - go figure. The only negative comment I have about the meal at MT ATL was that the vegetable soup we were served didn't seem to be as good as what we've had at other locations. This soup tasted kind of like watery marinara sauce more than anything. It wasn't terrible but it wasn't quite up to par.
Aside from one or two uncooperative animals, the show itself at MT ATL was fantastic. (As W.C. Fields once said, "Never work with children or animals.") I dare say it may have been one of the best overall performances I've ever seen at any MT as the knights were all in top form and did a spectacular job of not only connecting with the crowd but emoting & selling the action. I don't know how much "the art of selling" (selling as in professional wrestling where a wrestler acts a certain way to convince the audience of their character, injuries, etc.) is emphasized when these knights are in training but the crew at MT ATL appeared to have been giving it their all this particular night. Unfortunately, our knight (the Black & White Knight) was the first one to get "killed" during the tournament, which has become a trend the past few visits we've made to MT and one made worse when you realize these have been the knights for whom we chose to root. What can I say other than that we apparently don't know how to pick a winner?
By the time that the show was over Sugarloaf Mills had closed for the evening, and since it was a Sunday we didn't expect there to be much else going on around town which is why we retired to our hotel room for more TV and web surfing. We snuggled up and watched coverage of the Winter Olympics, which we had seen practically none of since we'd been without cable at home for so long.
Speaking of being without cable, before we left for Duluth I had called Time Warner Cable about our services being down and at that time they said the earliest they could send out a technician would be the Sunday we'd be traveling. That wouldn't work because the TWC representative I spoke with said someone had to be home when the tech arrives. The next available time was Monday between 2-3 PM. I half way hated to agree to that scheduling because it cut into the time my wife & I would have to enjoy the remainder of our trip, but it was better than putting off whatever needed to be done for another day, so I took what I could get.
Consequently the drive back to Saint Matthews was more than a tad rushed, but we still took the time to document a few roadside attractions we encountered along the way. Additionally, we stopped at the same Flying J store for more vanilla Coke and sustenance - yes, they still had plenty of boiled eggs for sale.
We got home in the area of 1:30 PM, meaning we were back in plenty of time to make our appointment with TWC. When we pulled into the driveway I checked my phone to see if our WiFi was functional. Sure enough, I had data connectivity. Going inside the house revealed that our services had been fully restored. On the one hand, I was grateful for everything finally being back to normal around the house after the ice storm in terms of our modern amenities, however on the other hand I was pissed off because we rushed home because I was told we had to. All I can say is that this is one more example I can add to my already lengthy list of examples of how poor TWC's customer service is. (To the credit of the technician they dispatched to repair our services, he did call our home phone later in the afternoon to make sure things were still up & running.) I can only hope things will get better once they're assimilated into Comcast but I've heard plenty of bad things about how that company does business as well, so we'll have to wait and see where the situation goes from here.
This was definitely a quick trip, probably quicker than either of us would've preferred, but even with that being the case it's better to be thankful for having had the opportunity to do something like this than not. We visited places that we'd not seen before and got to enjoy an experience we both get a kick out of - nothing bad about that, I'd say. It never fails that my wife and I manage to make the best of whatever we might encounter. It takes patience (a virtue both of us struggle with), confidence that whatever will be is what we were intended to find, and that we'll all come out for the better in the end.
That said, Valentine's Day 2014 was a step in the direction towards changing my mind about February 14th (I refuse to refer to it as a holiday) because my wife and I took a weekend road trip over to Duluth, Georgia. Right about now, you might be asking yourself "Where's that and what's there to make the drive worth it?". Duluth is about an hour or so north of Atlanta and it happens to be home to Medieval Times Atlanta which is the only MT location in the southeastern United States we hadn't yet visited.
A month or so prior, we received an email from MT that contained an offer for a Valentine's Day package. The offer was actually a really good deal considering the usual cost of admission and what was included; for $99 we would receive our meals, a tour of the dungeon, a split of champagne (in etched keepsake flutes), a framed 8" x 10" photo, cheering banners (read, flags on sticks), and what I can only describe as a light-up "wand". ("Wand" is the only word I can use to describe it with eloquence; it looks like a fluorescent tube light bulb only shorter and it flashes with various colors when turned on.) The special package and the fact that we had the opportunity to take in an experience that was familiar but yet still new were more than enough to get persuade us to hit the road.
In describing my/our road trips in the past, I've mentioned how I prefer to take back-roads as opposed to interstates and main highways. Driving can be such a stressful thing these days - I figure why not enjoy it, if you can, by taking in sights and scenery between where you are and where you're going? Duluth presented us with an opportunity to do more of this kind of travel as we would leave our base of operations in Saint Matthews, South Carolina and head west via SC highway 6 before hitting I-20 west for a stretch only to then get back off the main road as we made our final approach.
The drive was very enjoyable for me as my wife is always great at maintaining a conversation. We talk all the time as is, so the fact that we were cooped up inside my truck for a few hours only gave us more of an excuse to rattle on about anything and everything. One area of contention we will probably never see eye to eye on are our favored radio stations. For me, it's usually either rock (I'd say hard rock & metal but you hardly ever see a station on terrestrial radio fitting that description) or sports talk whereas my wife prefers country. Not that I can't listen to country, it just starts to sound silly after a while (said the guy who listens to a number of bands known for wearing masks, face paint, and assorted costuming).
We'd had breakfast earlier in the day at a Sonic Drive-In and since we knew we were bound for a bountiful supper we opted to grab something from a convenience store while we'd stopped for fuel as opposed to a full-scale lunch. I forget what town we were in but I do remember that the store was a Flying J truck stop for two reasons: 1) they had a soda fountain capable of dispensing flavored shots into your beverage such as vanilla, lemon, cherry, and others and 2) they had a chill-chest embedded in the checkout counter that was stocked with, among other things, hard boiled eggs.
I'm not a huge fan of eggs in any form (other than scrambled and even then they need a healthy compliment of cheese or various other proteins to make them edible), but boiled eggs are about my least favorite food, ever. The consistency and flavor of a boiled egg is just this side of wretched. I saw them and all I could think of was some trucker making his way on the interstate, chowing down on those things and stinking up his cab to high heaven with sulfurous ass-gas. I hate to drum up a stereotype of trucker culture but it's difficult not to given that there's apparently a market for such food items in stores such as these.
I made the comment to my wife before we left home that I've made more trips to Georgia in the past year than I have over the course of my entire life, which was an entirely true statement. (Purposeful trips to Georgia, that is - it would've been a horrible lie if I counted the number of times I passed through with my family as a youngster on our way to Florida.) We stayed overnight last May in Covington, GA for our anniversary trip that included stops in Atlanta and Porterdale. In July I got to spend a week in Atlanta as I was in town to attend a pair of training classes. And here we found ourselves going to another Georgian city, that being Duluth.
I couldn't tell you much about the town other than to say that Duluth is one of many cities that benefit from their proximity to Atlanta. What little bit of Duluth we did have time to see (we were only in town for one night, after all, and our arrival was delayed after we wound up having to take a lengthy detour to get around the scene of an accident that happened on a bridge we needed to cross) appeared to be incredibly busy. Traffic is something that folks living near Atlanta seem to have gotten used to over time, so as an outsider I'll say that the volume of traffic we encountered was a bit startling. Duluth's not that close to Atlanta, but even though there aren't any high-rise buildings nearby it sure felt like Atlanta.
Our hotel for the evening was the Duluth Hyatt Place. I'm not sure how old the Hyatt Place is as a chain but we've now stayed in two of their locations (the other being in Charleston, SC) and been very pleased with them both times. You get a modern, no-nonsense room fit for travel geared towards business or leisure at a price that would make you think its quality wouldn't be anywhere near what it is. It's almost like they took the sensibility of a franchise like Microtel and combined that with the luxury of a Hyatt. What's more, they have a great continental breakfast with plenty of variety - no do-it-yourself waffles, though.
After we checked in, we relaxed in our room for a short while before making our way to Medieval Times. You might read between the lines when I say that we, a young couple on a Valentine's Day jaunt, "relaxed in our room" but the funny thing is we sat there, watched TV, and played around on our phones. Bear in mind, we were still emerging from ICE-OCALYPSE 2014 and we'd been without cable or internet for most of a week. Suddenly having access to those creature comforts was too much to pass up for us, I guess, although that probably speaks to there being a larger problem of our addiction to content and the gadgets we use to consume it than anything.
Medieval Times Atlanta is an anomaly in terms of its setup when compared to other MT locations in that it's attached to a shopping mall, the Sugarloaf Mills. (The name is taken from the fact that the mall sits on a road called - you guessed it - Sugarloaf Parkway.) As far as I'm aware, all the other MT castles are stand-alone structures. That it's connected to the mall detracted from its presentation somewhat for me, not because the decor was sub-par (quite the opposite, actually; MT ATL is one of the more authentic-looking MT castles we've visited as the interior of the lobby is made to look like the walls are constructed from stone and wood) but because Sugarloaf Mills is essentially an ultra-high end flea market. We were shocked to find that a majority of the shops there seemed to specialize in cheap baubles and knock-offs. There were big chain stores but the landscape was dominated by what came off as fancy flea market booths. In all fairness, I can't not be critical of our home castle's location as well seeing as how Medieval Times Myrtle Beach sits in between a deserted shopping mall and an abandoned theme park. At least MT ATL is a part of a still thriving outlet.
We'd arrived at MT ATL about an hour before the doors were scheduled to open so we killed the time by browsing a few stores. Like I said in the previous paragraph, we couldn't help but laugh when we saw the sort of stores that make up the majority of Sugarloaf Mills. The only one that was all that interesting, realistically, was a Sears that had nothing but appliances, most of which were of the scratch & dent variety. We made a lap of the mall and by the time we got back to MT a line had formed at the gate so we took our place in the queue.
Right before the gates opened, a number of serfs & wenches (read, the MT wait staff) appeared before the crowd. Their presence was heralded by a pair of trumpeters as well as the Lord Chancellor who drew attention to the event by making an announcement of the tournament and feast to come that evening. The Lord Chancellor's role is more or less that of an emcee, which made this moment all the more fitting. If I remember correctly, I believe they do something similar to this at MT in Myrtle Beach but it's more of a walk-over in that the King, his daughter, the Lord Chancellor, and a few other players make a public walk from one side of the castle gates to where the crowd enters the castle just before guests are let into the building.
Not long thereafter we were allowed to enter. The admissions staff won't always honor this type of request but we asked to be seated in the Black & White Knight's section as it's in the middle of the arena and makes for ideal viewing. After we had our crowns we got our picture taken then made our way to an area that was set up for patrons who'd purchased the Valentine's Day package to pick up the accessories that came along with it, including our split of champagne. I'm not a connoisseur of wine or champagne by any means, but the champagne we were served was not like the champagne I've had in the past. By that I mean it tasted bitter and dry, and it left me willing to sip my wife's Diet Pepsi just to get the taste out of my mouth.
We toured the dungeon, which was exactly like every other MT dungeon we've seen in that it has the same set of replica torture devices on display. I must say that the setup in the pre-show bar/lobby area of MT ATL is quite the sight to behold. The bar itself is an impressive visual but the real draw is the absolutely massive fireplace that dominates one whole section of wall. It's a fantastic addition to the room and a useful one on a chilly evening like this.
As an aside to the story I'm telling, I'd like to say this. If you're a parent taking a child to MT, I encourage you to do all that you can to make the occasion memorable, but for the love of God DO NOT BUY A TOY SWORD FOR YOUR CHILD. We watched a group of kids whack at each other mercilessly with plastic, light-up fencing swords for a good 15 minutes. They were beating the bejeezus out of one another, meanwhile every sensible adult nearby was looking at them wondering "Where are their parents?" who, of course, were nowhere to be found!
