HISTORIC HAYES HOUSE...DINNER, BATHTUB AND FRENCH TOAST

Running Away

Sometimes you just need to get away, not just on a vacation, but run away from people, work, the daily grind that bears down on us all.  I needed that last weekend.  My favorite stress relief  is traveling, but I can’t afford much monetarily or time wise for vacation right now.   A massage and a really big bath tub would be perfect.  Alas I don’t have a really big bath tub and my favorite massage therapist doesn’t work weekends.    A bed and breakfast is a perfect idea for a weekend getaway.  I found the Historic Hayes House nestled in Muskogee, Oklahoma, roughly fifty miles southeast outside of Tulsa.  Originally built by Mr. Hayes who was a governor hopeful.   Jim and Brenda Holder have turned this house into a haven.   There was a wedding going on at the house so I chose to keep to myself for the weekend.  I did get the in room massage, the dinner they serve and breakfast the next morning. 

The Room

Summer heat has started in Oklahoma entering the air conditioned First Lady's Suite was a welcome escape.  The queen size bed was piled with pillows and blankets.  Two chairs and a chaise lounger for sitting and reading.   Cable TV and a DVD/VCR were available in the room.  Just outside the door was a small collection of movies, Very thoughtful of the hosts.  There is a refrigerator and a microwave in the room as well with an assortment of soda and water.  Jim and Brenda are sweet enough to include snack crackers and popcorn for a late night snack.  

The Bathtub

Yes, I realize it is completely insane to dedicate a section of the blog to a bathtub, but then I'm a bathtub connoisseur.   I love a gigantic oval garden tub with jets!  Although jets and bubbles really don't mix well or they mix a little too well.  Here is a picture of the tub and you will understand why I am dedicating a section!  I took two baths in twenty four hours and finished two magazines. 

The Massage

Even on the short two days notice Jim was able to book me an hour with a local massage therapist.  I wasn't really sure of the protocol for an in-room massage so I waited rather impatiently for my masseuse to show up.  To my surprise an elderly gentleman knocked on my door with a quiet voice and soothing demeanor.   I  was a little nervous as I'm not too keen on having some strange man touching me but when he got out the lotion and the hot stones I completely forgot about him.   I wouldn't trade him for my weekly massage therapist, but it was relaxing and worked out some kinks. 

Dinner

The house itself is stunning with all its old time charm.  A grand piano and several older couches grace the sitting room.  A gorgeous dining room with colored tiles on the fireplace.  Soft music playing in the background made for a relaxing dinner.  I was served a five course dinner that was beyond delicious.   The first course was fresh jumbo shrimp cocktail sitting on crushed ice with the cutest little porcelain pot  full of homemade cocktail sauce.  I hate to admit I wolfed that down in anticipation of what was next.   A spinach and strawberry salad replaced the empty spot on my fine china plate.   They make their own citrus and poppy seed.  Jim should bottle this and sell it as a Hayes House specialty at the local farmer's markets.   I would buy it.  

The whole pallet cleaning thing is kind of an eye roll thing for me normally, but I did enjoy the raspberry compote sorbet.  Who doesn't like ice cream in the middle of their meal? By the time my meal came I was ready to EAT!  I was a little skeptical at first as my dinner plate had pan fried green beans, baby new potatoes and a carrot soufflé along with the chicken phyllo with hot mustard sauce.   So many vegetables.  I'm a convert.  I actually ate my carrot soufflé before anything else.  That was wow.  I mean I thought about asking for seconds wow.  The chicken was perfect, moist, with the mustard sauce adding just the right tang.   Dessert was a white chocolate crème with a brandy wine drizzle and strawberries.  I licked this plate too... just couldn't help it.  With a full happy belly I looked forward to a quiet night in my room with a movie and a good book.     

 

French Toast

I am not a morning person.  Most people that know me know not to talk to me until I've had my first sip of some form of caffeine.  So when I tell you I rolled my butt out of bed at 8 o'clock on a Sunday morning just for breakfast I tell you that I did that only for the review, but ended up staying for the French toast.  There was a lovely fruit, cream and nut parfait, but the French toast was worth getting out of bed for.  Orange and blueberry stuffed French toast with maple sausage links.  No need for syrup here the creamy innards of the French toast made up for this on each crunchy chewy bite on my tongue. 

Delightful

I would recommend the Hayes house to anyone that needed a getaway.  Weekend or weekday.  Jim and Brenda are sweet and kind.  The house is old school charm with twenty first century amenities.  If I can, I will be dragging my boyfriend back there again soon. For more information please check out the http://www.historichayeshouse.com.  Tell Jim and Brenda I said hi!

