We unwittingly reserved a condo for a week beginning the Friday of Memorial weekend in Myrtle Beach. We have never been there before, and were just told recently by the leasing agent that there was a “bike rally” to take place while we were there.
What a culture shock. Even the local blacks seemed to be ashamed of the activities.
The elevators in our building were shut down 4-5 times over the weekend due to fire alarms being set off, and of course the alarm itself was eventually ignored.
It was extremely loud everywhere, with music blasting from buildings, cars and motorcycles, in addition to all the yelling; no one can just speak to one another.
We stayed in our room on the balcony for the most part with a pair of binoculars and cold drinks.
Talking to the locals today, now that the area is getting back to normal, they want the tightened security to push these people elsewhere. There was law enforcement everywhere, only one death and one shooting. I guess last year there were 3-4 gunshot deaths, and no one saw nothin.
The governor (Nicki Haley) told the locals that she wants it to end, and the tightened security is one move. Locals tell me that the governor has threatened to shut off funding if it isn’t stopped. Not sure how much she can really do, but I get the impression that here in Myrtle Beach, no one will miss it.
They do not seem to put enough back in to the area to make it worth the trouble. One store clerk told me that a lot of them come and camp in gas station and store parking lots to avoid paying for hotel rooms. The hotel staff here said several of the rooms are trashed. Not surprised at all, sadlly.
All the condoms were sold out of the gift store, bought by the females. So there is that to be thankful for, at least.
A good summary, except you left out a few things:
Saturday morning and Sunday night we took long walks down the street and took in the event at close range. Indeed it was loud with people acting like fools and such, yet in fairness, people we talked to (almost 100% black) were nice to us...especially the ladies. A couple of the men acknowledged, if indirectly, that the bad element was present and tended to ruin things for others. They knew, and yet I can only imagine the response if WE had mentioned it.
You could argue that we had no business being out there Sunday night, but at no time did we feel unsafe. The attitude toward us was of a curious nature, with most just asking if we were enjoying our weekend and such. There were a few whites sprinkled here and there, but not many.
The local neurosurgeon would go on vacation every year that week. All head trauma had to be transported to Wilmington NC or Charleston or Columbia SC for treatment . He just got sick of it.