A quick jaunt to Charleston, South Carolina - complete with whistling parrots

CHARLESTON – I was sure the guy was kidding.

As my group proceeded on a horse-drawn carriage ride through the streets of this historic South Carolina city, our tour guide insisted we were about to pass a beautiful old home with owners who kept pet African parrots.

“They’re great at mimicking, and they even whistle the theme song to Andy of Mayberry.”

Sure they do.

A few seconds later, there it was: “wheet, wheet, wheet, WHEET, wheet, wheet, wheet, WHEET ….”

Unbelievable.

Of course, whistling parrots aren’t the major attraction to this city, one of the most-loved tourism sites in the world and certainly one of the top draws in North America. There’s Civil War history, gorgeous, antebellum architecture, plenty of nice shops and a lot more.

This a hugely popular city, of course, and it’s quite something to see the way they organize all the horse and carriage tours. There are 20 carriage companies that make the rounds, so in order to keep things orderly the city has approved five distinct routes they can take. Before they head out, the carriages stop at a central location and get a “bingo” number that identifies the route they’ll take.

“If I vary from the route they’ll fine me $1,100,” the driver told us. “Of course, I’m happy to take a different route. The price is negotiable.”

The guide insisted the horses are well looked after and not overworked. I asked if they got overtime and was told no, but that they have good medical/dental coverage and get a day off every five or six days and do only three to four one-hour tours a day and spend four to six months a year in a pasture in the country. Hopefully with lots of carrots, apples and sugar cubes and horses of the opposite sex, but I didn’t ask.

The guide, a nice, local kid with a degree in history, told us how many of the early settlers of South Carolina came from Barbados, another English colony at the time. Hence the pastel-coloured buildings in town, he explained.

He carefully explained the way the houses were built to take advantage of local breezes, with giant porches and lovely gardens.

It wasn’t part of the tour, but we passed the Charleston market at one point and I looked over at some fun signs folks can buy to put up in their homes or out in the garden. My favourite read, “My bridge club can kick your bridge club’s ass.”

I only had a couple hours, then had to make the dash two hours south to Savannah, Georgia.

The architecture isn’t as pretty in the main part of town as it is in Charleston, I think, but the Savannah waterfront is cool; with a large park and riverboats and street musicians and more. There are some really beautiful buildings, including the old Cotton Exchange on Bay St.

I’ll check it out a little more Friday and report on Savannah in more detail in this space next week….

Great golf in Myrtle Beach, plus fab Brookgreen Gardens and Murrell's Inlet

MYRTLE BEACH, SOUTH CAROLINA – Golf, glorious golf.

There are said to be 102 courses in this town or area, and any way you shake your putter that’s a lot of golf, folks.

I would’ve loved to try five or six, but in two days I only had time for two rounds, wuss that I am (and other things to check out). So I opted first for Pine Lakes, which is a nice course in very good shape but not a world-beater in terms of layout or design. Second, on Wednesday, was the Caledonia Golf and Fish Club down south of town.

OMG  good is what it is; possibly the most beautiful course you could ever play away from the ocean. It’s not long and it’s not impossibly tight, but it’s pretty narrow in spots and there are fairway bunkers aplenty and a surplus of lakes and dozens of birds and small grey squirrels with black and white faces that look like a raccoon (I’m calling them squaccoons, by the way, and, yes, I’ve patented the phrase), as well as a lot of narrow approaches to greens that resemble a profile shot of Penelope Cruz, and that’s a very good thing (on both counts).

It’s in absolutely first-rate condition, and they even have complimentary chowder (I forgot to try it) and a great 19^th hole, with a large porch that overlooks the tricky 18^th hole and a large, golf ball-swallowing lake that you have to hit over on your approach shot.

It’s a real stunner, and no wonder it makes a whole of lot of fancy golf magazines’ top 100 lists. A pair of drinks on the porch was $10, and on the course it was $8.25 for two Coronas and a package of pretzels. Shoot, it’s more than that for a single tall boy of Keith’s up in Muskoka at Taboo.

Anyway, the golf here is tremendous. But there’s more to life – I’m told – than golf. So I opted to check out Brookgreen Gardens, also south of Myrtle Beach proper, and Murrell’s Inlet.

The Gardens are stunning; some 9,000 acres spread over what used to be four Southern plantations. There are magnificent oaks with dripping Spanish moss, acres of salvia and yellow daisies and hibiscus and lantana and dozens more plants and flowers, all gathered around more than 1,000 sculptures all made by American artists.

