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October 2009 Newsletter Volume 3, No 10 What a roller-coaster of temperatures October brought to us. Autumn has truly arrived, now that the temperatures rose and then dipped to rise again. At least for a few days, we were even below the shirt-sleeve level. Though the earlier portion of the month saw people out in the ocean in bathing suits, by mid-month, everyone was looking for warmer clothing and wondering how a cold front could have reached us here, so far south. Chilly one day and warm the next. By the latter part of the month, the thermometer was back to its "normal" comfortable mid- to high-70's. Just goes to show that here in the South at the beach, "chilly" is short-lived. Autumn brings many benefits, and one is the fishing season. With the rise and fall of the temperature, the fish are now plentiful at the piers. The grasses and leaves have reached their full color, and the skies are crisply blue. What a great time of year! Golf opportunities here along the coast also bring people here to enjoy our many premier courses with our hugely attractive discounted packages. Seaside's talented golf department has arranged some exciting combinations of courses to tempt golfers of any caliber to take some time off of work and come here to play. Another favorite of fall, the time-honored and free Endless Summer Festival features a wonderful line-up of bands (see the article below) and activities for the entire family, a reminder of the summer tunes that we love so much. If you receive this newsletter before the festival occurs on October 31st, we invite you to come on down! We'd love to see you here! Have you made plans for Thanksgiving yet? This year many people are treating themselves to a special end-of-year activity. Seaside is offering some wonderful specials so that you can relax at the beach during the holidays, even save money. Give us a call and let our agents describe some great get-away specials. Thank you, all, who selected Seaside this year for your trip to the beach. Come see us again soon! Your friends at SeaSide News and Happenings at Seaside Fall Golf at Seaside This season offers many benefits to golfers: wonderful discounts on premier courses (see below), low traffic along roadways and in restaurants and entertainment sites, as well as retailers' reduced prices on end-of-season golf gear and much more. Make a call to 1.800.682.5699 to book a tee time! Check out some of our latest deals, just for golfers: Terrific Tuesday Golf Package - Select either Myrtlewood's Palmetto and Pinehills courses or River Hills, then add 3 more rounds on your choice of Farmstead, Meadowlands, or Arcadian Shores (one of these will be a free round to be played on Tuesday). This package is valid for arrival on a Sunday or Monday, so stay 3 nights or more and get a 4th night with breakfast for free. You also receive a gift certificate valued at $20 on a purchase of $40 or more in any of the "pro" shops (note: excludes golf balls and equipment). SUPER Terrific Tuesday Golf Package - Play 3 rounds on Grande Dunes, Tidewater, and Pine Lakes and receive a free 4th round on a Tuesday at your choice of any of the other six Burroughs and Chapin courses: Arcadian Shores, Farmstead, Meadowlands, River Hills or Myrtlewood's Palmetto, and Pinehills courses. This package is valid for arrival on a Sunday or Monday and a stay of 3 nights or more and get the 4th night with breakfast for free. You also receive a gift certificate valued at $20 on a purchase of $40 or more in any of the "pro" shops (note: excludes golf balls and equipment). The Fall Special, now through 11/29/2009 - Wild Wing and Arrowhead's specials have been extended. Contact one of our golf agents for details. Southern Swing, a brand new special starting 1/21/2010 - 3-round package featuring Founders Club at Pawley's, Prestwick, and The International Club. Great rates, great deal, great courses. Contact one of our golf agents for details. The Endless Summer Concert in North Myrtle Beach September brought us to the last day of summer and the first day of autumn. Now in October, some people might think that the end of summer means fewer amusements and entertainment activities, but the opposite is actually true here on the coast where the long list of things to do increases with fall harvest events, the start of school, football games, and more. One eagerly awaited celebration occurs every year at the end of October, and this year has been no exception. Known as "The Endless Summer Festival," the event includes three well-known beach-music bands, on the calendar for October 31st at the "Horseshoe" on Main Street in North Myrtle Beach. If you receive this notice in time to join us, we hope that you will come on down! If not, you missed sitting cozily at the beach with your loved ones, listening to great beach bands, munching delicious food, and generally enjoying the beach atmosphere. Arranged by the North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce and sponsored principally by Seaside and its sister properties of North Myrtle Beach, this concert event will include colorful exhibits such as the classic car show, arts-and-crafts exhibit/sale, lots of food opportunities, and a children's play area with inflatables