What to do friday and Saturday? Columbia, Charlotte, Myrtle Beach or Charleston. Not a big beach guy and not bringing kids.

mgreen:
If you are not a beach person then skip Myrtle. Charleston has so much to offer I would at least spend a day there and is is only 1 1/2 hours away.Columbia is a college town and the seat of state gov't. so while it does have a bit to do, Charleston has exponentially more.

Any day above ground is a good one!

mgreen, I would agree. I have been to both and we only went once to Myrtle. Have been to Charleston 3 times and will go back again. You cannot see it all in one trip.

If we wanted to explore Charleston AND visit a beach, which public beach around Charleston would you suggest we go to?

cbock13
There are public beaches at Folly Beach, Sullivan's Island and Isle of Palms. I would recommend Sullivan's and Isle of Palms. If you go to Sullivan's check out Poe's Tavern as well.

[This message has been edited by gamecockhub (edited 7/21/2014 2:35p).]

What about beaches at Myrtle beach?

Jack Thauer
Almost all of Myrtle is public. There are public access points all up and down the beach so it is really easy to access the beach there.

Awesome, thanks!

So pumped for the trip!

If you like wings and beer you have to check out Wild Wing Cafe in the vista.

If you are a beer connoisseur then check out Flying Saucer on Senate street. They probably have over 200 selections on draft!

Sad day, but we have decided to cancel our trip. Flying and traveling for a week while almost 8 months pregnant was no longer sounding fun. Maybe we will make it in two years for the next game in SC.

On the plus side, we were able to get a refund on the plane tickets.

AggieAces06
Sorry you had to cancel! Best wishes with the rest of your pregnancy! Wishing you a happy, healthy baby!

I have a little brother (a good Ag) stationed at Ft. Bragg. I'm considering meeting him in Fayetteville and driving down to Columbia for the SCAR game. The potential issue is that he may not be able to leave town until 2 or 3 PM that afternoon.
Do any of you have any experience driving that route? What time should we realistically expect to be able to leave Fayetteville and get into Williams-Brice for kick-off?
I'd appreciate any help or advice y'all could offer.

TIA

Gamecock,

Have any good recommendations for golfing in Charleston or myrtle Beach?

Jack Thauer
I am not a golfer but I am checking with some who are serious golfers and will have some recommendations for you soon.

Gamecockhub,
Anything to offer on my question above?

Thanks!

Beer Leg
Sorry I missed seeing your post.Please thank your brother for his service! From Ft. Bragg to the stadium is a 2hr and 45 min ride.That is the bad news. The good news is that the only fairly large town you pass through between the fort and Columbia is Florence and it is not too bad. You would take I-95 to I-20 in Florence take I-20 toward Columbia then take I-77 toward Charleston and get off on Bluff Rd.Leaving at 3 will put you getting here at best 15 mins before kickoff so you might miss kickoff adding in getting parked, walking to the stadium and to your seat. If you leave at 2 you will give yourself a slim cushion. It will also be rush hour but hopefully most people will already be parked at the game and most of the others will have left work early to watch on TV. Can you get here in time for kickoff? Yes. But you would be cutting it close! 2PM leaving would be much better but there are still many variables that could come into play.

Any day above ground is a good one!

[This message has been edited by gamecockhub (edited 7/28/2014 9:21p).]

gamecockhub,

What are your thoughts on the actual game?

KSigAg12:

I expect a long, hard fought game! Both teams have some questions that can only be answered on the field. Your QB and our secondary being the biggest unknowns as I see it. I do expect with it at home, at night that we will win but I expect it will be by 7 points or less. I also think that A&M is good enough to pull the upset unless we play our best. I think it is going to be one hell of a kickoff for the college football season and the SEC network!

let's go back to game day.

Assume we get a cab to drop us off around noon.
- where @ for lunch with drinks?
- then we want to walk to take in some of the tailgating....tailgate plaza?
- then into the game by what time? 5:30?
- post game can we walk to either 5 points or Vista area?

Thanks for all the help.

cclearman:
Assume we get a cab to drop us off around noon.
- where @ for lunch with drinks?
There is really not much around the stadium for that. There is Jacko's which is a hole in the wall open since 1901 at corner of Bluff and Rosewood and that is about it near the stadium. Most stuff will be back at the Vista or there is Rockaways or the Cock & Bull Pub about a mile up Rosewood away from Bluff Rd
- then we want to walk to take in some of the tailgating....tailgate plaza?

There is a lot of tailgating done at the fairgrounds which is between Rosewood dr and the stadium. Most other is along Bluff rd across from the stadium and down towards the NG Armory.