There are a lot of cherubs and statues of Diana (the Greek one, not British) and a big whack of horses. Nothing that made me think, “Wow, that’s really cool.” But the gardens are wonderful and there’s also a lowcountry area to display the local flora and there’s a zoo, too. All in all, a truly great place to spend a couple hours.

Following a very brief tour (I felt guilty after the volunteer guide insisted we’d need 45 minutes just for the sculpture garden), I headed up to Murrell’s Inlet, past funky bars and small motels and lovely homes on stilts to protect from flooding. The small village features a series of bars and pubs and restaurants along a small boardwalk that fronts a marshy oceanfront. Quite petite but also quite delightful, with colourful signs and pirate statues carved of wood and pubs such as Drunken Jack’s, which serves up a nice appetizer platter for $10 that consists of two small crab cakes, a small pile of spicy steak, two bacon-wrapped scallops and two bacon-wrapped shrimp, although why we needed so much pork – even in the South – I didn’t quite understand.

They also serve she-crab soup, which is apparently supposed to involve a bisque-like base, some sherry and milk or cream and a whole lot of crab. It’s called she-crab because most places add roe from the female of the species. Drunken Jack’s doesn’t do so.

I thought it was a touch sweet, but at least it wasn’t as sickly as the sweet tea I had a couple nights ago at the rib joint called Sticky Fingers. I mean, I love the South and all, but why on earth do they feel they need to dump a half pound of sugar in a poor, defenseless glass of iced tea? No wonder there are weight problems with folks in the U.S.

Of course, passing a Hardee’s restaurant on Highway 17 that advertised “Bottomless Fries” probably explains a few things, too.

I finally got some on Myrtle Beach proper and managed a few swims in the ocean late Wednesday afternoon. The water’s quite pleasant even this far north, and there are waves aplenty on a beach that stretches out for miles and miles.

All in all, a pretty good place. Look for more soon in the pages of Star Travel.

Tomorrow: my first-ever visits to Charleston, S.C. and Savannah, Georgia.

 

 

A rainy day in Myrtle Beach (hey, it happens)...Pinball baseball/great cuisine

MYRTLE BEACH, SOUTH CAROLINA - Dang. A guy goes from fabulous weather in southern Ontario in October and flies to Myrtle Beach and is greeted with ... rain.

It wasn't a big storm or anything, but the grey-green breakers were rolling in pretty heavy down this way on Monday and again Tuesday. Still, there's always something to do in a town this big, so I went and checked on the downtown Boardwalk.

The original one, or one of them, was destroyed by Hurricane Hazel in 1954; an event most Torontonians should know something about given the extensive damage in our fair city and loss of lives. Anyway, it's quite nice, and they also have a giant Ferris Wheel called the SkyWheel, similar to the London Eye.

I wandered about and then found a small arcade right on the boardwalk. Usually, I hate arcades but given the drizzle it seemed fine. And, then, suddenly. There. They. Were. A long bank of old-time baseball machines from the 1950s.

For those who've never seen these, they're truly old-school "pinball" style machines where you drop in a quarter (the Fun Plaza Arcade uses real coins, not tokens, thank goodness) and get a series of big, silver balls "pitched" at you. You slam a small lever (how old-school is that) and "swing" at the pitch and launch the ball towards a series of small holes at the top of the pinball board, if you will. The holes are labelled "out, single, double," etc....

Every time you get a hit, a bell rings and a pop-up player starts to circle the bases. It's cheesy and simple and absolutely wonderful. I went on Monday and the machine was firing pitches at me faster than Justin Verlander or Nolan Ryan. But I notched 18 runs before making three outs. Tuesday I went again and managed maybe six runs in four games. In my defence, the machines were quite slow and I had trouble adjusting, and one of them kept throwing pitches way outside and they were looked like a Roy Halladay back-door slider. Really, they did.

A guy who works there told me the baseball and skeeball games are most popular. "But the machines also require a lot of maintenance," he added with a grin.

Some folks find the Myrtle Beach boardwalk tacky. It is. But it's also great. I mean, who doesn't love deep-fried funnel cakes or greasy hot dogs or tacky bars with country stations blaring or classic rock on the radio and $2 beers? I had a great blackened fish sandwich at Dirty Dan's and terrific sweet potato fries and spicy peel-and-eat shrimp, plus a beer, for $20. Try THAT in Toronto.

My waitress also was great. I was taking notes about the menu and she came over and said, "Hey, you writing me a love letter?"

