North Myrtle Beach Part 3

The last part of our North Myrtle Beach vacation was just the two of us. We played quite a bit of pickleball, finding the people and level of play to be quite good at Central Park. The four courts are located on an old ice skating rink, which was interesting. It brought back memories of early days in Webster Groves when our outdoor courts were also on the old ice/roller hockey rink. It was a little tight, but doable.

One day we took a drive to Conway, SC as I had read there was a pretty walk along the Waccamaw River there. The drive wasn't too bad until we got near Conway, and then the traffic crawled along. We never did see what the issue was. We did have a nice hike there, and the boardwalk was lovely.

Conway, SC

Probably our favorite part of the whole trip was going to see Brookgreen Gardens. The sculpture park, preserve and low country zoo are located on 9,100 acres. It took us about 45 minutes to get there, and we arrived just as the gates opened at 9:30. The day was pretty hot, which was unfortunate, but we so enjoyed exploring the gardens, seeing all the phenomenal sculptures, and visiting the zoo (which was comprised of animals native to the area who are being rehabilitated). We miss the Missouri Botanical Gardens so much, and these gardens brought a little bit of home back to us.

Brookgreen Gardens

We wrapped up the rest of time in North Myrtle Beach by visiting another preserve, going to the Cherry Grove Pier and taking in one last concert the night before we were heading back to Charlotte. Overall the trip was great, but I would avoid going back there during the summer due to the crowds and the heat.

North Myrtle Beach scenes 

 

North Myrtle Beach Part 2

Tropical Storm Chantal arrived the day after our neighbors went back to Charlotte. It hit in the early hours of July 6th, and I will say the wind and rain blasting the front of the condo were pretty impressive. As our bedroom was ocean front, we definitely were awakened by the storm. By mid-morning Chantal had been downgraded to a tropical depression, leaving only high winds. The rainbow almost made up for the lack of sleep we had gotten the night before.

rainbow

Mid-week some friends from Charlotte came to stay with us for a few days. They are also not ones to just sit on the beach all day, every day, so we filled our time with other activities. They are avid pickleball players, so we got on the courts a few times with them. They enjoyed learning the Shag with us on Tuesday night, and also the Thursday night concert near the condo.

Back at the condo we got caught up while playing card games and Mexican Train. It's so nice to have friends who enjoy the same activities as us, while also being on the same schedules of waking up and going to bed. That is pretty rare!

North Myrtle Beach

The next post will wrap up our visit to North Myrtle Beach.

Visiting North Myrtle Beach

view from the condo

A lady in our community offered her condo in North Myrtle Beach to residents here, and our next door neighbor asked us if we would like to go in with them and rent the condo for the month of July. It is right on the beach, and has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The downside is that the unit is on the third floor, and there is no elevator. Despite that and the fact that July is the hottest month in Myrtle Beach, we agreed to the rental.

fireworks on North Myrtle Beach

The four of us spent the first week of July together. Our neighbors then headed home and we stayed there until July 17th. There were pluses and minuses to being at the beach for the 4th of July week. It was incredibly crowded, and the heat was a factor. But it was really amazing to see the Patriotic Flyover, and to be able to put our chairs on the beach for the fireworks was great. We didn't have to drive anywhere, and there were fireworks displays all up and down the beach. As fireworks are legal in South Carolina, that meant lots of amateurs were setting them off all around us. That was somewhat disconcerting, especially when a display fell over and began shooting rockets off into the crowd!

The condo is located in a great area, and you could literally park your car and never have to drive anywhere. Restaurants, bars, shops, and groceries are all within walking distance. We even found a park with pickleball courts that was within walking distance. Also, this beach is the birthplace of Carolina Shag, the official dance of South Carolina. Fat Harold's Beach Club was right around the corner from us, and they off free Shag lessons on Tuesday nights. It was fun to go and watch the dancers there.

Every Thursday night there is a free concert at North MyrtleBeach. We were able to set our chairs up mid afternoon, and head back to the condo. Then we went to Buoys for happy hour, timing it so we could then head to our chairs for the concert. The bands were great, and what a turnout!

We had decided the four of us would go on a dolphin watching cruise, but unfortunately the ocean was too rough as tropical storm Chantal was heading towards the coast. Instead we took a ride on the intracoastal waterway, which was fun as well.

intracoastal waterway

After our friends headed back to Charlotte, we ended our first week at North Myrtle Beach by driving a little north to do some hiking at a preserve. We had the Heritage Shores Preserve to ourselves, and it was nice to enjoy the peace and quiet after all the crowds on the beach and in town.

Heritage Shores Nature Preserve

My next post will cover part 2 of our North Myrtle Beach trip.

one of the beautiful sunsets