Pedro's South of the Border Pt. 1

Today we explored more of South of the Border.

Marlon had fond memories of mushroom hunting as a teenager in rural Missouri.

The now-closed Silver Arcade provides fond memories for those who remember it as the Silver Slipper. The Silver Slipper got South of the Border in trouble in the late 1990's when both South Carolina and North Carolina (which South of the Border's property extends into) had very strict laws regarding video poker.

South of the Border is known for its sale of fireworks. Rocket City sits in front of the entrance to Pedro's Campground.

Hundreds of different kinds of July 4th fun can be found here.

South of the Border gift shops sport a wide variety of inexpensive souvenirs of all types. Gift shops sometimes appear too large for the amount of merchandise offered though.

The Monte Carlo Arcade is still in operation. Notice the sign says "Video Power". Did it used to say "Video Poker"?

The sign said bowling but I couldn't find a bowling alley for the life of me.

Go ahead...try to drive under my legs...

A relative of King Kong greets visitors to South of the Border as do several other whimsical animals.

The S.O.B. (that's South of The Border) water tower stands tall.

The Golf of Mexico indoor miniature golf course has seen better days. It is now Pedro's Concrete Bazaar which sells lawn statuary and the like. Or at least it did...it was closed when we were here. And according to other visitor's websites who visited in 2005, it was closed then too.

According to a Pedroland Park employee, the only cool roller coaster in the park, Pedro's Mouse, hasn't operated since about 2002. According to a source on the internet, it originally opened in the summer of 2001. Short operating life!

South of the Border brochures picture this as the swimming pool. No ones swimming in this pool anymore.

South of the Border was founded in 1950 by Al Schafer, making it 58 years old...will it make retirement age?

Another gift shop...note the amount of merchandise compared to the vast amount of floor space.

The Dirty Old Man's Shop was closed for inventory today...but we went ahead and peeked through the window.

Inventory probably didn't take too long...once again, note the lack of inventory compared to floor space.

Apparently, not enough Dirty Old Men have been visiting South of the Border.

For more pictures, go to http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2008/may/exploring-south-of-/ pictures 1-54.

Coming up...a trip to the top of Sombrero Tower and South of the Border in neon.

To be continued...

South of the Border Campground, Florence SC Museum & Mars Bluff

Next we headed to Hamer, South Carolina right near the North Carolina border. Our destination was South of the Border-a kitschy border town attraction known for its spokesman, Pedro.

Here was our isolated rv site at Pedro's Campground.

The campground was somewhat deserted as it was still prior to Memorial Day.

The next day we drove over to Florence, South Carolina to visit the Florence Museum of Art, Science & History.

This Samurai suit of armor dates back to the early 17th century.

Marlon was dreaming of Jeannie.

Did you know...the South Carolina state animal is the whitetail deer and the state insect is the praying mantis?

This letter gave Isaac Wright his father's permission to join the Army in 1862.

Hard tack was a popular staple in the 19th century. Made of only flour and water, it would keep for years as long as it stayed dry. It would often get infested with weevils (high protein). Because of this, it was common to bang it hard on the table to rid it of insects before eating it. Yum!

Nearby Mars Bluff is renown for the 1958 accidental dropping of an atomic bomb by a B-57 from Georgia's Hunter Air Force Base.

Luckily, the bomb did not contain the core of uranium and plutonium. However, it did contain thousands of pounds of conventional explosives and created both a mushroom cloud and a crater about 75 feet wide and 30 feet deep.

While no one was killed, the home of William Gregg was destroyed. The photo below shows some of the damage caused by the blast.

Well-known residents of Florence County, South Carolina have included astronaut Ron McNair who perished aboard the space shuttle Challenger in 1986.

When the United States entered World War I in 1917, the U.S. Army was unprepared for chemical warfare and had to use borrowed foreign equipment. This is a gas mask from that time period.

This memorial to Pee Dee pioneer woman Rebecca Ann Carraway Goodman says:

"Die when I may, I want it said of me by those who knew me the best, that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow."

Next we headed to Checkers for a Value Menu meal. Doug indicates how big he may get eating both Value Menu meals and buffets.

Now it was time to head to Mars Bluff to try to find the Atomic Bomb Crater.

The sign led us through this huge, old abandoned trailer park.

Unfortunately, at this time, there were no additional markers indicating where the crater was. We decided that this was probably the crater. If not, the crater WAS close by.

For more pictures, go to http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2008/may/southoftheborderham/ and http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2008/may/florence-south-caro/ .

Être continué...

Myrtle Beach-Ripley's, Le Grande Cirque

On our final day in Myrtle Beach, we saw some early bird arrivers for Black Bike Week 2008 which was held May 23-28. Over 350,000 bikers travel to Myrtle Beach annually for the event.

We also found our way to Ripley's Believe It or Not! where we found Colorado artist John Bedford's rhino made of chrome bumpers from cars of the 1950s and 1960s.
One of Snow White's Seven Dwarfs, Sleepy (or was it Dopey?), posed on the left in the picture below next to the world's tallest man.

Over 30,000 matchsticks went into the creation of this roller coaster, "The Dragon".

This was the punishment in medieval Spain for men found guilty of sexual assault of single women.

On a lighter note, this appears to be the punishment of inbreeding.

Next we headed to the Palace Theater to catch a performance of Le Grande Cirque. Although not to be confused with Cirque du Soleil, the shows contain some of the same entertaining features.

The pre-show performers show off their best assets.

The lion at the entrance to the Palace Theatre is made of solid gold, weighs 1000 pounds and at $800 per ounce is worth over $12 million.

Just kidding on that one.

For a short video of Ripley's Believe or Not and a special nighttime show in Myrtle Beach, click below.
For more pictures of today, go to http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2008/may/ripleys-and-cirque-/ .

Ser continuado...

The 3 B's of Myrtle Beach-Beach, Broadway, Barefoot

Today Doug celebrated his 40th birthday at The Farmer's Daughter Buffet and then we went and burned off at least 10 calories walking one of Myrtle Beach's many beaches.

We found these replicas of the famous pyramids.

A short clip of the beach is below.
Then we headed over to Broadway at the Beach where the birthday celebration continued with some friends Doug took for granite.

Nervous parents watched as their children climbed the playground equipment.

Broadway at the Beach at night...

These reminded us of H.R. Pufnstuf and the talking trees...

These reminded us of ducks and fish.

Ducks and fish need food.

The ducks were swimming right on top of the fish...battling them for food pellets. What a life.

The following day we headed over to Broadway at the Beach's competition...Barefoot Landing.

Barefoot Landing also had ducks and fish (not pictured).

Barefoot Landing had cows...

who helped make Marlon this chocolate malt.

Barefoot Landing had squirrels...

and big old meat-eating felines.

Preservation Station is a free exhibit at Barefoot Landing brought to us by T.I.G.E.R.S.-The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species.

Dr. Bhagavan Antle founded T.I.G.E.R.S. to teach the world about wild animal conservation.

Looking for a little cool shower...

Not to be outdone by the cats, this monkey does a little swinging. He pointed out that cats don't swing.

To see the animals at Preservation Station in action, click below.
For more pictures, go to http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2008/may/exploring-myrtle-be-1/ and http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2008/may/exploring-myrtle-be-2/ .

To be continued...