I'm staying inland a bit, at the lovely Marina Inn at Grande Dunes. It's on the intracoastal waterway; a quiet spot well away from the banging pinball machines and tacky t-shirt shops. It's a nice hotel with spacious, well-laid-out rooms.

I had dinner at their renowned restaurant, Waterscapes, which specializes in Carolina cuisine such as shrimp and grits and locally raised meat and veggies. I had fabulous crab cakes without an ounce of filler, then a main course of local quail done two ways; grilled and deep-fried. It was quite tasty, served alongside some nicely grilled/charred green onions. But the star of the show was fig-covered cornbread pudding; sweet and savoury and rich and filling as all get out.

Kudos to chef James Clark, who shows (as do many others) that there's far more to Myrtle Beach than Ripley's Believe It or Not and the Gay Dolphin Gift Cove souvenir shop, and how great a name is that??

More to come this week and next on Myrtle Beach and local golf at PIne Lakes and Caledonia Golf and Fish Club, plus brief visits to Charleston, Savannah and Amelia Island and Ponte Vedra in Florida....

 

 

 

Canada's new tourism push lost in the election shadows ... Harry Potter tours!

Symbolism is important.

Which is why it's disheartening to see Canada's new tourism push lost in the proverbial shuffle.

For those of you glued to, oh, I don't know, the Ontario election or the Leafs' opening game or maybe the Martin Scorcese HBO documentary on the life of George Harrison, you may not have noticed that Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism, the nearly invisible Maxime Bernier, held a press conference in Gatineau on Thursday to announce a new federal tourism strategy.

He talked about how hugely important tourism is, which is great. A federal report on the matter says that in 2010 "tourism was responsible for $73.4 billion in revenues and represented approximately 2 percent of Canada's overall gross domestic product (GDP). That's as much as the combined GDP of the agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors.

Approximately 594,500 jobs in Canada are directly generated by tourism in every province and region of the country. Moreover, the visitor economy drives key service industries, including accommodations, food and beverage, passenger transportation, recreation and entertainment, which account for over 9 percent of total employment in Canada. Many of these jobs are in the North, Aboriginal communities and rural areas."

That's all good. Great, even. But if tourism is so important, why was this event announced on a day when the largest province in the country was fixated on an election? Why not today? Why not next Monday?

The Tories aren't stupid. It's quite possible that they knew this long-awaited announcement was going to be fairly, uh, basic and thus deliberately held their presser on a day when they knew attention would be drawn elsewhere.

Timing aside, it's an interesting announcement, more a couple dabs of paint than a full coat of latex. There was no big money announcement and no Steve Jobs-like slogans to unveil. Instead, it was all about better coordination of existing programs; the sort of stuff that even policy wonks nod off to.

They might have been faking the enthusiasm a touch, I don't know, but tourism types reacted fairly positively to the news, as I reported yesterday. One top official said it wasn't a touchdown but was a "game-changing first down."

I'll take them at their word that this is a pretty positive step. But I found it interesting that earlier this week I was at the Intercontinental Hotel in downtown Toronto and met with a fellow from the newly-formed Corportation for Tourism Promotion; the first-ever U.S. effort to boost tourism in the USA.

He noted that the U.S. campaign, which will begin in the next few months, could end up spending $200 million; more than double what Canada is said to spend every year on tourism promotion. It was a pretty low-key session, but at least the U.S. was bringing more money to the table.

HARRY POTTER TOURS

Harry Potter fans not only can now check out The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios in Orlando, but will soon be able to tour the British studios where much of the films were made.

Associated Press reports that public tours of the studio north of London where the movies were made will begin on March 31.

The "Making of Harry Potter" tour will be based at Leavesden Studios, where the eight films were shot between 2001 and 2010. Visitors will see sets, including classrooms, dormitories, the Great Hall of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the Ministry of Magic and 4 Privet Drive — home of Harry's Muggle relatives, the Dursleys.

The tour also will include costumes, props and some of the animatronic effects used in the movies.

Warner Bros. said Thursday that tickets will go on sale Oct. 13 — at 28 pounds ($43) for adults and 21 pounds ($32) for children.

 

New tourism strategy for Canada unveiled...but what exactly is it?

It's nice to see Ottawa finally paying some attention to tourism in this country. But I can't quite tell what exactly they're doing.

Minister of State for Tourism Maxime Bernier today unveiled what's being called the "Federal Tourism Strategy."

