Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach SC

This is not a sponsored post. Just writing about something we enjoyed on our most recent trip.

Sometimes when you wander around a place where you are visiting, you run into the greatest of things! On our most recent trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, we came across Broadway at the Beach and we loved every minute of it. In fact, we enjoyed it so much, that we went back again the next day.

We wre in Myrtle Beach for Thanksgiving, so much of the area was already decorated seasonally. This 46-foot giant Christmas Tree lights up at night, and they say it is a sight to behold. We didn't go in the evening hours, but it was pretty impressive as-is, in the daylight. It certainly did its part to help us get in the Christmas spirit, since the weather wasn't very Christmas-y (which is fine by me). The weather in late November in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina was really very mild. We were pleasantly surprised.

Broadway on the Beach is so large that we really couldn't cover it all in one trip; not that we were trying to, I'm just noting. In fact, we went once and thought that would be the end of it, but the allure of it was too hard to resist, hence our return the next day. There is shopping galore, like this Crabby Jack's General Store where you could pick up trinkets to take home as souvenirs for yourself or family and friends.

In this area there was a funny store sign for The Stupid Factory. I asked those with me if they wanted to go in there. "Who you calling stupid? (said in a thick Italian accent, of course)" was the look given to me. I don't know what was in there, we didn't go inside, because I'm assuming everything in there was stupid. 😂

We did, however, venture into the Toysauarus Store, which we found to be quite the delight!

This is just the kind of store I like to spend my time in. It has that sweet nostalgic feel of childhood and the kids get so excited. This would have been a great place to get some Christmas shopping done for the some kids in the family, except some were with me.  We had fun looking around though, and I did make a purchase for my granddaughter. The beautiful thing about Boardwalk on the Beach is there is a LOT of free parking, so when we purchased something we didn't want to carry around with us, I could jet it over to the car and return in no time at all, if we were in buildings close to where we parked.

I was so excited to see the Schleich display. I guess because I have reviewed them before. If you haven't heard of them, these are very high quality, life-like little toys that the kids can play with; they do encourage the imagination and I think they're really cute. I'd never see some of these figures. They were all great! I especially liked the German Shepherd because my grandpuppy is that breed.

We kept seeing these helicopters flying around. I wondered how much it was to go up in it. I thought that would be a spectacular thing for us to do since we were on holiday. We haven't been in one before.

The Fudgery was inviting.

Honestly, I'm not even a big fan of fudge ( a little taste here and there is fine, but it's so rich!). I do however, love to visit these kinds of stores when I'm at a place like Boardwalk on the Beach. I'm not sure why, but they surely have a certain pull for me. I guess they smell good and feel homey; That must be the appeal.

There were a TON of places to eat...

and I do mean a ton.

We ventured in Paula Deen's because I'd never been in one, and I assumed her menu would have some hearty, downhome cooking on it. I wasn't wrong, but it was weird because you can only order a big dish for everyone (like a homecooked meal) to share, and then the sides, not individual dishes. You couldn't really eat there if a). you were a vegetarian, which I have been for more years than I can count and b). there weren't a lot of people there to eat. If I'd have had my gown kids with me, this would have perhaps been a good option. As it stood, I apologized to the waitress and told her we'd have to leave. She said she understood, that it happens more than I might think. 

Where we did end up going is Wahlburgers. I admit, we've never seen one before, but I've heard of it, and of course the family who runs it.

The inside was nice. It had two-story seating, which is always nice. We usually would venture upstairs, but we didn't this time. In fact, we didn't even discuss it, which odd when I reflect back on it. I guess we were tired from walking around so much at that point, and just glad to have a seat.

Oh my gosh, not to sound so negative in this post about the food because hello there were so many great dining options, but I didn't really care for what I ordered. Maybe it was just a bad choice. Someone in our party, however, loved one of the burgers! I guess I couldn't get past the government cheese being showcased on the menu. I'm a fan of helping support others, but why would you choose government cheese over higher quality, and why is the government supplier letting you buy anyway (dumb question, I know). That being said, I do continue to like the Whalburger family. The family pictures with a bit of their history on the walls is nice. Looking at the baseball team photograph on the wall, I realized the kids (the famous Wahlburgers as kids) were in it; then after reading the menu and seeing how many Whalburgers there are, it dawned on me that the 'team' was probably their whole family!! #coolfactor

One thing I also really liked were the "Mom's Favorite" t-shirts. In fact, I wish I'd have picked one up for each of my kids. It's one of those things you think about for an instant, don't do, and then wish more times than once that you would have done.