Finally, we were called into the arena. Guests are seated by section according to the color of crown you were given at admissions; the procession is always red-green-red & yellow-black & white-blue-yellow. We usually will wait until almost everyone is in the arena before we enter because you're more likely to wind up with a seat at the end of a row, which allows me to have a little more leg and rump room than I would otherwise (me being the Rubenesque fellow that I am). We thought we'd timed it right but I wound up being in the middle of a row - it wasn't bad, though, because the people who were seated next to me acted like I had the plague or some other communicable disease as they immediately began shifting their plates down the table.
Our serving wench (I think MT may be the only place in the world you can get away with calling someone a "wench" and not wind up getting your teeth loosened) was an outgoing young lass with an accent that most definitely wasn't that of a Southerner. It wasn't even American, for that matter. I think I caught her off guard when she asked if anyone had questions and I chimed in with "Yeah, where are you from?" Her response was something about not being able to answer because it would ruin the illusion. If I had to place it I would say she was from somewhere in the United Kingdom. She would've fit in well as a cast member at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal Studios Orlando, for sure.
The food at MT is always consistent in terms of its quality and their chefs are to be commended for that. No matter how many times we've had it, we can never get enough of the roasted baby dragon (half of a rotisserie chicken), barbeque ribs, herb-crusted potatoes, and desert pastry. A slight difference to the usual bill of fare exists at MT ATL as we were offered Pepsi products, water, and sweet tea as beverage options. I guess it goes well with the culture of Georgia but we're Southerners too and we don't get sweet tea at our castle in Myrtle Beach - go figure. The only negative comment I have about the meal at MT ATL was that the vegetable soup we were served didn't seem to be as good as what we've had at other locations. This soup tasted kind of like watery marinara sauce more than anything. It wasn't terrible but it wasn't quite up to par.
Aside from one or two uncooperative animals, the show itself at MT ATL was fantastic. (As W.C. Fields once said, "Never work with children or animals.") I dare say it may have been one of the best overall performances I've ever seen at any MT as the knights were all in top form and did a spectacular job of not only connecting with the crowd but emoting & selling the action. I don't know how much "the art of selling" (selling as in professional wrestling where a wrestler acts a certain way to convince the audience of their character, injuries, etc.) is emphasized when these knights are in training but the crew at MT ATL appeared to have been giving it their all this particular night. Unfortunately, our knight (the Black & White Knight) was the first one to get "killed" during the tournament, which has become a trend the past few visits we've made to MT and one made worse when you realize these have been the knights for whom we chose to root. What can I say other than that we apparently don't know how to pick a winner?
By the time that the show was over Sugarloaf Mills had closed for the evening, and since it was a Sunday we didn't expect there to be much else going on around town which is why we retired to our hotel room for more TV and web surfing. We snuggled up and watched coverage of the Winter Olympics, which we had seen practically none of since we'd been without cable at home for so long.
Speaking of being without cable, before we left for Duluth I had called Time Warner Cable about our services being down and at that time they said the earliest they could send out a technician would be the Sunday we'd be traveling. That wouldn't work because the TWC representative I spoke with said someone had to be home when the tech arrives. The next available time was Monday between 2-3 PM. I half way hated to agree to that scheduling because it cut into the time my wife & I would have to enjoy the remainder of our trip, but it was better than putting off whatever needed to be done for another day, so I took what I could get.
Consequently the drive back to Saint Matthews was more than a tad rushed, but we still took the time to document a few roadside attractions we encountered along the way. Additionally, we stopped at the same Flying J store for more vanilla Coke and sustenance - yes, they still had plenty of boiled eggs for sale.
We got home in the area of 1:30 PM, meaning we were back in plenty of time to make our appointment with TWC. When we pulled into the driveway I checked my phone to see if our WiFi was functional. Sure enough, I had data connectivity. Going inside the house revealed that our services had been fully restored. On the one hand, I was grateful for everything finally being back to normal around the house after the ice storm in terms of our modern amenities, however on the other hand I was pissed off because we rushed home because I was told we had to. All I can say is that this is one more example I can add to my already lengthy list of examples of how poor TWC's customer service is. (To the credit of the technician they dispatched to repair our services, he did call our home phone later in the afternoon to make sure things were still up & running.) I can only hope things will get better once they're assimilated into Comcast but I've heard plenty of bad things about how that company does business as well, so we'll have to wait and see where the situation goes from here.
This was definitely a quick trip, probably quicker than either of us would've preferred, but even with that being the case it's better to be thankful for having had the opportunity to do something like this than not. We visited places that we'd not seen before and got to enjoy an experience we both get a kick out of - nothing bad about that, I'd say. It never fails that my wife and I manage to make the best of whatever we might encounter. It takes patience (a virtue both of us struggle with), confidence that whatever will be is what we were intended to find, and that we'll all come out for the better in the end.
Sunday, October 6, 2013
The Medieval Times Experience - Myrtle Beach, SC Edition
I don't remember the exact date of the first show I went to at Medieval Times in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina but I do know that it was with my family during one of our vacations to the coast. I want to say it was in the late 1990s when I was still in my teens and not long after this particular Medieval Times location had been launched. Ours is one of the newer castles, having opened its doors - er, drawbridge (Yeah, that's it!) in 1996.
I was a fan instantly after that first exposure as the whole of the experience was amazing to me; it appealed to multiple aspects of my personality seeing as how I've always been interested in medieval warfare and I don't know any little boy (even those of us who happen to be masquerading as grown men) who doesn't get a kick out of action sequences like those from movies involving things like horses, swordplay and fisticuffs. I guess it tickles that same part of my childish brain that draws me to something like professional wrestling.
I wouldn't go so far as to say I've become one of their best customers, however I will tell you that I've been to at least 6 performances at this particular location over the course of roughly the past 5 years which represents the length of time that my wife & I have been together (we dated for about 2 years and have been married a little more than 3). Yes, my wife comes with me to Medieval Times - yes, she enjoys the experience just as much as I do or at least I think she does. She may only be in it for the tomato bisque; I'm fine with that, so long as it means I don't have to be the creepy guy who comes to Medieval Times by himself.
In case you weren't aware, Medieval Times is an action-packed dinner show the setting of which is that of medieval Spain involving knights of the realm who compete in a jousting tournament but also highlights such things as horsemanship and falconry. Why Spain and not England or somewhere else in Europe? Because the Medieval Times brand actually began in Majorca, Spain back in 1973. The brand would migrate to the United States a decade later when the first North American castle debuted - that being the Kissimmee, Florida location - in 1983. 8 more locations have opened since then, each of which run multiple performances per week year round. It's a huge operation that employs a multitude of individuals and South Carolina is fortunate to have a castle to call its own.
The Medieval Times experience begins the moment you walk through the doors. In our case, we typically will go to the castle to procure our tickets although you can just as easily purchase them online or by phone in advance. I kind of like that opportunity to see the interior of the space when it's not packed from wall to wall with patrons. You get a much better sense of just how large the facility actually is.
I will say this upfront about Medieval Times; the tickets are not cheap. A non-discounted adult ticket will set you back $50.95. (That's for the 2013 season at the Myrtle Beach castle, the admission fee varies from one location to another.) I say "non-discounted" because there are ways of getting a lower cost ticket as you can find coupons available locally or you can sometimes get discount codes online via the Medieval Times website as well as others. (There are pagodas in most of the nearby shopping malls that offer discounted tickets but you have to hear the sales pitch for whatever product they're hawking in order to get the deal.) I think the coupons may get you as much as $10-$15 off, which isn't bad by any means. What's more, if you take the time to sign up for the King's Court (their email distribution service) you'll get a free ticket for your birthday that can be used throughout your birth month. This is what my wife & I did for our most recent visit to the Myrtle Beach location as my wife's birthday happens to be during the month of September. Her freebie combined with the fact that all regular tickets had been discounted to $35 in celebration of Medieval Times' 30th year of operation meant the two of us got dinner and the show for around $40. Take it from me, that's a sweet deal!
Notice that I used the phrase "regular tickets" towards the end of that last paragraph. The base ticket price will get you in the door with a spot in one of the standard seating areas with a full 3 course meal (more on the vittles later). There are upgrades available in the form of what are referred to as Royalty packages. You can choose from either the Royalty package or the King's Royalty package. (I'm not going to take the time to detail what they include, rather if you want more information on them visit this page.) We opted for the King's Royalty package earlier this year more so than anything because we'd never done it before. It was nice and the included group photo was quite good but when you consider the fact that it's an extra $20 per person, it's not something that I would necessarily encourage you to do. If you want to make it a memorable evening, maybe, but even so I think most people would have a hard time justifying the extra expense considering what you get in return.
Once you have your tickets in hand and you prepare to enter the castle you are recognized as a lord or lady of the realm, meaning the admissions staff will assign you to a seating section denoted by the color of armor your unique knight happens to wear. There are 6 knights; Green, Red, Red & Yellow, Black & White, Blue, and Yellow. I believe they have names (I was right!) and they're meant to represent geographical regions of Spain from the era. More importantly is the fact that this is the stage in the procession where you receive your crown, which of course must be worn at all times lest ye be mistaken for a commoner whilst on the grounds.
PRO TIP: The castle will open roughly an hour and fifteen minutes prior to showtime. The time that you arrive and are processed through admissions is the determining factor as to what knight for who you'll be cheering. Guests are seated in such a way as to make the sections comparable in terms of their population so that they don't wind up having 20 people cheering for the Blue knight and 160 cheering for the Black & White knight. Sometimes the admissions staff will be able to accommodate a seating request but not always. In other words, don't arrive at 5:40 PM for a 6 PM show thinking you will be able to sit wherever you want.
From there you'll be ushered into a photography area where you'll be posed with either the King or his daughter, the Princess. The photos are not included in standard admission; if you would like to keep your photo you'll have to pay for it when a member of the staff brings them around during the tournament, unless that is you opted for one of the Royalty upgrades that involve your photo. The quality of these pictures is usually fairly high although the skills of the photographer you get will vary. I'm not certain but I want to say they will set you back in the area of $15.
From there you're able to make your way into the Great Hall, which is more or less an assembly area where all the lords & ladies of the realm (that's you, remember - staff at Medieval Times will always address a patron as either "My Lord" or "My Lady") gather prior to the tournament. You'll notice a pattern has started to emerge here as every stage I've described thus far has presented a variety of situations where guests can be separated from their money with haste. The Great Hall is perhaps the most prolific example of this as it contains a number of bars and souvenir stands.
The bars are full service, offering both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. You can get your beverage served in a number of various collectable mugs, goblets, etc., all of which are available at an additional charge. Truth be told, to my knowledge there are no cups for which you will not be charged. The most low-end cup you can get is a plastic cup that has a series of animated holograms on it. Obviously you don't have to buy a drink but to give you some idea of how much markup we're talking about when it comes to the price of beverages due to their being served as described, on our most recent visit I paid $17 for a Sam Adams' Oktoberfest draft and a virgin strawberry daiquiri.
The souvenir stands are loaded with overpriced baubles, generally speaking - everything from children's toys to replica swords and shields. I've never seen anyone buy a sword so for all I know the blades there now are the same ones that were there when the castle first opened.
Also in the Great Hall is the Torture Chamber, a display of - you guessed it - medieval torture devices that can be viewed for - you guessed it - an additional fee. (I do not think Torture Chamber admission comes with any of the seating packages, even the King's Royalty. It's been a while since we went through the Torture Chamber, but I want to say admission to it was around $2.) All I will say about it is that it's a brief exhibit featuring items that range from the perverse to being downright ghastly in nature. I find it amazing the sort of things we humans have managed to come up with over the ages in the name of harming one another.
In wrapping up my comments about the Great Hall, I'll mention that guests celebrating a special event may choose to participate in a knighting ceremony where the King will declare the individual an official knight of the realm. ("Special event" meaning virtually anything under the sun - I've seen people get knighted for anything from graduating college to their first visit to Medieval Times. One cool thing we saw on our most recent visit during the knighting ceremony was a guy proposing to his girlfriend while she was being knighted.) This, too, comes at an additional charge of around $20 but I believe you get a commemorative photo as well as a printed scroll.