"The Strategy is based on a collaborative approach, coordinating tourism-related efforts of some 15 departments and agencies," officials said in a press release. "It provides the scope and direction that allows the government to play a more collaborative role with the industry as tourism owners and operators position themselves to take advantage of the rapid expansion in the global marketplace.

"The Strategy outlines the steps that the government is taking to implement this approach, including establishing new mechanisms to integrate tourism policy and program development across departments, formalizing industry engagement, maintaining a new tourism website and reporting annually on progress under the Strategy."

Tourism industry types were quick to heap praise on Bernier (never a bad idea, when you think about it).

The Federal Tourism Strategy is a strong commitment on the part of the government to promoting the growth of the travel and tourism sector, said the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC).

"This whole-of-government approach to tourism will provide a new direction for the federal government to work with the industry to help spur tourism growth and create jobs," said David Goldstein, President and CEO of TIAC. "The Strategy demonstrates that the tourism sector is a priority economic sector for this government."

Canada's four largest airlines welcomed the news.

"I was pleased to note that the Federal Tourism Strategy recognizes the importance of tourism to the national economy," said NACC (National Airlines Council of Canada) President George Petsikas.  "When the tourism industry succeeds, we all succeed."

I see a lot of talk about coordination, which is good. But I don't see any mention of dollars and can't quite tell what this really will mean.

One part of the government's press release says there are nearly 30 initiatives, including

Increasing awareness of Canada as a premier tourist destination;
        --  Facilitating ease of access and movement for travellers while protecting
            the safety and integrity of Canada's borders;
        --  Encouraging product development and investments in Canadian tourism
            assets and products; and
        --  Fostering an adequate supply of skills and labour to enhance visitor
            experiences through quality service and hospitality.
There's also talk about celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Calgary Stampede next year, as well as the 100th anniversary of the Grey Cup.

       
"It's not a touchdown but it's a game-changing first down," Goldstein told me today. "It's not that there's an anti-tourism
lobby in Canada but we've suffered from benign neglect. Too many groups make decisions without consultation."

Goldstein said round-tables have been effective in helping the agriculture industry in Canada and that the approach should help
tourism. It's also a huge boost to have the Prime MInister standing behind the initiative.

Although no money is mentioned that I can see, Goldstein pointed out that some moves undoubtedly will have a cash component.
He also said he's pleased to see there's talk of providing relief from HST and GST for groups that bring in conventions.

The feds, to their credit, give tourism a pretty serious nod in their press release today.

In 2010, tourism was responsible for $73.4 billion in revenues and  represented approximately 2 percent of 
Canada's overall gross domestic  product (GDP)," they said. "That's as much as the combined GDP of the agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors.

"Approximately 594,500 jobs in Canada are directly generated by tourism in every province and region of the country. Moreover, the visitor economy drives key service industries, including accommodations, food and beverage, passenger transportation, recreation and entertainment, which account for over 9 percent of total employment in Canada. Many of these jobs are in the North, Aboriginal communities and rural areas."

 

Transat launches new "Discoveries" program aimed at Ontario travellers

It's a tough economic climate, but Transat thinks it's got a winner.

Officials from the Montreal-based company put on a glitzy press conference Tuesday night at an event space near King and Dufferin and announced "Transat Discoveries," its first-ever project aimed (for now) squarely at the solid, English-speaking market in Ontario.

The program will offer "escorted and exotic, long-haul" tours that can easily be customized. Tours will go to Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia in Asia, and to Latin American destinations such as Brazil, Ecuador (including the Galapagos Islands) and Peru. In Africa,they'll do everything from Kenya and Tanzania to Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia. Eastern Europe also will be on the table, including Poland and the Czech Republic, with side tours available for Russia and Croatia.

All properties except remote lodges will be four to five star properties, and most tours will be 10-25 people with English-speaking guides. They've even hired Anglophone telephone operators to man the stations at their Montreal booking office to be sure English-speaking Canadians are comfortable.

"We can customize almost anything," said Dan Prior, Transat Discoveries' Sales Director for Ontario. "You can do a month in January at the beach in Asia if you want. Or do an Iceland spa or a plowing match in Croatia. And, yes, they have plowing matches in Croatia."

The program is aimed at folks in their late 30s, right up to active folks in their 70s.

"We'll do eco-friendly tours to the River Kwai (see photo) or customize a trip to China, Tibet or Sri Lanka," he said. "You can do a 4x4 safari trip or a coach tour or go to the beach in Zanzibar."

Prior said they won't be traditional coach tours but will be more "experiential" so travellers can get a better feel for the country they're visiting and get away from the tourist crowds.