After lunch we continued walking around and came across the Beef Jerky store. 

They had so many varieties, and while I didn't make a purchase the first day, I did purchase a bag for each of my children the second day when we returned. I put them in their Christmas Stockings.

My daughter gets jerky every year, but because her older brothers dip into her stash, I started getting them a bag as well, a few years back. Beef Jerky Myrtle Beach had every style of jerky you could think of, even some you might not consider. I almost got the Wild Stampede pack above for the kids to sample, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Call me a ridiculous girl, but I can't imagine eating some of these sweet animals (though I know it is not uncommon to do so, and no offense to the cattle, whom I guess I consider it okay to eat, since I had no qualms buying the Teriyaki Beef, soft jerky). 😳 Sorry to the 🐄s of the world.

Ron Jon was there, but on a much smaller scale than the one we visited in Cocoa Beach. In fact, there was more than one surf store on the premises.

More Christmas Trees. I don't know why but I like the simple cylinder-like trees. They look so festive to me.

Wonderworks was there. We'd visited the in Orlando so we didn't stop here. Still it is a fun addition to the area.

This is the upside-down building that is full of fun activities for the kids to do, like walking on a high rope, an XD movie, a bed of nails!!, activities to touch and learn, video games, etc.

There was also this area that intrigued us. As we got closer, we saw that it was for zip lining.

Again, this is something we've done before, so we weren't really tempted, but it is an excellent adventurous activity to have on the grounds. 

What we did partake in, however, was the rides!! It was so great to see the carnival rides up and running. That's a treat you don't usually get this time of year. Of course, the teacups reminded me of Disney.

A merry-go-round/carousel is always a good idea (though we didn't ride this day, we still loved the mood it offered),

and the Ferris Wheel is always a big hit, though I won't ride. Put me on any fast thrill ride or rollercoaster in the world and I'm good; put me on a Ferris Wheel, and I'm a mess. Most of them scare me, though the Orlando Eye wasn't scary until my 2nd-oldest child touched the door to be funny when we were up high. Again with the Orlando vibe, I guess that's what this area IN SOUTH CAROLINA reminded me of, which is a good thing in my book. I like Orlando, and I like South Carolina too. The advantage SC had is that it wasn't so busy. I'm sure the time of year had something to do with it, but it was so nice to stroll at our leisure and not have to worry about crowds.

There were old favorites like Build-a-Bear. I always loved a trip there when the kids were little. I'm sure I'll enjoy it one day again with the baby grands. 

My favorite store because I LOVE Christmas ornaments any time of year, and always try to get one when we travel somewhere, was Christmas at the Beach!

They had a lot of different types of ornaments here. I love that little coffee cup, top-right and the Santa in the middle with a wreath.

There is a section too, where you can get ornaments that they will personalize for you. These always make me happy. A personalized Christmas ornament has such a nice feel to it when you gift it (or keep it!). They make keepsake treasures we value more and more as the years pass. Isn't it funny how something as simple as a bulb on a tree can flood us with memories?

You could see Ripley's Aquarium in the distance, which is how we found the area originally.

There was also this wooden boardwalk where we stopped to feed the fish and the birds. Yes, the birds kept eating the food too! We weren't giving them the food on purpose either, because I dunno if the pellets are good for them or not! They didn't seem to care in the least. There were both pigeons and gulls trying to eat the treats we bought for the fisheroos. They weren't shy about it either.

I like the water views. You could pay to take boat rides. There was a speed boat that kept going around in circles and peeling out. It was a pretty popular attraction, but I don't think I got a picture of that one (I saw it was reasonably priced though, as was everything here). I got a picture of this one though. It had a Viking feel to it that was cool.

We did more sight-seeing in stores. I wish I had gotten the name of this store to share with you. It was chock full of charming goodness.

This truck had me swooning.

And the doorways were decorated with real cotton, which of course you would see in bales driving around too, because that is a crop that is grown in the Carolinas and harvested around the time we were visiting. So cool to see it in person (not sure why, but definitely cool).

And then we saw the sign for the helicopters!! $20 a ride, which seemed so reasonable to me. We asked how to get to them and were told they were just across the street. The man pointed, but remember we were in a big complex, so 'right across the street' even with a hand pointing in the right direction, didn't help us at all. We drove around for about 15 minutes and finally gave up. Maybe next time. :)  All-in-all though, the trip was a good one, no a great one, and we really enjoyed our time at Broadway at the Beach. I highly recommend a stop here if you are in Myrtle Beach.