South Carolina cat goes missing, turns up in Montreal By SIDHARTHA BANERJEE, THE CANADIAN PRESS MONTREAL -- Janet Nease's black-and-white cat Sylvester has always had a penchant for wandering off, sometimes for days on end. But patience always paid off for Nease, a native of Myrtle Beach, S.C., and she wasn't worried when Sylvester vanished on June 15. It wasn't the first time Sylvester had been lured off to a nearby campground by the smell of barbecue. The feisty 17-year-old feline always returned home eventually. So just how her little wanderer ended up in Montreal, some 1,700 km away, remains a mystery. One thing's for sure, he certainly didn't walk all the way, Nease said. "I never thought in a million years he'd be this far away," Nease said in a telephone interview from Montreal, where she was reunited with Sylvester this week. "I think the first thing I said was, 'Couldn't he have found some licence plates from North Carolina?' " Since Sylvester can't talk, the assu...

With the change in Myrtle Beach vacation landscape from cheap oceanfront property and hotels to the majority of luxury condos and resorts that line our beach, restaurants in Myrtle Beach have also seen a sea change.  Although you can still find the "all you can eat buffets" here and there, we've been largely overtaken by the fine dining restaurants, and often the national or at least regional chain dining establishments. While this may sound disappointing to some, it won't be.  We've undoubtedly got the best choice of dining of any area in the south, I think.  In fact, the hardest part of having dinner is trying to decide where to go, even after you've made the decision of what to eat! As a single person who eats out almost every single day, I feel qualified to give some advice on some of the most exciting places to eat in Myrtle Beach, and back it up with experience. Here are my favorites, grouped mostly by type of food... The Best Steak and Prime Rib: 1. Flaming...

Forbes recently had a commentary by Matt Woolsey in which he opined that one of the contributing factors to the real estate market's decline was job loss in certain areas.  He predicted that 2008 would bring little or no relief in areas such as Los Angeles, Sacremento, Las Vegas and Tampa Florida. If this is indeed true, it's a bit of good news for Myrtle Beach real estate, considering that we have had little increase in unemployment, at least locally.  While job loss in other areas could certainly affect our market for vacation condos in Myrtle Beach and the Grand Strand, I don't believe that it would hurt us as much as some resort locations. As Forbes also reminded the readers (as have I, many tiimes) real estate prices increased so dramatically in the earlier years that most of the average drops of 20% or so now cannot compare to the increase of 100% or more at that time. My inexpensive condo in Little River, SC sold for $39,900 in 2001, and appraised at $85,000 ...

Market Commons - A new lifestyle in Myrtle Beach So you've made the decision to move to Myrtle Beach, either due to retirement or because you feel it calling to you.  Don't laugh.  I spent the first 35 years of my life longing for the smell of salt in the air and passing through winters without ice and extreme weather.  When I got lucky and gutsy enough to move here from Greensboro and away from my family, I didn't hesitate and have never regretted it.  Myrtle Beach is truly a wonderful and perfect place to live.  Whether you can afford to be a block from the ocean or you have to live a mile away from it, you still have all the perks that 50,000 tourists spend their last dollars to enjoy for a week out of the year.  Every kind of top quality restaurant you could ask for can be found here.  It would take two years to try them all and there would be 25 new ones when you did.  Our shopping facilities can go head to head with Atlanta or ev...

Just what I need - another blog to write in and try to maintain.  But maybe this one will be a little more fun instead of always being about Myrtle Beach real estate.  I might start with some restaurant reviews, talk about some of the festivals, or the shopping areas in Myrtle Beach.  One thing we have all brand new for 2008 is Market Commons at the old Air Force Base.  Wait till you see it!  More later! Myrtle Beach Web Design