"It's not luxury travel but it's not a mainstream coach, either," Prior said.

"It gives people something more independent, without them having to do all the arrangements themselves," he said, and that sounds pretty darn good for those of us in our mid-50's with interest in going beyond the Uffizi in Florence and Christ the Redeemer in Rio but with little time to plan things in detail.

He said they won't be using charters but will instead use major carriers such as Air Canada, Cathay Pacific and Air France. That's a relief for some travellers who might fear a sardine can in the sky.

The focus is on Ontario for now but they'll take bookings from across Canada.

Asked about pricing, Prior looked a journalist in the eye and said, deadpan, "We'll be cheaper than anybody out there."

He laughed.

"No, seriously, we'll have very competitive pricing."

Booking with cash can save money, and booking early for the coming winter could save up to $1,040 per couple, Prior said.

All in all, it sounds like a winner.

For more information call (416) 620-8066 or 1-855-300-3866 or go www.transatdiscoveries.com.

 

 

Celine, Obama, The Queen: Who would YOU want to sit next to on a plane??

Oprah over Obama. Celine over Suzuki. And Kate over the Queen.

FlightNetwork.com recently asked some 780 Canadians who they’d most like to sit next to on a plane. They gave 10 choices for three categories; Canadian celebrity, U.S. celebrity and international celebrity, and came away with some surprises.

In the Canadian category, the runaway winner was Celine Dion, with 23.7 per cent of respondents naming her as their favourite seatmate. It makes sense: since she weighs approximately 48 pounds, it’d be like having an empty seat next to you the whole trip. And if she, God forbid, started to sing, you could always pretend you were watching the map channel onthe TV monitor.

“Oh, look, we’re over Bismarck, North Dakota.”

Second for Canuck celebs was David Suzuki at 19.5 per cent. This speaks well for our social conscience, but what is Suzuki doing on airplane that’s sucking carbon from the earth at supersonic speed?

Third in the Canadian content category was comedian Russell Peters, while Wayne Gretzky came a respectable fourth at 14.1 per cent. (How they didn't substitute Sidney Crosby for Gretzky I don't know. I suspect the pollsters were born in 1946 and are the kind of guys who get excited about re-mixes of Anne Murray Christmas tunes.)

Lower down were such luminaries as Steve Nash (6.5 per cent) and Pamela Anderson (supply your own jokes about protection during a crash landing) at 4.4 per cent. Poor Justin Bieber collected only 3.2 per cent of the votes, but at least he was ahead of Conrad Black, who notched just 1.7 per cent in a poll in which only 48 respondents were Florida prison inmates.

On the U. S. side of the ledger, it’s probably no surprise that the omnipresent Oprah Winfrey garnered 38.3 per cent of the votes. She trashed American president Barack Obama, who received only 19.5 per  cent of votes and immediately put out a press release blaming Republicans in Congress. Third was Tina Fey at 10.5 per cent, followed by, wait for it, Charlie Sheen at 8.7 per cent and Anderson Cooper of CNN at 8.3 per cent. BEHIND Charlie Sheen? Anderson, your star is slipping.

Youth trumped age in the international category, as sensation Kate Middleton came in at 22.6 per cent. Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver was second at 16.2 per cent, nudging out The Queen herself at 15.9 per cent. Who probably IS quite amused, being a good sport and all from what I’ve seen.

The FlightNetwork polling folksdidn’t even ask about sitting next to Prince William or Prince Charles (remember him?) or even Prince Philip, who no doubt was too busy being entranced about the idea of a map of North Dakota.

Somehow the worldwide supernova phrase "Lady Gaga" appears to have passed by the FlightNetwork polling group. Instead they used the international category to ask about British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay (13.5 per cent) and Virgin executive Richard Branson (11.8 per cent). It's interesting that Ramsay and Jaime Oliver combined for nearly 30 per cent. I mean, 20 years ago, who would've thought the words "British" and "celebrity chef" would ever meet in the same sentence?

And what's with the heavy duty British influence? British chefs, British royalty. I would think folks who represent something called FlightNetwork would realize that some planes go beyond Britain and visit places in such exotic places as France and Belgium. I mean, nobody ever gives Belgian celebrities a fair shake anymore.

Finally in the international category, we have TV guy and former newspaper hack Piers Morgan at 7.8 per cent and hockey star Alexander Ovechkin at 6.7 per cent. We wanted to get Morgan’s thoughts on his placement but couldn’t get him to come to the phone.