Today's drive to South Carolina was uneventful. The entire drive was rural. I passed some gorgeous houses that could only be found in the south. Some were huge. If only I could pick one up and move it to Denver. I suppose that to have a beautiful southern home you have to pay for it with this humidity. This is by far the hottest place I've ever been (although I've been told by people here that Charleston is even hotter). The humidity is insane and the sun is strong. Even now, at 11PM, it's still extremely hot outside. On the way here I stopped at somewhere called South of the Border in Dillon, South Carolina. The only thing about it that reminds me of Mexico is the heat! That was a preview of what was to come in the rest of South Carolina. I got to Myrtle Beach at about two and after checking into the hotel I went to Boardwalk at the Beach, which is kind of like a giant shopping complex with restaurants and activities and stuff. The name is misleading, you can't actually go to the beach from there, although it does surround water. It was okay, a lot of touristy shops and stores you'd find at a regular shopping mall. Next up was the beach. I met a girl from North Carolina a few months ago who went to California and said that she didn't like that the water is too cold to swim in. I've always assumed that thats how most oceans are (apart from somewhere like Cancun), but I was wrong. The water here is so warm! I wasn't wearing a swimsuit, which is unfortunate because as soon as you put a foot in you just want to jump in. I might even be willing to temporarily put aside my completely irrational and very strong fear of sharks to swim in that water. It was amazing. Next up was Barefoot at the Beach, yet another shopping complex/activity center in North Myrtle Beach. For some reason I liked this one much more than Boardwalk at the Beach. It's the same basic idea: stores, restaurants, and activities. But this one was prettier and had the Alligator Experience. $18 to get in, but it was cool to see all the crocodiles. They have the biggest one ever to be shown in the U.S. which was over 20 feet. Parts of it are kinda creepy because you walk over bridges right above the water and you know they're there somewhere...watching. I know I've seen too many movies, but at one point I was by myself and I kept seeing splashes in the water but never actually saw where the crocodiles were. I felt like they were going to eat through the bridge and drag me under...okay, too many movies, as I said. Anyway, that whole experience was cool. They also had a place where you can get your picture taken with baby tigers. Anyone who knows me well knows that I am and always have been, obsessed with big cats. I find them fascinating. I would do almost anything to be able to play with a baby tiger. Anything, except pay $80 for a picture and not even get to play with the tiger (they put a bottle in its mouth and take the baby away the second the picture is done. Apparently the baby tigers are a bit mouthy). I've already blown my $50 a day budget every single day of this trip, so there was no way I could afford that. Oh well, some day I will get to play with a baby big cat. Just a random thing to throw in here, but Myrtle Beach really knows how to do miniature golf. There are tons of courses around here and some are huge. Many have special effects (one at Broadway by the Beach had a volcano with fire that would come out every few seconds) and they look really cool. Well, tomorrow it's off to Charleston. I can't believe the trip is almost over. Tomorrow will be okay, only two hours, but on Thursday I'll have a 10 hour drive back to DC. Why in the world did I ever think that a 10 hour (probably more) drive would be a good idea? Oh well, now I know for next time.