I've talked about expenses a lot up until this point. For the sake of looking at this from a logistical perspective, here's an example of what you might be spending for an evening at Medieval Times; these figures are all based on two adults with regular admission.
- Admission: $50.95 x 2 = $101.90 (not counting tax)
- Commemorative Photo w/King or Princess: $15
- Beverages: $20 ($3 tip included)
- Knighting Ceremony: $20
- Torture Chamber Admission: $2 x 2 = $4
- GRAND TOTAL: $160.90
It's entirely possible to spend upwards of $200 for an evening at Medieval Times, and that's for only two people. For what it's worth, that $200 would make for a very memorable experience, especially if you were taking a child, but it's not necessary to spend that much. My wife & I typically go for the most bare-bones combination possible and we have never had a bad experience.
Finally, after much fanfare and celebration in the Great Hall, you'll be called to your section inside the arena. There's a procession to it as one section at a time will be allowed in so as to not cause a stampede. I may be wrong but I believe the order of entry at the Myrtle Beach castle is usually this: Green, Red, Red & Yellow, Black & White, Blue, Yellow.
The arena is massive - I have no idea how many guests the place could hold at maximum capacity but I would hazard a guess and say there's seating for at least 1,000 souls therein. (As you enter the arena, pay attention to areas that appear to be draped off; these are auxiliary seating sections that are kept covered when not in use.) It could rival certain small-to-medium athletic facilities meant for sporting events, and along those lines I would estimate that the actual floor of the arena where the action takes place is roughly the same size as a hockey rink or basketball court. Once you're seated, all you need to do is settle in and get comfortable because the main event of the evening is about to unfold before you - it's a double-header as you've got a feast as well as a tournament to enjoy!
Your server will introduce you to the particulars of the meal by making you aware of several factors, most notably that you'll be dining without the aid of silverware. Don't worry, you don't need it - and yes, plenty of wet and dry napkins will be available for when you're done. The only metal objects you'll come in contact with are the plates and bowls upon which your food will be served. When it comes to your beverage, you have a choice of Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, tea, or water and there will be two rounds of whatever you choose (your initial fill-up plus one refill, in other words). Alcoholic beverages are not included in the meal and your server will not bring you one, however you do have the option of either going back out to the bars in the Great Hall or waiting until a barmaid (yes, you read that right) comes by offering to fetch you something.
In regard to the service you receive during the meal, the folks attending to you are waiters and waitresses who happen to be serving potentially upwards of 50 people at a time. While they are more than able to attend to your specific needs, do realize that they've got a lot of mouths to serve. At the same time, also realize that they are working very hard in dim lighting to make you as happy as possible - tipping is always appreciated.
The meal itself consists of three courses - an appetizer, the main course, and desert. The appetizer comes in the form of a piping hot bowl of tomato bisque served with a piece of buttery garlic toast (I believe the style of bread varies from one location to another; in our castle it's more or less a piece of Texas toast with garlic & herbs). Remember how in the previous paragraph I mentioned that the plates and bowls are metal? Keep that in mind when you reach for the blistering handle of your soup bowl and prepare to press your tender lips against its scalding hot rim. I'm not kidding here as you could easily burn yourself. (PRO TIP: To avoid burning your fingers, wrap your napkin around the handle of your soup bowl.) Your main course is a combination of three items, those being a spare rib, half of a roasted chicken, and half of an herb-crusted baked potato. The chicken is the real star of the show for me but the ribs are fantastic as well. Last but not least, for desert you'll receive an apple turnover as well as a cup of coffee if you would like one.
Finally, it's time to get down as only 6 medieval knights know how! The tournament festivities begin with introductions for the King and his court as well as each knight. Handling the introductions in Myrtle Beach is none other than Sir David of Macedonia, a performer who has been at this particular location for almost as long as I've been coming to Medieval Times if not longer (Sir David is something of an emcee of the entire nights proceedings as he also welcomes guests and does announcements in the Great Hall). Next you're treated to a series of examples of horsemanship featuring some incredible work by handler and horse alike. It really can't be overstated as to how amazing these animals are when seen in an environment like this. In between these segments of the program you'll also witness a display of falconry, which is an ancient technique where hunters would employ trained birds of prey.
Prior to the knights engaging in the joust, they'll go through a series of challenging skill-based games several of which involve using a lance to skewer a small ring suspended from a scaffold. That's a task that comes off to me as trying to thread a needle while hanging out the window of a car. Similarly, the knights take aim while on horseback with a javelin as they ride full speed towards a small target hung above their entry point to the arena. In addition, the knights will participate in a relay race as well as a challenge whereby they have to ride side-by-side with one of their rivals, keeping pace while tossing a small flagpole between one another. It goes without saying that the knights are tremendous athletes who truly are in command of their physical conditioning and horsemanship. When a knight is successful in one of these challenges, he receives several flowers from the Princess which he'll then distribute to certain of the ladies in his gallery.
The joust and the combat that follows is the main attraction of the tournament, needless to say. It's very exciting to see the knights set lance to shield, as Sir David would say, but the real kicker for me is the swordplay as the knights use a variety of medieval weaponry against one another, all in the name of winning the tournament. This is where I can draw a lot of comparisons between this show and professional wrestling as the outcome of the tournament is, of course, predetermined. What, you thought these guys are just going out there and winging it? No, there's a script in play and a plot does unfold during the course of the tournament. I won't go into detail regarding what the story involves so as to not give it away. All I will say is that I've seen several iterations of the Medieval Times show and the most recent revision that's out now is the best one yet (I can remember when the program involved a wizard and the Green knight was always a villain - not so anymore, thankfully).
As it stands, you've got 1-in-6 odds of cheering for the knight who wins the tournament and is recognized as the champion of the realm. I honestly don't know that we've ever cheered for the knight who won, although I could be wrong. At this point we're just trying to make sure that we've been seated once in at least every section, and we're 5/6's of the way to that goal as the only section we've never sat in is that of the Yellow knight.
All things totaled, the Medieval Times experience is incredibly unique and it's something that I feel anyone who visits Myrtle Beach should do at least once. Yes, it's a gimmicky dinner show and it's expensive, but so is everything else in Myrtle Beach. Besides, if you're in Myrtle Beach you're more than likely on vacation - if you can't cut loose and do something fun while you're on vacation, you probably need expensive pharmacology and perhaps a psychiatrist. Or maybe just more rum - either way, take it from me when I say that Medieval Times is a great night out that you and your family can enjoy together.
I was a fan instantly after that first exposure as the whole of the experience was amazing to me; it appealed to multiple aspects of my personality seeing as how I've always been interested in medieval warfare and I don't know any little boy (even those of us who happen to be masquerading as grown men) who doesn't get a kick out of action sequences like those from movies involving things like horses, swordplay and fisticuffs. I guess it tickles that same part of my childish brain that draws me to something like professional wrestling.
I wouldn't go so far as to say I've become one of their best customers, however I will tell you that I've been to at least 6 performances at this particular location over the course of roughly the past 5 years which represents the length of time that my wife & I have been together (we dated for about 2 years and have been married a little more than 3). Yes, my wife comes with me to Medieval Times - yes, she enjoys the experience just as much as I do or at least I think she does. She may only be in it for the tomato bisque; I'm fine with that, so long as it means I don't have to be the creepy guy who comes to Medieval Times by himself.
In case you weren't aware, Medieval Times is an action-packed dinner show the setting of which is that of medieval Spain involving knights of the realm who compete in a jousting tournament but also highlights such things as horsemanship and falconry. Why Spain and not England or somewhere else in Europe? Because the Medieval Times brand actually began in Majorca, Spain back in 1973. The brand would migrate to the United States a decade later when the first North American castle debuted - that being the Kissimmee, Florida location - in 1983. 8 more locations have opened since then, each of which run multiple performances per week year round. It's a huge operation that employs a multitude of individuals and South Carolina is fortunate to have a castle to call its own.
The Medieval Times experience begins the moment you walk through the doors. In our case, we typically will go to the castle to procure our tickets although you can just as easily purchase them online or by phone in advance. I kind of like that opportunity to see the interior of the space when it's not packed from wall to wall with patrons. You get a much better sense of just how large the facility actually is.
 |
| A Google Maps view of the building - smart idea to make the roof a billboard as Myrtle Beach's airport is nearby. |
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| A ground-level view of the Myrtle Beach castle's entrance - sadly, there is no moat. |
I will say this upfront about Medieval Times; the tickets are not cheap. A non-discounted adult ticket will set you back $50.95. (That's for the 2013 season at the Myrtle Beach castle, the admission fee varies from one location to another.) I say "non-discounted" because there are ways of getting a lower cost ticket as you can find coupons available locally or you can sometimes get discount codes online via the Medieval Times website as well as others. (There are pagodas in most of the nearby shopping malls that offer discounted tickets but you have to hear the sales pitch for whatever product they're hawking in order to get the deal.) I think the coupons may get you as much as $10-$15 off, which isn't bad by any means. What's more, if you take the time to sign up for the King's Court (their email distribution service) you'll get a free ticket for your birthday that can be used throughout your birth month. This is what my wife & I did for our most recent visit to the Myrtle Beach location as my wife's birthday happens to be during the month of September. Her freebie combined with the fact that all regular tickets had been discounted to $35 in celebration of Medieval Times' 30th year of operation meant the two of us got dinner and the show for around $40. Take it from me, that's a sweet deal!
Notice that I used the phrase "regular tickets" towards the end of that last paragraph. The base ticket price will get you in the door with a spot in one of the standard seating areas with a full 3 course meal (more on the vittles later). There are upgrades available in the form of what are referred to as Royalty packages. You can choose from either the Royalty package or the King's Royalty package. (I'm not going to take the time to detail what they include, rather if you want more information on them visit this page.) We opted for the King's Royalty package earlier this year more so than anything because we'd never done it before. It was nice and the included group photo was quite good but when you consider the fact that it's an extra $20 per person, it's not something that I would necessarily encourage you to do. If you want to make it a memorable evening, maybe, but even so I think most people would have a hard time justifying the extra expense considering what you get in return.
Once you have your tickets in hand and you prepare to enter the castle you are recognized as a lord or lady of the realm, meaning the admissions staff will assign you to a seating section denoted by the color of armor your unique knight happens to wear. There are 6 knights; Green, Red, Red & Yellow, Black & White, Blue, and Yellow. I believe they have names (I was right!) and they're meant to represent geographical regions of Spain from the era. More importantly is the fact that this is the stage in the procession where you receive your crown, which of course must be worn at all times lest ye be mistaken for a commoner whilst on the grounds.
PRO TIP: The castle will open roughly an hour and fifteen minutes prior to showtime. The time that you arrive and are processed through admissions is the determining factor as to what knight for who you'll be cheering. Guests are seated in such a way as to make the sections comparable in terms of their population so that they don't wind up having 20 people cheering for the Blue knight and 160 cheering for the Black & White knight. Sometimes the admissions staff will be able to accommodate a seating request but not always. In other words, don't arrive at 5:40 PM for a 6 PM show thinking you will be able to sit wherever you want.
From there you'll be ushered into a photography area where you'll be posed with either the King or his daughter, the Princess. The photos are not included in standard admission; if you would like to keep your photo you'll have to pay for it when a member of the staff brings them around during the tournament, unless that is you opted for one of the Royalty upgrades that involve your photo. The quality of these pictures is usually fairly high although the skills of the photographer you get will vary. I'm not certain but I want to say they will set you back in the area of $15.