- then into the game by what time? 5:30?
If you are in your seats by 5:30 you will be fine!

- post game can we walk to either 5 points or Vista area?
You are 2.6 miles from the Vista and 2.8 miles from 5 points which is a bit of a walk.I would not recommend walking all the way. I would try and arrange a pick up point with the cab company. You will have to walk part of the way to meet up with a cab as the main roads back to the Vista area will route away from the stadium so the cab might have you meet them up Rosewood Dr or another side road. You will just have to work that out with the cab company.


Any day above ground is a good one!

that's kind of a bummer. they should put in some trams or something back to campus and then the bar scenes.

do students just walk the 2 miles back to the dorms?

cclearman:
They run shuttles from the basketball arena to and from the stadium.That cuts about 1.5 miles off the walk. Most students that live on campus drive to the games. Many though live in apartments off of Bluff and they walk.

So we were a little slow on booking a hotel.. luckily just put in our reservations at staybridge suites!! Gamecock your Vista hotels link came in clutch, also this thread is amazing, great job!

How is the traffic after the game heading back to Charleston and where would be the best place to park

What about a hotel at two notch and Barbara. Looks like a Hampton inn, best western and others all right there

Blue star for gamecockhub! Lots of great info here. Looking forward to the visit.

Booked The Mills House in downtown Charleston last night. Can't wait!

Sorry guys, I have been out of town for a few days.
ftaggie09:
That one is okay but it is close to the so-so area. It is the ones down Dawson that you want to avoid.
sburg2007:
Since you are returning to Charleston after the game you will want to park on Bluff rd but do not go past the stadium when coming from I-77. All of Bluff will be routed away from the stadium after the game.and George Rogers Blvd is the dividing line. Stadium side goes toward I-77 and fairgrounds side goes toward downtown.
You will want to park on or off Bluff and I would recommend that you park in a parking area on the left side of Bluff as you head toward the stadium from I-77. The two lanes on that side of Bluff rd. will take you right back to I-77 towards Charleston. Traffic will be bumper to bumper until you get to I-77 then it will be heavy but move at interstate speed.
If you have to park on the right side of Bluff coming from I-77 you can still get back to Charleston via I-77 you will just need to get over 3 lanes before the first big green I-77 signs. If you do get stuck in the other two lanes it will take you to I-77 towards Charlotte,NC and you can either follow that to I-20 take I-20 towards Augusta,Ga then take I-26 toward Charleston or just get off at the Hwy378/Garners ferry rd exit and go under I-77 and get back on the to Charleston side. But with parking on the left side you can avoid all that.
13wins:
Thank you!

Any day above ground is a good one!

[This message has been edited by gamecockhub (edited 8/10/2014 3:57p).]

[This message has been edited by gamecockhub (edited 8/10/2014 3:58p).]

gamecockhub thanks for all your help

Is this a parking issue for visitors (from gamecocksonline):

quote:

---

VISITOR AND GAME DAY PARKING
Please review the pregame and postgame traffic flow maps to help plan your visit to Williams-Brice Stadium. Tentatively, no game day parking for 2014 will be available in Gamecock Park (National Guard Rd. via Bluff Rd.) and Carolina Fair Park (Fairgrounds) for $40 per space (George Rogers Blvd. Gate 6) is questionable at this time.

---

http://www.parkwhiz.com/williams-brice-stadium-parking/

Bought a $22 pass from these folks. Not on the correct side of the street per notes above, but .5 miles from stadium.

Have used these folks in the past and it works well.

Gig 'em Aggies!

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/scar/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/10-fb-post-gm-traffic-flow-1.pdf
Here is the postgame flow... the lots in Mike's post do not look bad if you are trying to get back to 77 either direction post-game.

Looks like there is a Doc's BBQ nearby on Shop street away from the stadium as well as a Waffle House on the way to the stadium from these lots.

Gig 'em Aggies!

CJS4715:
Carolina Park is the same as the Farmer's market on the traffic chart. It is now only for donor parking. Until this year they did have gameday parking available but that is now being used to build new practice facilities. The fairgrounds if you draw a line on the drawing across from Gate 11 to gate 6, everything towards the stadium is donor parking. On the Rosewood side there at least last year was gameday parking for the public.
Doc's BBQ is down on Shop rd. It has a couple of different sauces, most BBQ around here has a mustard based sauce, just so you know. Their website is;
http://www.docsbarbeque.com/

Any day above ground is a good one!

Thanks guys. Booked a room in Charleston for the weekend.