The
drive from Pennsylvania to Wilson, North Carolina was fairly easy; Janet did
sleep most of the way! We arrived at the doorstep to Parker’s “Original”
Barbeque at 9 a.m., having successfully avoided the rush hours of Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C. and Richmond. We did leave at 3 a.m.
after all. Early enough to miss the traffic and just in time for Parker’s to
open for the day!
We were
so early the staff was still arriving at this spare, wood-paneled, classic
Eastern North Carolina Barbeque joint. Stepping into Parker’s is like entering
the 1950’s again. The barbeque is good and as unpretentious as the décor;
tender, skin-flecked classic Eastern North Carolina barbeque, vinegary though
slightly dry, with hushpuppies and cole slaw. The waitstaff are all young white
men, hustling and polite and wearing white shirts and aprons and little white
hats. We had been to Parker’s before and we were anxiously waiting to return to
this bbq time warp. Parker's BBQ, Wilson, NC
The
place was open, but it did not smell of bbq! Instead, it smelled of cleaning
products from the bathroom near the front door. Chairs were still on the tables,
but no one shooed us away. We felt awkward. Though Team VFH had been traveling
for hours already, who eats bbq at such an early hour? There was not one “breakfast”
item on the menu. Our waiter was patient
though. He placed chairs down for us to sit and without any sense of agitation
listened to us laboring over what was really a simple choice; how big was our
order and what kind of sides we wanted. He sounded like Petyon Manning when he
asked if we wanted hushpuppies and cole slaw. Embarrassed we said to make it a
large order and make it to go. I think it was the most expensive item on the
menu. He wrote out the check for $6.50 and handed it to the cashier girl and
then put his cleaning gloves on again and disappeared into the bathroom. I left
$2.00 for him with the girl and doused the bbq with their vinegar / hot pepper
sauce. Later after we checked into our hotel in Myrtle Beach we ate this prized
lunch cold and it was great!
 |
| 9 am is too early for bbq? |
Myrtle
Beach is part of the Long Bay, or more recently named, the Grand Strand, a 60+
mile stretch of uninterrupted beaches that forms a long gentle arc on the South
Carolina coast. The history of Myrtle Beach differs little from other such
areas in the American coast line; first popular with the native Americans, later
popular with European settlers and eventually growing in such popularity that
it attracts over 14 million visitors yearly. From biker rallies to spring break
crazies, Myrtle Beach is very popular and offers a lot of tourist attractions,
as well as the actual “shore”.
VFH
wanted to stay in Murrells Inlet, a small town south of Myrtle Beach primarily because
it calls itself the Seafood Capital of South Carolina, but hotel prices are
prohibitive. The surrounding area is a bit pricey as well. We, or should I say,
Janet, looked at places in Myrtle Beach proper or nearby at Surfside Beach, but
couldn’t find a place worthy of our wallet, or the price wasn’t good enough to dispel
our repulsion of roaches and broken glass…at least according to some of the
reviews. So, we’re staying out in West Myrtle Beach where there are so many
strip joints we could hit a satisfied and soiled patron with a balled up dollar
bill from our window. Janet just balked at this sentence, and true, the hotel
we are staying in is as wholesome and clean as the girls at Fantails next door are
nude and (hopefully) dirty.
 |
| stating the obvious? |
Murrells
Inlet is approximately 11 miles south of the Myrtle Beach revelry and there is
none of the seediness and neon and noise found there. The main attraction is a
half mile Marsh Walk that is pleasant and enjoyed by tourist and local alike,
some walking along with their drinks. There are several bars and restaurants
here and it seems people can walk with their adult libations (as long as they
finish it before the next bar.) With illustrious names like Drunken Jack’s,
Dead Dog Saloon and The Mullet Hut, there is a certain chicanery afoot here,
though in Murrells Inlet it was much more subdued than one would expect when
public drinking is involved. Boats for hire are moored along the Marsh Walk and
people snapped pictures posing with statues of a landed fish and a pirate as
well as Goat Island. Drunken Jack’s overlooks the island and in order to offer
views of the inlet introduced goats to the island to eat the vegetation. Don’t
worry, they are sheltered in the winter elsewhere. The goats share the island
with a number of peacocks and peahens. The Walk also extended out into the
water, where the wind was rather brisk for us this day and people were crabbing
with chicken necks and nets.
The Murrells Inlet Marsh Walk
We
figured somewhere along this Marsh Walk we would find a restaurant that we
liked enough. There were plenty of people going out for dinner and most of the
places were packed and with wait lists. We’re bar sitters though and finding a
vacant bar stool turned out to be surprisingly easy. We settled on the Dead Dog
Saloon. It features a large indoor/outdoor deck on the waterfront, live music
and a wall of photographs depicting dearly departed best friends. It was large
and noisy and frantic and the beer list was poor and their prices were high.
Still, we had a fine meal. Janet had she-crab soup for nearly $7.00 and I had
$12 Grouper Tacos. Both were very tasty and we were happy, but not satisfied. It
simply wasn’t enough seafood for us and the prices were far too high and the
place a bit too touristy for us to eat a full meal there. Great bar. They are
all great bars along the Marsh Walk, but we found out about another place that would prove to be much better..
Dead Dog Saloon
As we ate
our meal at Dead Dog’s bar, I eavesdropped on a couple telling another couple
where to eat. The first were residents, the other two tourists. The first place
she mentioned was Russell’s. It was a few miles down the road and far off the touristed Marsh Walk. We drove there and poked our heads in the place and liked what we saw and smelled and made a plan to return to Murrells Inlet and Russell's Seafood tomorrow.
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