From there you're able to make your way into the Great Hall, which is more or less an assembly area where all the lords & ladies of the realm (that's you, remember - staff at Medieval Times will always address a patron as either "My Lord" or "My Lady") gather prior to the tournament. You'll notice a pattern has started to emerge here as every stage I've described thus far has presented a variety of situations where guests can be separated from their money with haste. The Great Hall is perhaps the most prolific example of this as it contains a number of bars and souvenir stands.
 |
| A panoramic view of the Great Hall; from left to right, the torture chamber, main entrance, gift shop, and bar. |
 |
| The second floor of the Great Hall; from left to right, the dance floor, Red/Black & White/Yellow entrance, bar, Green/Red & Yellow/Blue entrance, gift shop and restrooms |
The bars are full service, offering both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. You can get your beverage served in a number of various collectable mugs, goblets, etc., all of which are available at an additional charge. Truth be told, to my knowledge there are no cups for which you will not be charged. The most low-end cup you can get is a plastic cup that has a series of animated holograms on it. Obviously you don't have to buy a drink but to give you some idea of how much markup we're talking about when it comes to the price of beverages due to their being served as described, on our most recent visit I paid $17 for a Sam Adams' Oktoberfest draft and a virgin strawberry daiquiri.
The souvenir stands are loaded with overpriced baubles, generally speaking - everything from children's toys to replica swords and shields. I've never seen anyone buy a sword so for all I know the blades there now are the same ones that were there when the castle first opened.
Also in the Great Hall is the Torture Chamber, a display of - you guessed it - medieval torture devices that can be viewed for - you guessed it - an additional fee. (I do not think Torture Chamber admission comes with any of the seating packages, even the King's Royalty. It's been a while since we went through the Torture Chamber, but I want to say admission to it was around $2.) All I will say about it is that it's a brief exhibit featuring items that range from the perverse to being downright ghastly in nature. I find it amazing the sort of things we humans have managed to come up with over the ages in the name of harming one another.
In wrapping up my comments about the Great Hall, I'll mention that guests celebrating a special event may choose to participate in a knighting ceremony where the King will declare the individual an official knight of the realm. ("Special event" meaning virtually anything under the sun - I've seen people get knighted for anything from graduating college to their first visit to Medieval Times. One cool thing we saw on our most recent visit during the knighting ceremony was a guy proposing to his girlfriend while she was being knighted.) This, too, comes at an additional charge of around $20 but I believe you get a commemorative photo as well as a printed scroll.
I've talked about expenses a lot up until this point. For the sake of looking at this from a logistical perspective, here's an example of what you might be spending for an evening at Medieval Times; these figures are all based on two adults with regular admission.
- Admission: $50.95 x 2 = $101.90 (not counting tax)
- Commemorative Photo w/King or Princess: $15
- Beverages: $20 ($3 tip included)
- Knighting Ceremony: $20
- Torture Chamber Admission: $2 x 2 = $4
- GRAND TOTAL: $160.90
It's entirely possible to spend upwards of $200 for an evening at Medieval Times, and that's for only two people. For what it's worth, that $200 would make for a very memorable experience, especially if you were taking a child, but it's not necessary to spend that much. My wife & I typically go for the most bare-bones combination possible and we have never had a bad experience.
Finally, after much fanfare and celebration in the Great Hall, you'll be called to your section inside the arena. There's a procession to it as one section at a time will be allowed in so as to not cause a stampede. I may be wrong but I believe the order of entry at the Myrtle Beach castle is usually this: Green, Red, Red & Yellow, Black & White, Blue, Yellow.
 |
| A panoramic view of the arena - to the right you can see one of the servers giving instruction on who to boo |
The arena is massive - I have no idea how many guests the place could hold at maximum capacity but I would hazard a guess and say there's seating for at least 1,000 souls therein. (As you enter the arena, pay attention to areas that appear to be draped off; these are auxiliary seating sections that are kept covered when not in use.) It could rival certain small-to-medium athletic facilities meant for sporting events, and along those lines I would estimate that the actual floor of the arena where the action takes place is roughly the same size as a hockey rink or basketball court. Once you're seated, all you need to do is settle in and get comfortable because the main event of the evening is about to unfold before you - it's a double-header as you've got a feast as well as a tournament to enjoy!
Your server will introduce you to the particulars of the meal by making you aware of several factors, most notably that you'll be dining without the aid of silverware. Don't worry, you don't need it - and yes, plenty of wet and dry napkins will be available for when you're done. The only metal objects you'll come in contact with are the plates and bowls upon which your food will be served. When it comes to your beverage, you have a choice of Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, tea, or water and there will be two rounds of whatever you choose (your initial fill-up plus one refill, in other words). Alcoholic beverages are not included in the meal and your server will not bring you one, however you do have the option of either going back out to the bars in the Great Hall or waiting until a barmaid (yes, you read that right) comes by offering to fetch you something.
In regard to the service you receive during the meal, the folks attending to you are waiters and waitresses who happen to be serving potentially upwards of 50 people at a time. While they are more than able to attend to your specific needs, do realize that they've got a lot of mouths to serve. At the same time, also realize that they are working very hard in dim lighting to make you as happy as possible - tipping is always appreciated.
The meal itself consists of three courses - an appetizer, the main course, and desert. The appetizer comes in the form of a piping hot bowl of tomato bisque served with a piece of buttery garlic toast (I believe the style of bread varies from one location to another; in our castle it's more or less a piece of Texas toast with garlic & herbs). Remember how in the previous paragraph I mentioned that the plates and bowls are metal? Keep that in mind when you reach for the blistering handle of your soup bowl and prepare to press your tender lips against its scalding hot rim. I'm not kidding here as you could easily burn yourself. (PRO TIP: To avoid burning your fingers, wrap your napkin around the handle of your soup bowl.) Your main course is a combination of three items, those being a spare rib, half of a roasted chicken, and half of an herb-crusted baked potato. The chicken is the real star of the show for me but the ribs are fantastic as well. Last but not least, for desert you'll receive an apple turnover as well as a cup of coffee if you would like one.
 |
| Your place setting at Medieval Times; the metal plates are great but DO NOT bang them against one another. |
Finally, it's time to get down as only 6 medieval knights know how! The tournament festivities begin with introductions for the King and his court as well as each knight. Handling the introductions in Myrtle Beach is none other than Sir David of Macedonia, a performer who has been at this particular location for almost as long as I've been coming to Medieval Times if not longer (Sir David is something of an emcee of the entire nights proceedings as he also welcomes guests and does announcements in the Great Hall). Next you're treated to a series of examples of horsemanship featuring some incredible work by handler and horse alike. It really can't be overstated as to how amazing these animals are when seen in an environment like this. In between these segments of the program you'll also witness a display of falconry, which is an ancient technique where hunters would employ trained birds of prey.
Prior to the knights engaging in the joust, they'll go through a series of challenging skill-based games several of which involve using a lance to skewer a small ring suspended from a scaffold. That's a task that comes off to me as trying to thread a needle while hanging out the window of a car. Similarly, the knights take aim while on horseback with a javelin as they ride full speed towards a small target hung above their entry point to the arena. In addition, the knights will participate in a relay race as well as a challenge whereby they have to ride side-by-side with one of their rivals, keeping pace while tossing a small flagpole between one another. It goes without saying that the knights are tremendous athletes who truly are in command of their physical conditioning and horsemanship. When a knight is successful in one of these challenges, he receives several flowers from the Princess which he'll then distribute to certain of the ladies in his gallery.
The joust and the combat that follows is the main attraction of the tournament, needless to say. It's very exciting to see the knights set lance to shield, as Sir David would say, but the real kicker for me is the swordplay as the knights use a variety of medieval weaponry against one another, all in the name of winning the tournament. This is where I can draw a lot of comparisons between this show and professional wrestling as the outcome of the tournament is, of course, predetermined. What, you thought these guys are just going out there and winging it? No, there's a script in play and a plot does unfold during the course of the tournament. I won't go into detail regarding what the story involves so as to not give it away. All I will say is that I've seen several iterations of the Medieval Times show and the most recent revision that's out now is the best one yet (I can remember when the program involved a wizard and the Green knight was always a villain - not so anymore, thankfully).
 |
| A panoramic view of the arena with the knights and their servants during the introductions. |
As it stands, you've got 1-in-6 odds of cheering for the knight who wins the tournament and is recognized as the champion of the realm. I honestly don't know that we've ever cheered for the knight who won, although I could be wrong. At this point we're just trying to make sure that we've been seated once in at least every section, and we're 5/6's of the way to that goal as the only section we've never sat in is that of the Yellow knight.
All things totaled, the Medieval Times experience is incredibly unique and it's something that I feel anyone who visits Myrtle Beach should do at least once. Yes, it's a gimmicky dinner show and it's expensive, but so is everything else in Myrtle Beach. Besides, if you're in Myrtle Beach you're more than likely on vacation - if you can't cut loose and do something fun while you're on vacation, you probably need expensive pharmacology and perhaps a psychiatrist. Or maybe just more rum - either way, take it from me when I say that Medieval Times is a great night out that you and your family can enjoy together.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Myrtle Beach Vacation 2013
My wife Jill and I have created many unique traditions for our little familial unit since we got together, but we've adopted another from her family and quite frankly it's become something that gives me a reason to look forward to summer each year. (Why else would I look forward to summer? This is South Carolina - it's 117° in the shade and there are mosquitoes the size of humming birds.) Jill's family has been making annual visits to Pirateland Family Camping Resort in Myrtle Beach, SC for more than 30 years, meaning they've been vacationing there at least as long as she's been alive. She and I have been a part of these trips as a couple since 2009 - that first experience was a real eye-opener for me as it was my first camping trip. I have to say that prior to that I wasn't sold on the concept of camping but it's apparently rubbed off on me well enough as we've been doing it ever since and we've even discussed buying a camper of our own (we've agreed that while it would be a nice piece of equipment to add to our garage, we don't quite need to go down that road just yet). Pirateland makes for a great get-away and excursions like this are a fine example of how family ties get a bit tighter thanks to things like sharing meals and a whole lot of laughter.
Pirateland Family Camping Resort
I have to be honest with you about this. When we go to Pirateland, we're staying in a "campground" but we aren't really "camping". Camping, to me, implies sleeping in a tent out in the wilderness without much more than a backpack and a compass to sustain yourself. What we're doing is essentially staying in a condo that at one point in its life happened to have been a traditional tag-along style camper.
A friend of Jill's family owns what's referred to as a permanent site and these tremendously generous folks are kind enough to let us use it for our annual trip to Myrtle Beach. In case you didn't know, a permanent site is a plot of land in a section of the campground where people have taken actual campers, moored them into a foundation, then modified them so that in many cases they don't even resemble campers anymore. For example, the camper we make use of still has the overall shape of a camper, however it has added features such as a porch, living room, expanded bedrooms, full bath, and even a laundry/utility closet. It's not a huge amount of space (especially not vertically speaking; I have to remember to duck when going through certain doors else I wind up concussing myself) but it's more than adequate for the two of us.
The campground itself is almost like a carnival environment in that you have all these nomadic people who've traveled from far & wide then congregated together for the sake of seeking rest and relaxation (amongst other things). Personally, I love checking out all the various campers that people bring onto the grounds as I find these porta-houses and their associated technologies to be quite interesting. Recreational vehicles and motor homes are the most intriguing as some of these things are palatial in what they have to offer in terms of amenities. I've jokingly told my wife that when we're old and retired (assuming we get old and can be retired, that is) we're going to sell off everything and buy a RV then spend our waking years traveling around. Hopefully by then RVs will be equipped with guidance systems; I'm not sure how well I'll be able to drive one of those behemoths when I'm in my latter years.
Pirateland is one of several campgrounds in Myrtle Beach which are adjacent to one another - I've never been to any of those so I have nothing to contrast the kind of things that they may or may not have to offer with Pirateland. Be that as it may, Pirateland isn't too dissimilar from a hotel when it comes to offered services. There's a laundromat, a store, WiFi, several pools, and even a restaurant in the form of a food truck (Hog Heaven BBQ). I still enjoy staying in hotels but I will say that our set up within Pirateland affords us a level of privacy and serenity not found in most resorts. There's just something about being near an inlet nestled amongst a bunch of live oak trees that's particularly satisfying.
