Myrtle Beach, SC

Norm P. was soooooo RIGHT when he said…

“Myrtle Beach is the price you pay for the beauty of the Waccamaw River!”

Yesterday we left Georgetown around 0930 after some writing work for school from 0500-0900. We began our trek north into the most beautiful and most scenic area of the ICW, the Waccamaw River. From 0930 to 1420 we were overwhelmed by the beauty of this river. Spanish moss on freshly budding spring leaves set against our new blue high pressure sky wins the “most beautiful” section of the ICW for us. We found several eagle’s nests and spotted five eagles! Over the sound of the engine, we heard the cry of the osprey as the parent was flying into the nest with a fish in their claws landing atop a massive nest at least 4-6 feet across. I kept shooting photo after photo with two different cameras yet none seemed to capture the beauty as experienced. I will process a batch of photos and upload them soon.

Then, as Norm points out, Myrtle Beach comes up and you are inside a ditch with high banks and concrete rubble shore lines with massive homes 3 and 4 stories high towering over the banks, looking like they could fall down their hills into the ICW. Jet skis zipping and fast wake boarding boats zipping by are quite a contrast to the peace of the Waccamaw River.

Overtaken by the lure of commercialism, we stopped at http://BareFootLanding.com, taking a dock at a shopping center of outlet and specialty stores complete with caged tigers on display! The docks at Barefoot Landing used to be free with no services, but now they charge $1.50/ft including free electrical hookup. Once tied up, the dock master recommended TBonz restaurant / pub, serving Happy Hour $2 draft beers and $5 appetizers, so we treated ourselves to chicken wings (legs) and cold raspberry home brew drafts. A quick walking tour around the enormous property and across boardwalks on the 27 acre lake (which is about 6-7 feet above the ICW) completed the day.

Let’s hope the Waccamaw can remain unspoiled and untouched because it is truly pristine and beautiful.

GOOGLE MAP of the area, click the ZOOM IN to see the details