MYRTLE BEACH, SOUTH CAROLINA...MORE THAN THE GOLF CAPITAL

                                                          

The  Basics                                               

 Myrtle Beach, South Carolina the Golf Capital of the World.  Located just south of Carolina borders with it's lush green golf courses and sun 218 days a year it's a golfers paradise. What about those of us that aren't golfers?  Does this sunny strip of beach town offer us something? Of course it does!  This is a single, couple and family friendly town.  With a population of roughly 27,820 people Myrtle Beach and it's surrounding area offer the weary traveler and anxious tourist a relaxing and fun time.  Traffic runs lazily along the length of the coast via highway 17

The Eastern seaboard is a treasure trove of beaches, tourist traps and places that make a person long for summer vacation to hurry up and get here. As one of these little gems Myrtle Beach offers obviously multiple golfing locals, the Boardwalk on a sweet little inlet and a strand of muted tan beach that beckons your feet to sink into her shores. See the link for a map and more information of the great shops and restaurants on the boardwalk.  www.broadwayonthebeach.com Helicopter tours and water parks round out the family fun to be found at Myrtle Beach.


Favorite Places to Eat in Myrtle Beach
My top two favorite restaurants in Myrtle Beach are Landry's Fish house and Rioz Brazilian Steakhouse. If you've never had a Brazilian steakhouse it's an experience.  For $30 you get a plate, a salad bar and all the meat you can eat.  They give you a little paper circle with green for go on one side and red for stop on the other.  Believe me, even the hungriest person will use the red side at some point. While Landry's is a seafood lover's dream.  I'm partial to the Shrimp Enbrochette, any of their fresh fish with the creamy Pontchartrain sauce on top  and their Banana Foster's dessert is heaven.  Both places are a little pricy at $30-$40 a plate, but well worth the eats.
If you don't get the Banana Foster's follow it up with a scoop of ice cream from Ben and Jerry's on the Boardwalk. Everything but the... is my new favorite flavor!  You'll want a walk around the Broadway to walk off dinner and take a little time to feed the ducks.  Jimmy Buffet's Margaretville has opened up on the Boardwalk as well, but the last time we tried to get in there the wait time was over two hours. 

Favorite Strip of the Beach for My Chair
The Myrtle Beach State park is by far my favorite beach to go to in the Myrtle area.  When you sit on the beach you can see the city in the distance on either side, but you feel still feel transported to solitude with the surf crashing against your tension bringing you to a better state of mind.  I like the fact that the bathrooms and foot showers are a short jaunt up the beach or down the fishing pier.  They are kept pretty clean for a public bathroom.  Might just want to remember some Kleenex or toilet paper in your car.  They run out in the women's bathroom frequently.   There's a small gift shop on the pier where fishing licenses can be purchased along with bait and ice cream.  Quite the combination!  It's worth noting that Huntington State Park is just south of Myrtle Beach.  I haven't been there, but I've heard several people recommend it.  You can see on the map just a bit down from Myrtle's State Beach.

Wedding Local
Although Myrtle Beach itself doesn't allow weddings on their beaches, both North Myrtle and Surfside (south of MB) are excellent places for couples looking for nuptials in a beautiful location.  Married on the beach myself, I can say there are few things like the sound of the surf in the background, the warm sand on bare feet and usually a small party of friends and family around for that all important day. 
Here's where I'm giving my friends at Right Move Photography a plug.  Thank you Tere Baxley and Lee Rivers for the donation of pictures for this week's blog .  If you need a photographer for that beach wedding I  recommend Right Move Photography.  Check out their website at www.rightmovephoto.com.  They also do senior portraits, maternity pictures, if you want it photographed they are creative and fun!

 Other Noteworthy Things
N. Myrtle Beach is the Shag capital.  There is live music every night of the week at Fat Harold's, Ducks and several other local establishments.  Shag is the state dance for South Carolina and you will find performers all over the strip.
Every ocean is different.  The Gulf is clear almost crystalline with it's white beaches.  The Pacific is blue almost matching the sky on many a day.   The Indian Ocean gives off a blue green cast.  The Atlantic grey and dark always pulling her secrets back.  No matter which ocean you choose to visit very few people leave with all of their heart intact.

THE JOY OF THE PLANE RIDES... THE SLEEPER...THE SMELLER AND THE KICKER

Flying all over the globe gives perspective.  On lots of things, personal space, personal hygiene and patience.  

On long flights overseas it’s not uncommon for people to invade your personal space.  If not prepared with a pillow or even a rolled up blanket or sweater the head tends to loll from side to side as sleep overcomes.   That heavy head, cannot find a comfortable spot as the body tries to drift off.   All the rolling from side to side is fun to watch.  It's not so fun when you are the victim of the lolling head.  On a trip back from Germany I was stuck in the five seats in the middle of economy section of the plane.  Granted I had the aisle, but the guy next to me had the bobbling head syndrome.   Next thing I knew his chicken parmesan breath was on my neck and his bowling ball head was pressed to my shoulder.  Snoring and drooling he had to go!  I tried to gently push him back to his seat.   He would slump right back to me.  Feeling more insistent I jabbed him in the side with my finger and then as a last resort my pen.  He snorted awake quickly glancing at me.  With wide eyed innocence I would meet his gaze and proceed to get comfortable again trying to watch my in-flight movie.   This apparently was sufficient time for Chicken boy to cuddle up again.   After several attempts, I finally gave up.  Hoping he didn’t have head lice or the pox I just left him be.  I have never counted the minutes to getting to US soil so much as I did that night.