2013 Annual Truesdale Myrtle Beach Putt-Putt Challenge Championship
To make a long story short, the 2013 Annual Truesdale Myrtle Beach Putt-Putt Challenge Championship did not go my way. Very much the opposite, as a matter of fact, seeing as how Jill more or less took me to the wood shed this year.
The 2013 ATMBPPCC went 4 rounds, with my wife coming out on top 3-1 in our best 3-out-of-5 scenario. We played at some of the most challenging courses we've encountered yet, and I think that added a lot to the overall competitiveness of the event.
Round 1 was held at the Castle course of Adventure Falls Golf (the Surfside location; there's another Adventure Falls towards North Myrtle). This is an older facility but one that is certainly well maintained and deceptively challenging. The first hole nearly threw both Jill and myself for a loop but we managed to recover and finish the round with a final score of Jill 44 to my 45, 7 and 8 over par respectively (every hole was a par 2; I have no idea who set that up but I believe they were a sadist).
Round 2 saw play shift to the Viking course of Dragon's Lair Fantasy Golf, a facility I've wanted to play at for years but never had previously. This proved to be my lone victory in the 2013 ATMBPPCC as I managed to squeak out a win over Jill despite the fact that the final score was a tie at 43 all (43 also being even par for that course). ATMBPPCC rules state that in the event of a tie the player with the most holes in one for that round shall be declared the winner. I had 1 hole in one (hole #10), thereby making me the winner.
Round 3 truly was a test of our physical conditioning as the atmospheric conditions began to wreak havoc on the both of us. For this round, we played the Dunn's River Falls course at Runaway Bay Miniature Golf, which is attached to the Tupelo Bay Golf Center. The heat and humidity common to summers here in South Carolina was in full force this day - I'm not ashamed to admit that I had perspired through my clothing so much that at the end of the round the sweat stain on my pants looked as though I'd urinated on myself. Jill bested me this round by a score of 41-44 (both of us were over for the round as par there is 39). We retired back to our camper after this round, needless to say, for showers and a fresh set of clothes.
The fourth and final round of the 2013 ATMBPPCC was held at Gilligan's Island Funland Miniature Golf. The Minnow course proved to be my undoing as I couldn't keep pace with Jill on the back 9. The 14th hole was particularly troublesome as it was there that I went from having a two-stroke lead to a two-stroke deficit. The final tally was 48-49, with both of us doing particularly well against the course as 54 is par at the Minnow.
It was all over but the crying at that point. I humbly submitted my congratulations to Jill on having defended her title, the first successful defense and retention of the ATMBPPCC trophy in its history.
Random Acts of Fun and Hilarity
Food, Food, and MORE FOOD - Vacation, for a lot of people, is an excuse to let go of their diet and eat whatever they want. For me, it's just another day. I definitely need to be watching what I eat but I don't, and with that in mind came a consumption of mass quantities during our trip to Myrtle Beach. Every day while we're camping begins with a healthy portion of bacon, sausage, country ham, eggs, and crock pot grits (sometimes waffles, too, but they're not an every day offering). Several ladies in the family prepare these meals and they are always amazing - the meals and the ladies, I mean. Lunches are random in that they can be anything from buffalo chicken salad at Sweet Carolina's to a caramel mocha Rockuccino from the KISS Koffee House. Supper tends to be a family affair as well seeing as how one or two couples out of the gathering will handle cooking duties for the evening and provide enough vittles for the whole gang. Is it any wonder my clothes aren't fitting that well right now?
The New House of Blues Menu Blows - I have a long relationship with the House of Blues. I started going there for concerts around 2000 while I was a student at Francis Marion University (FMU and HOB are separated by roughly an hour's drive). It wasn't long after that that I found out about their Pass the Line program, whereby patrons of the HOB restaurant get early access to the concert hall. All you had to do was buy an entrée and you got in before the rest of the crowd; trick was, you still had to get there early enough to be at the front of the Pass the Line line. (HOB later debuted a program they called Crash the Barricade, which was similar to Pass the Line except you got treated to a buffet line with burgers, hot dogs, and the like. I never did this as I saw early on that folks in this line never got in as early as those of us in Pass the Line.) Seeing as how I went to hundreds of concerts at HOB, I became well-versed with their menu and I had several favorite items. Main among them were the catfish nuggets appetizer, buffalo chicken tenders, jambolaya, and the banana bread pudding (which was absolutely amazing). Unfortunately, sometime in the past two or three years someone within HOB's administration decided it was time to monkey with the menu in an apparent effort to fix what wasn't broken. They brought in Aaron Sanchez of Food Network fame and he redid the entire thing, removing all of our favorites in the process. I will say that we've eaten there twice since the changes were made and while the food is not bad it is not what we remember. I truly hope someday the old menu comes back but I'm not holding my breath on that.
C4W Explosive Wrestling - I don't get to attend as many independent professional wrestling events as I'd like, but I do try to keep my ear to the ground when it comes to the industry as it relates to local wrestlers and promotions. C4W is a federation I'd been following loosely online via their Facebook page as I'd never had a chance to see one of their shows live previously. They ran a card the Saturday we got into Myrtle Beach which is why I took the opportunity to check them out. I will say this, to get off on a positive note; C4W has a great venue and set up as they're part of a sports complex called the X Gym. Their staging and ring all looked good, so from a presentation standpoint C4W has what a lot of other indies don't. Other than that, I have nothing particularly positive to say about C4W. Yes, I am a wrestling snob - I've been around enough good wrestling to know bad wrestling when I see it and C4W is mostly bad. To me, they are an example of what happens when an indie promotion with limited talent tries too hard to replicate what WWE does with a show like Monday Night Raw. You wind up with overly intricate storylines and "wrestlers" trying to emulate what they saw on TV. What boggles my mind the most about this show, though, is the fact that it drew a big crowd - as in probably between 100-150 people. I have no way of knowing how many were paying admission (some weren't; I saw the girl at the gate marking off names from a list) but it was an insane amount of people for a show that poor.
Teazers Pole Fitness & Dance Studio - Men have won the battle of the sexes. You know how I know we've won? Because pole dancing is now considered a legitimate form of exercise. While I was at the C4W show, I noticed a section within the X Gym that had a sign promoting "Pole Fitness". I wanted to give this the benefit of the doubt as being an honest gimmick like Zumba but did a little research on the matter (You guessed it, I Googled something!) and it turns out this is a business operating within the X Gym called Teazers Pole Fitness & Dance Studio. I guess it would've been too obvious if they'd called it Myrtle Beach Stripper School.
MagiQuest - After Jill & I had completed round 2 of the 2013 ATMBPPCC at Dragon's Lair, we were planning to spend some time walking around Broadway at the Beach which is a huge outdoor shopping and entertainment district. You can find everything at Broadway from the Hard Rock Cafe to Build-A-Bear, from Ripley's Aquarium to an Imax theater. We've checked out most of the offerings at Broadway but one we'd never tried previously is MagiQuest, a live-action role playing game. The concept is that you create your own character (I'm Red Beard and Jill is Lady Night Owl) that exists in a magical realm (think Middle Earth from Lord of the Rings) and you go about accomplishing tasks and missions in order to develop your character's abilities. It's a lot like RPG video games in that you're building up skills and resources with the ultimate goal being to become a Master Magi. You get a wand, which you can also customize, and you basically run around with a bunch of kids trying to slay dragons and other random baddies. I wasn't sure if it was going to be corny or not when we first went in but we wound up having a lot of fun with it so I'm glad we took the time to check it out.
An Octogenarian on a Trike - I bear no shame in admitting that I have the worst sense of balance in the history of mankind. Seriously, I can be standing still and lose my balance. As such, riding a traditional bicycle is not all that easy for me. This is why I purchased a Schwinn Meridian earlier this year; it's more or less a tricycle for adults, and I've gotten a lot of enjoyment out of it so far. The only issue I have with it is that it has no gears so hills can be challenging. Jill & I decided it would be fun to take our bikes to the beach this year as the campground makes for a great place to ride. Little did I know that my trike would inspire Jill's 80-something year old Grandfather to jump on it and go for a ride himself! Well, "jump on" might have been too extreme as he needed a little assistance in mounting up but once he got going he was fine. I can't tell you how many laughs seeing him on my trike generated; it was a great moment and a fine example of why it pays to always have a camera handy.
Myrtle Manor, aka the Farcical Nature of Reality TV - Myrtle Beach has never had an issue with maintaining its visibility as a tourist destination. Try as local government has to bolster its popularity by giving the area a more wholesome presence, the fact remains that there are parts of Myrtle Beach which will always be synonymous with booze, partying, and loose morals. When it came to pass that the cable TV network TLC (which I think should be legally required to change its name; it may still be "TLC" but I don't think their current line-up is indicative of a moniker like The Learning Channel) announced a show called Myrtle Manor to be filmed in a Myrtle Beach trailer park, there weren't too many happy elected officials. Be that as it may, the show went on and it featured an assembled cast of random miscreants who were intended to represent trailer park stereotypes. It was something of a hit in its first season as another batch of episodes has been ordered. We couldn't not see this place for ourselves which is why we sought out Patrick's Mobile Home Park, the trailer park where Myrtle Manor is filmed. Myrtle Manor doesn't make up the whole of the park, rather a rear corner of the property. In case you're a fan of the series and had any delusions that what you see there is real, I can tell you that Myrtle Manor looked deserted. It had the appearance of an abandoned movie set, which is more or less what it is at this point in time - a facade meant to serve as a location for a scripted series of events.
Medieval Times - I remember the first time I took my then-girlfriend, now-wife to Medieval Times. She had a strawberry daiquiri in the lounge while we were waiting to be seated and it turned her cheeks a bright shade of pink. I swear, she's let me drag her to so many weird venues for wrestling and shows like this that I'm surprised she goes along with any of my ideas any more. Regardless, going to Medieval Times has become a tradition for us as we've been every year since then. The show has changed significantly from what it was when we first started going but what's remained the same is the quality of the entertainment and the meal you receive during the performance. It's not a cheap night out but I think you get your money's worth.
Homophones Are Fun - One of my favorite moments of the entire week happened when we went to the MT box office to purchase our tickets. We've been to the arena so many times that there are only a couple knights we haven't had the opportunity to cheer for, and this being the case we wanted to see if it was possible to get into one of those sections. Generally speaking, seating is first come-first served meaning you won't know which area you'll be seated in until you go through the line. While we were purchasing our tickets the lady behind the counter asked Jill "Which night would you like?" Jill's response was, "WE GET TO PICK WHICH KNIGHT WE WANT?!" I cannot duplicate with text the excitement in her tone of voice when she said that and I only wish I'd had a video camera on her when she did. Of course, the lady at the counter meant which evening's show would we like to attend, not which knight's section in which we wanted to be seated. Epic blonde moment is epic.
We've been back home for a few days now. One thing that I realized immediately when we got back to our house is how much bigger our place seemed after having lived in a camper for a week. Our house isn't huge by any means but man did it ever seem gigantic when we returned! While the camper may be small, it's become a beloved part of our life together. I guess that sentiment plays into the old saying "Home is where the heart is". We've built a lot of memories during these trips of ours to Myrtle Beach and I certainly hope they continue on for decades to come.
Pirateland Family Camping Resort
I have to be honest with you about this. When we go to Pirateland, we're staying in a "campground" but we aren't really "camping". Camping, to me, implies sleeping in a tent out in the wilderness without much more than a backpack and a compass to sustain yourself. What we're doing is essentially staying in a condo that at one point in its life happened to have been a traditional tag-along style camper.
A friend of Jill's family owns what's referred to as a permanent site and these tremendously generous folks are kind enough to let us use it for our annual trip to Myrtle Beach. In case you didn't know, a permanent site is a plot of land in a section of the campground where people have taken actual campers, moored them into a foundation, then modified them so that in many cases they don't even resemble campers anymore. For example, the camper we make use of still has the overall shape of a camper, however it has added features such as a porch, living room, expanded bedrooms, full bath, and even a laundry/utility closet. It's not a huge amount of space (especially not vertically speaking; I have to remember to duck when going through certain doors else I wind up concussing myself) but it's more than adequate for the two of us.