and carnival rides. Bands are the "headline" group, The Fantastic Shakers, plus SeaCruz, and The Catalinas. We've got lots going on, so stay in tune with our own web site, www.SeasideMB.com, plus with other North Myrtle Beach events at www.nmbevents.com. Featured Recipe - Almond-Cranberry Cornbread This colorful and tasty autumn bread is delicious by itself or with other dishes, yielding 12 servings. Nut flour such as almond meal can be substituted for up to 1/4 of the all-purpose flour here, and almond meal's hearty texture works well here in corn bread. Find it in health food stores or make your own (about 1 cup blanched almonds in a food processor; processed until finely ground). Ingredients: 3 ounces all-purpose flour (about 2/3 cup) 2/3 cup yellow cornmeal 2/3 cup almond meal 1/3 cup sugar teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil 1 1/2 tablespoons sliced almonds 3/4 cup fat-free buttermilk 1/2 cup dried cranberries large egg whites coking spray Preparation: Preheat oven to 400° Weigh or lightly spoon the flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour and next 6 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl. Heat oil in a small skillet over high heat. Add almonds to pan; cook 2 minutes or until lightly toasted, stirring frequently. Strain oil through a fine sieve into flour mixture. Set aside 1 tablespoon almonds. Add remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons almonds to flour mixture. Combine buttermilk, dried cranberries, and egg whites, and add to flour mixture, stirring until well blended. Spoon batter into an 8-inch cast-iron skillet coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle reserved 1 tablespoon toasted almonds over top of batter. Bake bread at 400° for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack. (Option to the iron skillet: you can also bake the bread at 400° in an 8-inch round cake pan for 16 minutes). Click here for a printable version of recipe Local Events Calendar - November More calendar events are available if you click here. Book reservation online at www.SeasideMB.com and join in on the fun of your favorite event(s). 11/1. Battleship North Carolina Half-Marathon and Bay Six Battleship 5K. 11th annual Carolina Sports Medicine Battleship North Carolina Half-Marathon and Bay Six Battleship 5K. Information at 910.398.5539, www.battleshiphalfmarathon.active.com. 11/7. Island Fever Music Fest at La Belle Amie Vineyard. Saturday, Nov. 7, from noon to 5 PM. $8 admission for ages 18-80 (other ages have free admission). La Belle Amie Vineyard in North Myrtle Beach. Bring lawn chairs. Wine and food available for purchase. Information at www.labelleamie.com or 843.399.WINE (9463). 11/7. Cape Fear Kite Festival. Cape Fear Kite Festival. Free event with kites from many origins filling the sky with color, unbelievable sizes and styles! Wrightsville Beach, NC. Information at 910.520.1818, www.capefearkitefestival.com. 11/8. Nationalistic Fervor presented by Long Bay Symphony. A variety of music from the "Age of Revolution." Information through www.longbaysymphony.com or 843.448.8379. 11/12-15. The 28th Annual Dickens Christmas Show and Festival. Myrtle Beach Convention Center. Information at 843.448.9483 or www.dickenschristmasshow.com. 11/14. Urban Bush Women Dance Troup. One-of-a-kind dance troupe, known for integrating dance, music, and text with the history, culture, and spiritual traditions of African Americans and the African Diaspora. University of North Carolina in Wilmington. (601 S. College Rd.). www.uncw.edu/presents. 11/21. 6th Annual Murrells Inlet Oyster Roast. Spud's Waterfront Dining parking lot. Oyster eaters belly up to the tables for an all-you-can-eat afternoon of steamed oysters. A menu of other food items and beer and soda are available. Oyster Roast tickets are $25.00. Call 843.357.2007 for tickets and more information. 11/26-28. South Carolina Bluegrass Festival. Relax with traditions of Southern bluegrass at this renowned South Carolina festival, held at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center. Free parking. Chairs provided. See http://www.aandabluegrass.com/Festivals/SouthCarolinaStateBluegra.html to order tickets. 11/26. Poplar Grove's Plantation Christmas. Decorated for the holidays, the Manor House at night is full of old fashioned charm and nostalgia. Bring a cozy blanket for cuddling on the hayride. More information at 910.686.9518, or come to Poplar Grove Plantation, 10200 US Hwy 17 North, Wilmington, NC 28411 (www.poplargrove.com). 11/28. Christmas Market in Little River, SC. The 4th Annual Christmas Market celebrates the season, starting at 9 AM. Get into the Christmas spirit at the historic waterfront. Entertainment, unique and popular Pet Parade, annual Christmas Parade around the waterfront, and the annual Intracoastal Christmas Regatta at dusk (see next item). Highway 17 north from Myrtle Beach with a right turn at Mineola to the waterfront. 