Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
North Coast
The coastline from the North Carolina border to the city of Georgetown is known as the
Grand Strand, with some 60 miles of fast-food joints, beach resorts and three-story
souvenir shops. What was once a laid-back summer destination for working-class people
from across the Southeast has become some of the most overdeveloped real estate in the
country. Whether you're ensconced in a behemoth resort or sleeping in a tent at a state
park, all you need to enjoy your stay is a pair of flip-flops, a margarita and some quarters
for the pinball machine.
Myrtle Beach
Love it or hate it, Myrtle Beach means summer vacation, American-style.
Bikers take advantage of the lack of helmet laws to let their graying ponytails fly in
the wind, bikini-clad teenagers play Pac-Man and eat hot dogs in smoky arcades, and
whole families roast like chickens on the white sand.
North Myrtle Beach, actually a separate town, is slightly lower-key, with a thriving
culture based on the 'shag' (no, not that kind of shag) - a jitterbug-like dance invented
here in the 1940s.
It ain't for nature-lovers, but with enormous outlet malls and innumerable mini-golf
courses, water parks, daiquiri bars and t-shirt shops, it's a rowdy good time.
Sights & Activities
The beach itself is pleasant enough - wide, hot and crowded with umbrellas. Beachfront
Ocean Blvd has the bulk of the hamburger stands and seedy gift shops. Hwy 17 is choked
with mini-golf courses, boasting everything from animatronic dinosaurs to faux volca-
noes spewing lurid-pink water.
Several amusement park-shopping mall hybrids teem with people at all hours.
Brookgreen Gardens GARDENS
( www.brookgreen.org ; adult/child $14/7; 9:30am-5pm) These magical gardens, 16 miles
south of town on Hwy 17S, are home to the largest collection of American sculpture in
the country, set amid 9000 acres of rice plantation turned subtropical garden paradise.
Seasonal blooms are listed on the website.
Wonderworks MUSEUM
 
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