The campground itself is almost like a carnival environment in that you have all these nomadic people who've traveled from far & wide then congregated together for the sake of seeking rest and relaxation (amongst other things). Personally, I love checking out all the various campers that people bring onto the grounds as I find these porta-houses and their associated technologies to be quite interesting. Recreational vehicles and motor homes are the most intriguing as some of these things are palatial in what they have to offer in terms of amenities. I've jokingly told my wife that when we're old and retired (assuming we get old and can be retired, that is) we're going to sell off everything and buy a RV then spend our waking years traveling around. Hopefully by then RVs will be equipped with guidance systems; I'm not sure how well I'll be able to drive one of those behemoths when I'm in my latter years.
Pirateland is one of several campgrounds in Myrtle Beach which are adjacent to one another - I've never been to any of those so I have nothing to contrast the kind of things that they may or may not have to offer with Pirateland. Be that as it may, Pirateland isn't too dissimilar from a hotel when it comes to offered services. There's a laundromat, a store, WiFi, several pools, and even a restaurant in the form of a food truck (Hog Heaven BBQ). I still enjoy staying in hotels but I will say that our set up within Pirateland affords us a level of privacy and serenity not found in most resorts. There's just something about being near an inlet nestled amongst a bunch of live oak trees that's particularly satisfying.
2013 Annual Truesdale Myrtle Beach Putt-Putt Challenge Championship
To make a long story short, the 2013 Annual Truesdale Myrtle Beach Putt-Putt Challenge Championship did not go my way. Very much the opposite, as a matter of fact, seeing as how Jill more or less took me to the wood shed this year.
The 2013 ATMBPPCC went 4 rounds, with my wife coming out on top 3-1 in our best 3-out-of-5 scenario. We played at some of the most challenging courses we've encountered yet, and I think that added a lot to the overall competitiveness of the event.
Round 1 was held at the Castle course of Adventure Falls Golf (the Surfside location; there's another Adventure Falls towards North Myrtle). This is an older facility but one that is certainly well maintained and deceptively challenging. The first hole nearly threw both Jill and myself for a loop but we managed to recover and finish the round with a final score of Jill 44 to my 45, 7 and 8 over par respectively (every hole was a par 2; I have no idea who set that up but I believe they were a sadist).
Round 2 saw play shift to the Viking course of Dragon's Lair Fantasy Golf, a facility I've wanted to play at for years but never had previously. This proved to be my lone victory in the 2013 ATMBPPCC as I managed to squeak out a win over Jill despite the fact that the final score was a tie at 43 all (43 also being even par for that course). ATMBPPCC rules state that in the event of a tie the player with the most holes in one for that round shall be declared the winner. I had 1 hole in one (hole #10), thereby making me the winner.
Round 3 truly was a test of our physical conditioning as the atmospheric conditions began to wreak havoc on the both of us. For this round, we played the Dunn's River Falls course at Runaway Bay Miniature Golf, which is attached to the Tupelo Bay Golf Center. The heat and humidity common to summers here in South Carolina was in full force this day - I'm not ashamed to admit that I had perspired through my clothing so much that at the end of the round the sweat stain on my pants looked as though I'd urinated on myself. Jill bested me this round by a score of 41-44 (both of us were over for the round as par there is 39). We retired back to our camper after this round, needless to say, for showers and a fresh set of clothes.
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| Me, prior to losing 20 lbs. of water weight at Dunn's River Falls |
The fourth and final round of the 2013 ATMBPPCC was held at Gilligan's Island Funland Miniature Golf. The Minnow course proved to be my undoing as I couldn't keep pace with Jill on the back 9. The 14th hole was particularly troublesome as it was there that I went from having a two-stroke lead to a two-stroke deficit. The final tally was 48-49, with both of us doing particularly well against the course as 54 is par at the Minnow.
It was all over but the crying at that point. I humbly submitted my congratulations to Jill on having defended her title, the first successful defense and retention of the ATMBPPCC trophy in its history.
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| Jill with the ATMBPPCC trophy |
Random Acts of Fun and Hilarity
Food, Food, and MORE FOOD - Vacation, for a lot of people, is an excuse to let go of their diet and eat whatever they want. For me, it's just another day. I definitely need to be watching what I eat but I don't, and with that in mind came a consumption of mass quantities during our trip to Myrtle Beach. Every day while we're camping begins with a healthy portion of bacon, sausage, country ham, eggs, and crock pot grits (sometimes waffles, too, but they're not an every day offering). Several ladies in the family prepare these meals and they are always amazing - the meals and the ladies, I mean. Lunches are random in that they can be anything from buffalo chicken salad at Sweet Carolina's to a caramel mocha Rockuccino from the KISS Koffee House. Supper tends to be a family affair as well seeing as how one or two couples out of the gathering will handle cooking duties for the evening and provide enough vittles for the whole gang. Is it any wonder my clothes aren't fitting that well right now?
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| A typical breakfast during our annual Myrtle Beach trips |
The New House of Blues Menu Blows - I have a long relationship with the House of Blues. I started going there for concerts around 2000 while I was a student at Francis Marion University (FMU and HOB are separated by roughly an hour's drive). It wasn't long after that that I found out about their Pass the Line program, whereby patrons of the HOB restaurant get early access to the concert hall. All you had to do was buy an entrée and you got in before the rest of the crowd; trick was, you still had to get there early enough to be at the front of the Pass the Line line. (HOB later debuted a program they called Crash the Barricade, which was similar to Pass the Line except you got treated to a buffet line with burgers, hot dogs, and the like. I never did this as I saw early on that folks in this line never got in as early as those of us in Pass the Line.) Seeing as how I went to hundreds of concerts at HOB, I became well-versed with their menu and I had several favorite items. Main among them were the catfish nuggets appetizer, buffalo chicken tenders, jambolaya, and the banana bread pudding (which was absolutely amazing). Unfortunately, sometime in the past two or three years someone within HOB's administration decided it was time to monkey with the menu in an apparent effort to fix what wasn't broken. They brought in Aaron Sanchez of Food Network fame and he redid the entire thing, removing all of our favorites in the process. I will say that we've eaten there twice since the changes were made and while the food is not bad it is not what we remember. I truly hope someday the old menu comes back but I'm not holding my breath on that.
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| The now extinct catfish fingers/nuggets appetizer from HOB |
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| HOB's banana bread pudding - I can't tell you how depressing it is to know that I'll never eat this again |
C4W Explosive Wrestling - I don't get to attend as many independent professional wrestling events as I'd like, but I do try to keep my ear to the ground when it comes to the industry as it relates to local wrestlers and promotions. C4W is a federation I'd been following loosely online via their Facebook page as I'd never had a chance to see one of their shows live previously. They ran a card the Saturday we got into Myrtle Beach which is why I took the opportunity to check them out. I will say this, to get off on a positive note; C4W has a great venue and set up as they're part of a sports complex called the X Gym. Their staging and ring all looked good, so from a presentation standpoint C4W has what a lot of other indies don't. Other than that, I have nothing particularly positive to say about C4W. Yes, I am a wrestling snob - I've been around enough good wrestling to know bad wrestling when I see it and C4W is mostly bad. To me, they are an example of what happens when an indie promotion with limited talent tries too hard to replicate what WWE does with a show like Monday Night Raw. You wind up with overly intricate storylines and "wrestlers" trying to emulate what they saw on TV. What boggles my mind the most about this show, though, is the fact that it drew a big crowd - as in probably between 100-150 people. I have no way of knowing how many were paying admission (some weren't; I saw the girl at the gate marking off names from a list) but it was an insane amount of people for a show that poor.
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| This is all you need to see to know C4W's quality - kick pads over Vans instead of boots |
Teazers Pole Fitness & Dance Studio - Men have won the battle of the sexes. You know how I know we've won? Because pole dancing is now considered a legitimate form of exercise. While I was at the C4W show, I noticed a section within the X Gym that had a sign promoting "Pole Fitness". I wanted to give this the benefit of the doubt as being an honest gimmick like Zumba but did a little research on the matter (You guessed it, I Googled something!) and it turns out this is a business operating within the X Gym called Teazers Pole Fitness & Dance Studio. I guess it would've been too obvious if they'd called it Myrtle Beach Stripper School.
MagiQuest - After Jill & I had completed round 2 of the 2013 ATMBPPCC at Dragon's Lair, we were planning to spend some time walking around Broadway at the Beach which is a huge outdoor shopping and entertainment district. You can find everything at Broadway from the Hard Rock Cafe to Build-A-Bear, from Ripley's Aquarium to an Imax theater. We've checked out most of the offerings at Broadway but one we'd never tried previously is MagiQuest, a live-action role playing game. The concept is that you create your own character (I'm Red Beard and Jill is Lady Night Owl) that exists in a magical realm (think Middle Earth from Lord of the Rings) and you go about accomplishing tasks and missions in order to develop your character's abilities. It's a lot like RPG video games in that you're building up skills and resources with the ultimate goal being to become a Master Magi. You get a wand, which you can also customize, and you basically run around with a bunch of kids trying to slay dragons and other random baddies. I wasn't sure if it was going to be corny or not when we first went in but we wound up having a lot of fun with it so I'm glad we took the time to check it out.
An Octogenarian on a Trike - I bear no shame in admitting that I have the worst sense of balance in the history of mankind. Seriously, I can be standing still and lose my balance. As such, riding a traditional bicycle is not all that easy for me. This is why I purchased a Schwinn Meridian earlier this year; it's more or less a tricycle for adults, and I've gotten a lot of enjoyment out of it so far. The only issue I have with it is that it has no gears so hills can be challenging. Jill & I decided it would be fun to take our bikes to the beach this year as the campground makes for a great place to ride. Little did I know that my trike would inspire Jill's 80-something year old Grandfather to jump on it and go for a ride himself! Well, "jump on" might have been too extreme as he needed a little assistance in mounting up but once he got going he was fine. I can't tell you how many laughs seeing him on my trike generated; it was a great moment and a fine example of why it pays to always have a camera handy.
Myrtle Manor, aka the Farcical Nature of Reality TV - Myrtle Beach has never had an issue with maintaining its visibility as a tourist destination. Try as local government has to bolster its popularity by giving the area a more wholesome presence, the fact remains that there are parts of Myrtle Beach which will always be synonymous with booze, partying, and loose morals. When it came to pass that the cable TV network TLC (which I think should be legally required to change its name; it may still be "TLC" but I don't think their current line-up is indicative of a moniker like The Learning Channel) announced a show called Myrtle Manor to be filmed in a Myrtle Beach trailer park, there weren't too many happy elected officials. Be that as it may, the show went on and it featured an assembled cast of random miscreants who were intended to represent trailer park stereotypes. It was something of a hit in its first season as another batch of episodes has been ordered. We couldn't not see this place for ourselves which is why we sought out Patrick's Mobile Home Park, the trailer park where Myrtle Manor is filmed. Myrtle Manor doesn't make up the whole of the park, rather a rear corner of the property. In case you're a fan of the series and had any delusions that what you see there is real, I can tell you that Myrtle Manor looked deserted. It had the appearance of an abandoned movie set, which is more or less what it is at this point in time - a facade meant to serve as a location for a scripted series of events.
Medieval Times - I remember the first time I took my then-girlfriend, now-wife to Medieval Times. She had a strawberry daiquiri in the lounge while we were waiting to be seated and it turned her cheeks a bright shade of pink. I swear, she's let me drag her to so many weird venues for wrestling and shows like this that I'm surprised she goes along with any of my ideas any more. Regardless, going to Medieval Times has become a tradition for us as we've been every year since then. The show has changed significantly from what it was when we first started going but what's remained the same is the quality of the entertainment and the meal you receive during the performance. It's not a cheap night out but I think you get your money's worth.