Personal hygiene becomes very apparent on an airplane.  Especially smells.   Airplanes re-circulate their air.  Air quality on a plane is fine most of the time it goes through several filters and comes back out.  The bad thing is any smell stuck on the plane when you start is generally stuck with you the whole flight.  Take for instance my recent flight to Salt Lake City.   I was seated on the plane next to a man that already needed a shower, a lot less alcohol and a breath mint, when suddenly I see three rows of people in front of me plugging their nose.  I chuckled, but then the stench hit me.  A green nuclear gas that burned my eyes.  It made me raise my hand to my nose with a suddenness I didn’t know I had in me.  It passed. Mentally I thanked whatever God had made that possible, I went back to what I was doing.  Fifteen minutes later, my nostrils flared and my eyes watered.  I looked up and the two guys in front of me were holding their noses and mouths, good grief, we have to endure this for two and half hours?  We sure did.  My alcoholic neighbor he didn’t seem to be bothered by the stench.  I suddenly wondered if maybe he was the cause of it.  

 Which brings me to one of my last issues on long plane rides patience or the lack of it.  Children require a lot of patience.  Don't get me wrong I love children.  All kinds of children.  What I don’t love is bored children.  A bored child is a child looking to get into trouble.  On a trip to Arizona I had two young boys ages that ranged from four to six  behind me with their slightly frazzled mother.  They were not going to sleep as their mother had hoped.  Child number one seated behind me did not want to look out the window and watch the landscape go by, nor did he want to read a book.  He wanted to kick my seat.  He would kick, I would slap the back of my seat, his mom would bark at him and he would stop.  Silence would ensue.  Kick, slap, bark, stop.  The cycle went on.  Towards the end of the flight I was paying less attention to where I was slapping and he was caring less about getting caught kicking.  I accidentally tapped the child on the head; not hard thankfully, but enough that he stopped.  I was taken aback, I really did not mean to pop him on the head.  Immediately turning to apologize to his mother, but before I could open my mouth, she had apologized to me, “I’m so sorry." I looked at her puzzled.  I don’t think she knew I had just smacked her son on the head.  I shrugged it's ok and turned around to see if anyone else had seen our little circus.  All was well.    

Flights are trying on the nerves as they are.  It pays to take a shower, bring some patience and set your personal boundaries early on! 

HOME SICK FOR FOLLY BEACH, SOUTH CAROLINA

I'm a water baby.  I like a jump through a mud puddle, a walk in the rain, a long swim in a lake, but I love the ocean.  I have never been too particular about which ocean.  Pacific, Atlantic or Indian... none of that ever mattered until I planted my beach chair at Folly Beach.  A small beach town of roughly 2600 people.  It sits at the southern end of Charleston.  To get to Folly you have to drive hwy 171 or Folly Beach road.  There's a draw bridge that you cross.  For the first few miles the marshes flow out to either side of the road as the city starts to disappear.  Usually this is where I get my first sniff of the salt air and my stress starts to leave me.

  
I love the sand.  Gritty and warm against my feet during the day, cool and soothing as I walk through the dampness at night. There's an old distinguished pier that reminds you of that older male relative that took you fishing when you were a child, steady, calm and patient.  Crashing of the waves against the pier, sooths my soul, watching the water race back into itself only to reach back toward me almost as gleeful as I feel.  The smell of the salt air, briny and heavy assaulting my lungs and healing my sorrows.

This beach is home.  It calls to me the way no other really has.  It is peaceful in the spring, rough and wild in the fall & winter and in the summer it is hot, salty and packed with people enjoying it as much as I do.  The State Park area is well maintained and most everything is within walking distance.  Wal-mart and a grocery store are both a short drive back up the main road. Dining wise Folly has a surprising mix of local hangouts and slightly more upscale, but let's be honest this is beach living, it's not 5 star and it's not uppity.  Probably another reason I love it.  You can get at good steak and catch a nice breeze as you sit sipping a drink at Locklear's Beach City Grill.

I highly recommend Folly as a weekend getaway or even a weeklong stay during the season or not.  There's a few hotels in Folly Beach including the Holiday Inn.  It sits right on the beach.  All the rooms face the ocean!  Rooms range from $100-225 a night for 1-2 people depending on the time of the year. The Season is April to September.  The best way to experience Folly is to rent a house or condo on the beach.  This beautiful house was $1500/wk during the off season, 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.

What a fun time to be right on the shore, cook, watch tv, play games, sunbath and go to sleep hearing the waves crashing. Folly truly has the edge of the world feel.  That small bit of sand and it's just you, your family and friends of your choosing.

If I have a few days to myself, this is where I want to take my chair, a good book, an umbrella and camp when I have the choice.

This last pic is of my late grandmother.  She'd never seen the Atlantic Ocean.  Thinking of Folly makes me miss her too.