11/28. Intracoastal Christmas Regatta Boat Parade. Boats assemble at Tilghman's Point at 4:30 PM and begin the parade at 5 PM (dusk). It proceeds down the waterway to Dock Holidays Marina. View the regatta from several locations along the waterway. More information at http://christmasregatta.com. Check out what's happening on the beach right now with our Web cam   Guest Comments I have been visiting North Myrtle & Myrtle Beach, SC since I was a baby. I visited the SeaSide on Sept. 30 - Oct. 4, 2009 with four other members of my family. I can honestly say that the SeaSide is the friendliest, cleanest and most convenient place I have ever stayed. The rooms smell good, are spacious and the location is quiet. The view from the three-bedroom condo was breathtaking! We had an oceanfront balcony and a side view from the "wall of windows," as we call it, that was unbelievable. This place is top-notch! This time of year we had no trouble finding a parking place in the parking garage underneath the hotel. Being a customer service rep. for 20 years also makes me appreciate the awesome customer service we were given by ALL staff members that we came in contact with! It's truly refreshing to come in contact with such good people! I can truly say there is no need to stay anywhere else. We will be back! Guest review on Trip Advisor from family identified as "Andra70" from Ashville, NC, dated 10.12.09. Location - great....North Myrtle is much more quiet and out of the more honky-tonk aspect area of Myrtle Beach. Housekeeping kept the rooms super clean. Good value and the view was spectacular…Would we stay here again? Yes, but only in summer where we can be assured that we can use the pool facilities. Guest review on Trip Advisor from a couple identified as "PittsburghIris" from Pittsburgh, PA, dated 10.11.09. We have been to Myrtle Beach before but this was the first time at Seaside. I can say all trips back we will be staying here again. Everything was great. Free Breakfast please make sure you stop by if anything to talk to Flo that works there. She was wonderful first thing in the morning and I can guarantee anything you need she will get if she can. Staff was great, Rooms were spacious. Clean and Roomy. Right on the beach and very nice pool area. The price was unbelievable. Only drawback is covered garage is a little tight but unless you have a huge vehicle you can get in it. If not across the street the have an outside parking lot you can park in. Close to a lot of different attractions. Already 3 of our friends have booked rooms for next year and we plan on doing the same. Guest review on Trip Advisor from a family with young children, identified as "DCamp1287" from Erlanger, KY, dated 10.01.09. We have stayed at several resorts in MB over the years, but have mostly been disappointed, many are aging and going through renovation after renovation, but are still not the kind of resort with amenities that we look for now days, we were referred to Seaside by a coworker and as he said "it is the best place he has been in all the places he stayed in MB" and we agree after our stay 100%, large rooms, great views, excellent pools and right on the beach, we plan on going back ASAP, hope not to steer you wrong or give you bad advice, but until we find something better, and there are a lot of choices, this is #1 for us. Guest review on Trip Advisor from a family with teenagers, identified as "AbstractDaddy" from Raleigh, NC, dated 09.27.09. Fun Facts With growth rings similar to trees, lush and colorful corals give scientists a several-thousand-year record of environmental changes such as ocean temperatures, ocean productivity, volcanic activity, and dust storms. Many parts of the ocean's depths remain unexplored. The deepest dive thus far (6.8 miles) occurred earlier this year in the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific. The Atlantic Ocean has an average depth of about 2 1/4 miles with the deepest at the Puerto Rico Trench (about 5 1/3 miles). A fathom is six-foot lengths. In the past, sailors would measure depth by dropping a weighted line down into the water. Today, sonar is one of several methods used. The Atlantic and Indian oceans continue to get wider by a few inches every year. The Pacific Ocean is shrinking. At the northeast corner of Africa scientists see evidence that a new ocean has begun to form. The Red Sea is widening, and if it expands at the same rate, it will be an ocean the size of the Atlantic in a mere 200 million years. Deep coral reefs grow slower and live longer than shallow tropical reefs. The deep water reefs are irreplaceable, and once destroyed they do not reestablish themselves. The cold, deep water has so far sheltered deep reefs from the temperature increase and pollutants that have affected shallow tropical corals; however, that may change in the future. Lophelia coral reefs are part of more than 23,000 square miles of deep coral and hard bottom reefs in the Atlantic Ocean proposed for protection by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council. The Coral Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (CHAPC) will be the largest protected reef system in the Atlantic and will protect the area from bottom trawling and other human-made damage. Tides are caused primarily by the gravitational pull of the moon. Although the sun is much larger than the moon, the moon is closer to the earth and exerts more gravitational pull than the sun. The sun's gravitational force on the earth is only 46 percent that of the moon, making the moon the single most important factor for the creation of tides.