Homophones Are Fun - One of my favorite moments of the entire week happened when we went to the MT box office to purchase our tickets. We've been to the arena so many times that there are only a couple knights we haven't had the opportunity to cheer for, and this being the case we wanted to see if it was possible to get into one of those sections. Generally speaking, seating is first come-first served meaning you won't know which area you'll be seated in until you go through the line. While we were purchasing our tickets the lady behind the counter asked Jill "Which night would you like?" Jill's response was, "WE GET TO PICK WHICH KNIGHT WE WANT?!" I cannot duplicate with text the excitement in her tone of voice when she said that and I only wish I'd had a video camera on her when she did. Of course, the lady at the counter meant which evening's show would we like to attend, not which knight's section in which we wanted to be seated. Epic blonde moment is epic.
We've been back home for a few days now. One thing that I realized immediately when we got back to our house is how much bigger our place seemed after having lived in a camper for a week. Our house isn't huge by any means but man did it ever seem gigantic when we returned! While the camper may be small, it's become a beloved part of our life together. I guess that sentiment plays into the old saying "Home is where the heart is". We've built a lot of memories during these trips of ours to Myrtle Beach and I certainly hope they continue on for decades to come.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Remember me?
I'm fine, everything's perfectly all right now. We're fine. We're all fine here now, thank you. How are you?
I feel the need to greet you formally as a means of kicking off this particular blog post seeing as how it's been more than a month since my prose graced your eyes, and quite frankly I'm a bit bummed out about that. I felt like I was getting on something of a roll with my entries to this blog and I felt rather upset about not having had the free time to keep that momentum going. (At least I'm doing better than I was when I was attempting to run a full site of my own - I paid for hosting for almost a year and a half on a site that I didn't touch for lack of time to do anything with it.) This may seem like a trivial thing to certain people, putting your innermost thoughts out into the ether for God only knows who to read them, but I rather enjoy the experience as I've grown to be fairly fond of writing. I don't need to be sitting on a psychiatrist's couch to vocalize my feelings, I just need an open network protocol with access to this here Internet thingie.
To say that the last few weeks have been tumultuous at times would be a vast understatement. Some of it was the good kind of tumult, which is when you're busy and wrapped up in things that bring you joy or that you otherwise appreciate the opportunity to be involved with. Of course in life we can't have the good without our fair share of the negative - there was plenty of sadness to be had in the time between now and when I last wrote as well.
Back in the middle of June, my wife (Jill/Wifey/J-Tru, if you don't know her - you should really read her blog, too, if you don't already) and I made our annual trip to Pirate Land Campground in Myrtle Beach, SC for a week-long vacation. This is a tradition which we've picked up from her family as they make something of a yearly pilgrimage to this same campground and have done so for the better part of Jill's lifetime. When I say "her family", it helps if I can give you a gauge of just how many people we're talking about because it's significantly more than what you're probably thinking. The caravan of campers that migrates from Lugoff, SC to Myrtle Beach is between 7 and 10 units strong; I have to leave myself some leeway with the estimation by saying it's between X and Y because I know I'd be wrong if I tried to assign a specific value (yes, that's my way of admitting that I have no idea who some of her family members are - the extended ones, mostly - even though we've been together for almost three years now). Figure in that there will be anywhere from 2 to 6 people staying in each of those campers and you start to get an idea of how many people are included in this trek. It's an impressive assembly and it makes for a great event seeing as how it seems that so few people do something like this these days.
I'll never forget the first time I joined Jill's family on this trip because it was my first legitimate camping experience. No, I've never slept in a tent and I never intend to do so. Yes, this was a "camping experience" in that we stayed in Jill's parents camper. While that might not count as roughing it for some people, I will counter your snide remarks contradicting my seasoned camper status by letting you know that I did sleep on the floor of the camper for the duration of that first trip. I was on an air mattress with a pillow and positioned directly under an air conditioning vent, mind you, but still on the floor!
Since that trip, Jill and I have moved on from staying with her parents to renting a camper that's on one of the permanent sites within Pirate Land. The campers on these sites have been modified so that they don't resemble campers in many cases. They feature Florida rooms, improved bathroom facilities, custom kitchens, and a range of other amenities.
The camper we rent is in an absolutely picturesque area as it is nestled in between several trees and situated immediately beside an inlet. Not surprisingly, the trees are home to quite a few squirrels and these squirrels have become a welcome, albeit noisy addition to memories of our beach vacations. They will often drop their acorns onto the metal roof of the camper then drop down and trot across in an attempt to reclaim their lost vittles. The first time we heard them do this we had literally no idea what was going on and it startled us (we lovingly refer to them as terrorists). I would never claim to know much about fishing (seeing as how I do it so infrequently that I have to ask Jill to give me a refresher on the operation of the reel; she grew up with a master fisherman in the form of my father in-law, who is a talented angler and sportsman), although the inlet has allowed me to do something I hadn't done since I was a boy fishing on the banks of a pond back home with my Grandpa. We have yet to catch a fish (we know they're there seeing as how they routinely jump out of the water as if to taunt us with their refusal to take the bait) but that doesn't make the experience any less enjoyable.
Jill's family has many traditions that they engage in while at the beach, my favorite of which involves everyone getting together for breakfast each morning (I know, it's shocking that I would enjoy an event centered around bacon above so many others). The most prominent traditions that Wifey & I have developed on our own for our beach vacations are: 1) a trip to Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament and 2) the Annual Truesdale Myrtle Beach Putt-Putt Challenge Championship.
Jill and I are both fans of professional wrestling and Medieval Times isn't too far removed from wrestling, but at Medieval Times you get served a fantastic meal while the action is unfolding before you, making it instantly better than most wrestling cards. Vegetable soup, garlic bread, an oven-roasted half chicken, ribs, baked potato, and desert - it's a meal fit for a king, which is appropriate seeing as how it's customary for everyone to wear paper crowns while you're there. If you've never been to MT, I highly recommend it. It's not exactly a cheap date, however it is a lot of fun and a unique experience.
The Annual Truesdale Myrtle Beach Putt-Putt Challenge Championship (or ATMBPPCC for short) is an event that evolved from Wifey and myself placing wagers on our putt-putt matches. (Not wagers in a monetary sense, rather things like doing the dishes for a week.) During our first vacation to Pirate Land, Jill may or may not have conned me into a bet by having us play on the course located within the campground. Keep in mind that Jill and her family have been coming to Pirate Land for upwards of 10 years - point being, she had an advantage over me in that she knew the course whereas I was flying blind. She bested me that day, but rest assured I haven't forgotten her clever maneuver...
Since that first match we've taken to playing at random courses so as to even the playing field. In addition, we've changed the format from a one match scenario to a best 2-out-of-3 contest. For the 2010 edition of the ATMBPPCC, we played at Cancun Lagoon and Jurassic Golf with yours beardly pulling out a pair of close victories to take home the title. This year, I decided it was time to build the legacy of the ATMBPPCC by making it more than just a made up championship with an absurdly long acronym by creating a trophy to represent it.
The fine folks over at A-1 Custom Trophies assembled that beauty for us. Their handy online utility for designing a trophy of your own is an excellent tool as you'll be able to see your trophy before it's constructed.
Round one of the 2011 ATMBPPCC was held at Jungle Safari Golf. It was appropriate that we selected a course with an Amazonian-theme seeing as how the weather in Myrtle Beach was what you'd expect to encounter in the jungles of some far-off land, that being humid, hot, and generally unpleasant. (Adding to these environmental hazards was the fact that we were down-wind of smoke coming off of a large wildfire north of Myrtle Beach that was drifting south along the coast.) Indeed, the air was so thick with moisture and heat that I would describe the experience as walking around in a bucket of hot water. (To quote Matthew Broderick's character from the 1988 film Biloxi Blues, "Man it's hot. It's like Africa hot. Tarzan couldn't take this kind of hot.") Our matches always seem to be close and this one was no different. I prevailed and by the narrowest of margins, a single stroke, despite being drenched with sweat and feeling like the inside of a used gym sock.
To her credit, I believe Wifey may have been a bit put off her game by the fact that about mid-way through the match a young lady driving by gave me a cat call - yes, a quite scandalous turn of events it was, but far be it from me to deny a strategic advantage of any sort. Nevertheless, we moved on to round two which was played at Captain Hook's Adventure Golf.
Putt-putt is, as you would expect, a very popular past time around Myrtle Beach as it is an activity anyone, families on vacation in particular, can do and enjoy (this despite the expense involved - I'd like someone to explain to me why it costs $20 for 2 people to play one round of mini-golf; for that price I should get a commemorative mug or something equally useless that would at least let me feel like I received something of value for my money). As it would turn out, the evening we played at Captain Hook's was a busy one as our match took more than 2 hours to complete. Jill and I were both feeling the effects of the prolonged match as we were growing frustrated not only with those players ahead of us but with the course itself. Captain Hook's is not a cakewalk by any means; I can appreciate a course with a decent amount of difficulty, but certain of the holes there seemed to have been designed to cause grief more than anything.
Yet again, our scores were close throughout most of the match. The sixteenth hole would prove to be Wifey's ultimate undoing in this, the second round of the 2011 ATMBPPCC, as its cup was set upon a plateau that featured several treacherous contours. She was forced to take the maximum stroke count for the hole, giving me a clear advantage going into the final two stages. I was able to hold off her attempt at a rally despite having not been able to finish the game as my ball went careening off the course during the eighteenth hole, nowhere to be found. With that, I won my second straight ATMBPPCC title and I look forward to defending this prestigious championship again next year!
Our beach trip was not without a bit of drama. Jill's Grandmother became ill and was forced to spend a majority of the week in an area hospital. She gave us all a scare and it was rough goings for a few days but the silver lining of the situation was that she had plenty of family around to assist her and stay with her. She's since made a full recovery from those ailments and is back in the comfort of her home with her husband.
Jill and I drove to Lancaster the Sunday after Grandma was taken to the hospital. We'd learned that she might have possibly had a stroke as she had stopped moving the left side of her body but the main concern was that she had developed a blood infection. I can't describe how difficult it was seeing her when we arrived at the hospital. I don't think any members of our family were prepared for her health to have taken such an immediate turn for the worse. She seemed to have been fine in the days prior and yet here she was suddenly struggling to breathe, to live.
My Grandma passed away two days later, Tuesday, July 12. She was such a vivacious, strong woman who lived her life to the fullest, and I miss her very much.
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| 10 points to your house if you get the reference... |
I feel the need to greet you formally as a means of kicking off this particular blog post seeing as how it's been more than a month since my prose graced your eyes, and quite frankly I'm a bit bummed out about that. I felt like I was getting on something of a roll with my entries to this blog and I felt rather upset about not having had the free time to keep that momentum going. (At least I'm doing better than I was when I was attempting to run a full site of my own - I paid for hosting for almost a year and a half on a site that I didn't touch for lack of time to do anything with it.) This may seem like a trivial thing to certain people, putting your innermost thoughts out into the ether for God only knows who to read them, but I rather enjoy the experience as I've grown to be fairly fond of writing. I don't need to be sitting on a psychiatrist's couch to vocalize my feelings, I just need an open network protocol with access to this here Internet thingie.
To say that the last few weeks have been tumultuous at times would be a vast understatement. Some of it was the good kind of tumult, which is when you're busy and wrapped up in things that bring you joy or that you otherwise appreciate the opportunity to be involved with. Of course in life we can't have the good without our fair share of the negative - there was plenty of sadness to be had in the time between now and when I last wrote as well.
Back in the middle of June, my wife (Jill/Wifey/J-Tru, if you don't know her - you should really read her blog, too, if you don't already) and I made our annual trip to Pirate Land Campground in Myrtle Beach, SC for a week-long vacation. This is a tradition which we've picked up from her family as they make something of a yearly pilgrimage to this same campground and have done so for the better part of Jill's lifetime. When I say "her family", it helps if I can give you a gauge of just how many people we're talking about because it's significantly more than what you're probably thinking. The caravan of campers that migrates from Lugoff, SC to Myrtle Beach is between 7 and 10 units strong; I have to leave myself some leeway with the estimation by saying it's between X and Y because I know I'd be wrong if I tried to assign a specific value (yes, that's my way of admitting that I have no idea who some of her family members are - the extended ones, mostly - even though we've been together for almost three years now). Figure in that there will be anywhere from 2 to 6 people staying in each of those campers and you start to get an idea of how many people are included in this trek. It's an impressive assembly and it makes for a great event seeing as how it seems that so few people do something like this these days.
