Guide to Getting Away from the Sunnyside Traveler

Hiking 2019 Week 33 Myrtle Beach and the Grand Strand area of South Carolina is probably one of the most popular parts of the state. People have been flocking to the area for over 50 years to enjoy the beaches. Even though I grew up in Florida, my family would meet other family members in the summer at Pawleys Island. I remember staying on the beach, playing putt-putt golf, and setting off fireworks. Since moving to South Carolina, my family doesn’t visit Myrtle Beach as often. Since it’s about three hours from Columbia and Charleston is only about an hour and a half, we tend to go to Isle of Palms or other Charleston beaches. But there are two state parks in the Grand Strand area and one plantation state park just south of the area. We decided to do a day trip to visit all three. Myrtle Beach State Park Our first stop was Myrtle Beach State Park . It is an oasis in the middle of all the tourist areas of Myrtle Beach. You have a glimpse of what the area must have looke...

In 2019 I decided I wanted to up our amount of hiking and being outdoors. I'm always inspired this time of year to get outside. There's something about hiking when it's cold and dry and the trees are bare of leaves. I think it comes from hiking with my parents often in the winter. They usually do a Christmas Day hike which I'd love to join them for one year. I've thought about getting park passes, like the South Carolina State Parks Pass, but before I commit the money to that, I thought we'd see how much we might need it. Most parks are pretty cheap to get in ($5 or less) and there are many of places we can go for free. I also got one of the SC Park Passports where you get it stamped at each park and when you get them all stamped, you are an Ultimate Outsider. Fun. Besides SC State Parks, I love that we have the Palmetto Trail . One day it will go from Oconee to the beach. It comes right through Columbia. It's not 100% complete now but there are a lot of ...

Fall! Time for cooler weather, Oktoberfests, Fall festivals, and other great outdoor and free activities. This list just covers October and November, I'll be working on another one just for all the holiday events (though some are mentioned in here). Go enjoy the great weather and fun events! Events in bold indicate Columbia-area events. Late September/Early October  - MOJA Arts Festival -  http://www.mojafestival.com/home/ Charleston area a festival for African-American and Caribbean art some events are free, some have a charge October  Early October - Congaree Bluegrass Festival -  http://www.cityofcayce-sc.gov/cbf/  free admission, free parking Saturday, 11 am - 6 pm bluegrass music, historical tours, food vendors, games for kids bring lawn chairs, but no outside food or coolers. Also, bring a canned good to donate to a local food pantry. - Carolina Foothills Heritage Fair -  http://www.carolinafoothillsheritagefair.org/ $5 adul...

A follow up to my post for April and May free events. It's been fun finding free things to do around the state. The weather has been great and summer is when it seems everyone is outside. And there's always great events during 4th of July! Some of my resources for finding events: Columbia's Free Times SCiway and local visitors bureau websites (great resources!) June June 1 - Williamston Parkfest -  http://www.williamstonsc.us/festivals.html#parkfest 11 am - 7:30 pm between Anderson and Greenville, off of I-85 family event with music, food, emergency personnel visits, farmers market June 1 - Sweetgrass Festival -  http://www.sweetgrassfestival.org 12 pm - 8 pm Mt Pleasant, under the Arthur Ravenel Bridge (free parking) celebrating Gullah Geechee culture; arts and crafts, music, food, demonstrations, water slide June 1-2 - Old Depot Arts & Crafts -  http://www.olddepot.org/index.php?page=arts-crafts-show 10 am - 5 pm Saturday, 10 am - 4 pm S...

I wanted to share with you my list of free events coming up in South Carolina. This isn't an exhaustive list and I'm mostly focusing on the midlands area but I wanted to have a central place to list all these. It's a great time to be outside and there are lots of festivals going on. Feel free to share your own! Thursday, April 18 - Sunday, April 21 - Spring Plant and Flower Festival at the State Farmers Market 8 am - 6 pm Thursday thru Saturday, 12 - 5 pm Sunday Lexington County you can stock up on your plants for spring and Master Gardeners will be on hand to answer any questions there's also a restaurant on the premises if you want a bite to eat There's an Upstate one as well, May 2-5 in Greenville  Friday, April 19 - Sunday, April 28 - ArtFields -  http://www.artfieldssc.org/ Lake City, near Florence various free events, live music, dancing, food, art Friday, April 19 - Saturday, April 20 - South Carolina BBQ and Shag Festival -  h...

Sometimes I’ve gone to visit the coastal border of North Carolina and South Carolina. In this area there are a lot of small coastal towns like Litchfield, Ocean Isle, Holden Beach and a small, little known town called Myrtle Beach. Now Myrtle Beach isn’t really my type of beach town. I prefer the smaller, lower key coastal towns. Litchfield, Ocean Isle and Holden Beach are more of the smaller, residential beach towns where you go to get away from everything. But while you’re there, you might want to go out to eat or find something other to do than spend your days on the beach. A few places that I would recommend checking out for dining would be: The Purple Onion Cafe in Shallotte http://www.purpleonioncafe.com/ . I’ve heard good things about this place. It’s inland, between Ocean Isle and Holden Beach and they serve breakfast, lunch and dinner (it says dinner is seasonal which I’m assuming is summer). On Holden Beach there are a couple places that look interesting (I haven’t been t...