I'll never forget the first time I joined Jill's family on this trip because it was my first legitimate camping experience. No, I've never slept in a tent and I never intend to do so. Yes, this was a "camping experience" in that we stayed in Jill's parents camper. While that might not count as roughing it for some people, I will counter your snide remarks contradicting my seasoned camper status by letting you know that I did sleep on the floor of the camper for the duration of that first trip. I was on an air mattress with a pillow and positioned directly under an air conditioning vent, mind you, but still on the floor!
Since that trip, Jill and I have moved on from staying with her parents to renting a camper that's on one of the permanent sites within Pirate Land. The campers on these sites have been modified so that they don't resemble campers in many cases. They feature Florida rooms, improved bathroom facilities, custom kitchens, and a range of other amenities.
The camper we rent is in an absolutely picturesque area as it is nestled in between several trees and situated immediately beside an inlet. Not surprisingly, the trees are home to quite a few squirrels and these squirrels have become a welcome, albeit noisy addition to memories of our beach vacations. They will often drop their acorns onto the metal roof of the camper then drop down and trot across in an attempt to reclaim their lost vittles. The first time we heard them do this we had literally no idea what was going on and it startled us (we lovingly refer to them as terrorists). I would never claim to know much about fishing (seeing as how I do it so infrequently that I have to ask Jill to give me a refresher on the operation of the reel; she grew up with a master fisherman in the form of my father in-law, who is a talented angler and sportsman), although the inlet has allowed me to do something I hadn't done since I was a boy fishing on the banks of a pond back home with my Grandpa. We have yet to catch a fish (we know they're there seeing as how they routinely jump out of the water as if to taunt us with their refusal to take the bait) but that doesn't make the experience any less enjoyable.
Jill's family has many traditions that they engage in while at the beach, my favorite of which involves everyone getting together for breakfast each morning (I know, it's shocking that I would enjoy an event centered around bacon above so many others). The most prominent traditions that Wifey & I have developed on our own for our beach vacations are: 1) a trip to Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament and 2) the Annual Truesdale Myrtle Beach Putt-Putt Challenge Championship.
Jill and I are both fans of professional wrestling and Medieval Times isn't too far removed from wrestling, but at Medieval Times you get served a fantastic meal while the action is unfolding before you, making it instantly better than most wrestling cards. Vegetable soup, garlic bread, an oven-roasted half chicken, ribs, baked potato, and desert - it's a meal fit for a king, which is appropriate seeing as how it's customary for everyone to wear paper crowns while you're there. If you've never been to MT, I highly recommend it. It's not exactly a cheap date, however it is a lot of fun and a unique experience.
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| Wifey & I at Medieval Times - BLUE KNIGHT, FTW! |
The Annual Truesdale Myrtle Beach Putt-Putt Challenge Championship (or ATMBPPCC for short) is an event that evolved from Wifey and myself placing wagers on our putt-putt matches. (Not wagers in a monetary sense, rather things like doing the dishes for a week.) During our first vacation to Pirate Land, Jill may or may not have conned me into a bet by having us play on the course located within the campground. Keep in mind that Jill and her family have been coming to Pirate Land for upwards of 10 years - point being, she had an advantage over me in that she knew the course whereas I was flying blind. She bested me that day, but rest assured I haven't forgotten her clever maneuver...
Since that first match we've taken to playing at random courses so as to even the playing field. In addition, we've changed the format from a one match scenario to a best 2-out-of-3 contest. For the 2010 edition of the ATMBPPCC, we played at Cancun Lagoon and Jurassic Golf with yours beardly pulling out a pair of close victories to take home the title. This year, I decided it was time to build the legacy of the ATMBPPCC by making it more than just a made up championship with an absurdly long acronym by creating a trophy to represent it.
 |
| The ATMBPPCC trophy - Lord Stanley's cup is officially weaksauce! |
The fine folks over at A-1 Custom Trophies assembled that beauty for us. Their handy online utility for designing a trophy of your own is an excellent tool as you'll be able to see your trophy before it's constructed.
Round one of the 2011 ATMBPPCC was held at Jungle Safari Golf. It was appropriate that we selected a course with an Amazonian-theme seeing as how the weather in Myrtle Beach was what you'd expect to encounter in the jungles of some far-off land, that being humid, hot, and generally unpleasant. (Adding to these environmental hazards was the fact that we were down-wind of smoke coming off of a large wildfire north of Myrtle Beach that was drifting south along the coast.) Indeed, the air was so thick with moisture and heat that I would describe the experience as walking around in a bucket of hot water. (To quote Matthew Broderick's character from the 1988 film Biloxi Blues, "Man it's hot. It's like Africa hot. Tarzan couldn't take this kind of hot.") Our matches always seem to be close and this one was no different. I prevailed and by the narrowest of margins, a single stroke, despite being drenched with sweat and feeling like the inside of a used gym sock.
To her credit, I believe Wifey may have been a bit put off her game by the fact that about mid-way through the match a young lady driving by gave me a cat call - yes, a quite scandalous turn of events it was, but far be it from me to deny a strategic advantage of any sort. Nevertheless, we moved on to round two which was played at Captain Hook's Adventure Golf.
Putt-putt is, as you would expect, a very popular past time around Myrtle Beach as it is an activity anyone, families on vacation in particular, can do and enjoy (this despite the expense involved - I'd like someone to explain to me why it costs $20 for 2 people to play one round of mini-golf; for that price I should get a commemorative mug or something equally useless that would at least let me feel like I received something of value for my money). As it would turn out, the evening we played at Captain Hook's was a busy one as our match took more than 2 hours to complete. Jill and I were both feeling the effects of the prolonged match as we were growing frustrated not only with those players ahead of us but with the course itself. Captain Hook's is not a cakewalk by any means; I can appreciate a course with a decent amount of difficulty, but certain of the holes there seemed to have been designed to cause grief more than anything.
Yet again, our scores were close throughout most of the match. The sixteenth hole would prove to be Wifey's ultimate undoing in this, the second round of the 2011 ATMBPPCC, as its cup was set upon a plateau that featured several treacherous contours. She was forced to take the maximum stroke count for the hole, giving me a clear advantage going into the final two stages. I was able to hold off her attempt at a rally despite having not been able to finish the game as my ball went careening off the course during the eighteenth hole, nowhere to be found. With that, I won my second straight ATMBPPCC title and I look forward to defending this prestigious championship again next year!
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| Yours Beardly with the ATMBPPCC trophy |
Our beach trip was not without a bit of drama. Jill's Grandmother became ill and was forced to spend a majority of the week in an area hospital. She gave us all a scare and it was rough goings for a few days but the silver lining of the situation was that she had plenty of family around to assist her and stay with her. She's since made a full recovery from those ailments and is back in the comfort of her home with her husband.
The weeks after our beach vacation were mostly normal. Jill and I went back to work, returning to our everyday grind, wishing all the while we could be back on vacation. Not long after getting back home I received a jury duty summons for municipal court. Some people might cringe at an assignment like that but I was genuinely looking forward to it. I'd served as a juror years ago and found the legal process fascinating with all its posturing and technicalities. It appealed to my meticulous nature, I guess you could say. This more recent experience would prove to be far less rewarding.
I reported for jury duty as instructed (Commanded?) and went through the usual attendance-taking procedure. (I was shocked at how many people didn't appear; there were probably 70 names called with barely over half being present.) When it came time to hear the first case it turned out that the prosecutor was forced to ask for a continuance because an officer who was to testify before the court didn't show up. The defense rejected the offer for a continuance and the judge agreed that all parties had had plenty of advance knowledge of the trial to have made it to the proceedings on time. With that the juror pool was dismissed until after lunch. When we all returned, the second case of the day appeared to be lined up and ready for launch - or so it was until the defense attorney mentioned to the judge that he had "a matter" which he needed to address with him regarding the case, and he recommended that the jury pool be dismissed while they discussed the "matter". The judge called both attorneys into his chambers where they would stay for nearly 90 minutes. An hour and a half isn't a brief intermission when you're sitting in what amounts to a church pew with no padding on it whatsoever, which is why I got up and walked around for a while until the counselors and judge returned. We (the jurors) were told that because of the "matter" the case would not be heard. Myself and the rest of the juror pool were dismissed for the remainder of the week. We never found out what the "matter" was, much to my chagrin (I would've liked to have found out if for no other reason than to satisfy my own curiosity). Late last week I received my payment for having been a willing juror - a whole $6. I haven't cashed the check yet, mainly because I don't quite feel like I did anything deserving of being paid, but I may do so sometime this week so I can go buy myself a Snickers and a Pepsi.
Two weeks after our vacation, Jill & I received word that my Grandmother had been taken to Springs Memorial Hospital in Lancaster, SC with elevated blood pressure and blood sugar levels. She'd had episodes similar to this in the past and had been able to shake them off after a few days of treatment, so I didn't think it was much more than the same. This was far worse, it would turn out.
My childhood was different than most in that my Mom (who had gotten a divorce from my "sperm donor" as I've grown to call him over the years) and I lived with my Grandparents. My Grandfather passed away in 1993, and after that it was just the three of us. Mom was an elementary school teacher (a damn good one, too) and for the bulk of my formative years I spent time at home with my Grandma while Mom was working. We'd go shopping, out to eat, to the movies - I basically became her traveling buddy and I loved it. (My Grandma loved to travel, especially throughout the old West, as proven by the fact that she'd taken numerous bus tours across the United States.) That said, it's easy to see why I've felt as if I had two moms for my entire life.
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| My Grandma & I on vacation, somewhere near the mountains of North Carolina or Tennessee |
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| My Grandma, myself, and my Mom on one of our many trips to Florida |
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| My Grandma and I with George W. Bush before he was President |
Jill and I drove to Lancaster the Sunday after Grandma was taken to the hospital. We'd learned that she might have possibly had a stroke as she had stopped moving the left side of her body but the main concern was that she had developed a blood infection. I can't describe how difficult it was seeing her when we arrived at the hospital. I don't think any members of our family were prepared for her health to have taken such an immediate turn for the worse. She seemed to have been fine in the days prior and yet here she was suddenly struggling to breathe, to live.
My Grandma passed away two days later, Tuesday, July 12. She was such a vivacious, strong woman who lived her life to the fullest, and I miss her very much.
Grandma died exactly one month to the day after Sara Edwards, a dear friend of hers, had passed. She missed her friend, and she missed her husband. I hope they're all together again now in a much better place than here.
Jill and I have added a new member to our family, a furry, four-legged son as we've begun to refer to him. Roddy "Hot Rod" Truesdale, a miniature dachshund who is of the black & tan variety but who also has a very unique set of dapple markings. We adopted him from Johnnie & Allan Judy who operate Rosegarden Dachshunds out of Lugoff, SC. He was born May 17, 2011 and as of this writing he's about 10 weeks old. So far he's proving to be quite the smartie as he's already picked up on some basic lessons and is learning to play fetch with a set of mini-tennis balls. Needless to say, we're looking forward to spoiling him and making him feel loved.
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| Jill & I on the day we picked up Roddy |
If you've managed to read this entire blog entry I commend you because I'm not sure that even I would want to read something of this length unless I was coerced into doing so. I feel like I should be posting a coupon for a free order of Crazy Bread from Little Caesar's or something similar as a reward. (Not that I have that kind of authority, just that it would seem appropriate.) This is what happens when I let too much material accumulate, I churn out a blog that's the length of Yao Ming's legs. I'll try to do better with being more concise in the future. Maybe. If I feel like it, that is. Which is doubtful, honestly.
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