My Journey: Coastal Carolinas, USA
The coastal region between Charleston, South Carolina, and Wilmington, North Carolina, is packed with attractions, says Steve Hartridge
The wheel of tourism is everturning in Myrtle Beach, one of east coast USA’s most popular beach resorts.
Sitting in our air-conditioned Sky Wheel gondola, nearly 200 feet above the oceanfront boardwalk, Myrtle Beach’s high-rise hotel skyline and Atlantic waters stretch as far as the eye can see.
From up here, the reason behind the Myrtle Beach area’s enduring popularity is clear to see: 60 miles of wide, sandy beaches – known as the Grand Strand – fringed by sparkling ocean waters.
There are few other U.S. beach destinations that offer the range of attractions on offer to draw families back several times over: accompanying its renowned beaches, mile-long boardwalk, endless affordable hotels, motels and selfcatering apartments, souvenir shops and all- you-can restaurants are elaborate crazy golf complexes, go kart tracks, a Ripley’s Believe It or Not, an ‘interactive children’s pirate ship excursion’ – and much, much more.
At Broadway at the Beach, a theme parkcum-entertainment village just outside of town, are helicopter rides, a Ripley’s Aquarium, Not Dinosaurs the Exhibition, Wonderworks (an interactive science museum) and the Hollywood Wax Museum.
Kingston Resorts’ Caribbean Water Playground, located next the hotel group’s Embassy Suites hotel, has water slides, jet sprays, whirlpools, two large swimming pools, two pools for kiddies and a lazy river.
The nearby Brookgreen Gardens is a national historic landmark that showcases the world’s largest collection of outdoor American sculpture. In December, the gardens take on a seasonal hue from the soft glow of more than 4,500 hand-lit candles, countless sparkling lights and a giant Christmas tree.
Charleston to Myrtle Beach
The coastal region between Charleston and Myrtle Beach – it’s around a two-hour drive between the two – is where the ocean meets the salt marshes.
Land close to these tidal creeks was once the preserve of wealthy rice plantation owners, who prospered during the boom rice growing days of the 1700s and 1800s.
The era of rice – called ‘Carolina Gold’ – came to an end in the 1870s, after the Civil War and the emancipation of the slaves.
Visitors can learn more about this story at Hopsewee Plantation, a National Historic Landmark between Charleston and Myrtle Beach. One of the oldest historic sites in the U.S., just five families have owned it since it was built in 1740. The current
owners, who live in the house, welcome visitors who drop in during a narrated tour of the main house, with its terraced deck, wooden veranda and rocking chairs. Two original slaves’ quarters are also open to the public. Despite its age the house is in fine condition – it is built with mainly black cypress wood, which is resistant to rot and termites. After our tour we enjoy a ‘Low Country’ high tea of bean salad, Pimento cheese biscuits and iced tea.
The Wicked Tuna
As we enter the southern part of the Grand Strand, we pass sleepy-looking communities, retirement homes and numerous championship golf courses. The Grand Strand is a grand name for a sprawling area that incorporates several distinctive coastal communities: bustling Myrtle Beach is at its heart but others such as Murrells Inlet and Pawley’s Island move at a slower, more timeless pace. Murrells Inlet is still a working fishing village but undergoes a transformation in the evening when its popular boardwalk, which overlooks a salt marsh, comes alive with live music in several pubs and restaurants.
We seat ourselves on a wooden deck at the curiously named Wicked Tuna, a place that is a seafood lover’s dream. I want everything on the menu, but settle for oysters, blackened grouper, crab cakes and a side of collard greens.
Cruising in ‘Filmington’
Seventy-five miles from Myrtle Beach and wedged between the Cape Fear river and the Atlantic Ocean is Wilmington.
The city’s expansive historic district, lively riverfront area and near-deserted empty sandy beaches offer three diverse reasons for visiting the city.
Savannah and Charleston may be better known for their Southern charm and
grand antebellum homes (built between 1800 and 1860), but Wilmington’s National Historic District extends a staggering
230 blocks.
You can see these on a trolley tour, pulled by ‘rescued’ horses, passing impressive structures such as City Hall, built in 1858; Latimer House (1852), a showcase of upper-class life in Victorian Wilmington; and Bellamy Mansion (1859), one of North Carolina’s most spectacular examples of antebellum architecture.
The town is also known for its film industry and production studios, one of the largest on the east coast, which have produced over 500 movies and TV series.
Previously known as the ‘Hollywood of the East’ – competition is fiercer now with states like Georgia and New York offering significant tax breaks to movie-makers – ‘Filmington’ or ‘Wilmywood’ was turning out several films a week as recently as 2015, as well as long-running TV series such as Dawson’s Creek, One Tree Hill and
Under the Dome .
Visitors can learn all about this industry, and visit some of the locations in the films made there, by joining a guided tour. We stop at places that appeared in Blue
Velvet ( with Nicholas Cage and Isabella Rossellini), We’re the Millers (Jennifer Aniston), Empire Records (Renee Zellweger),
The Hudsucker Proxy (Tim Robbins and Paul Newman) and many others.
The film tour – at just $13 it’s great value – starts out from the River District, a booming part of town with popular coffee shops and fine-dining restaurants.
Another film made in Wilmington was the Robert de Nero classic, Cape Fear – which is also the name of the river on which visitors can enjoy a pleasure cruise and dinner and moonlight sailings.
A trip with local operator Wilmington Water Tours reveals the extent of the changes taking place on Wilmington’s waterfront, where restaurants, rooftop bars, hotels and a marina are adding a new dimension to the city.
Rivers & beaches
The Cape Fear river, lined by 1,000-yearold Cypress trees, passes through a key conservation area. We see bald eagles and an osprey nest, high atop a telegraph poll, although the manatees and blue dolphins that are sometimes seen in the river remain elusive.
Wilmington’s third main draw card is its beaches. Just 30 minutes from downtown and located on a barrier island separated from the mainland by the Intracoastal Waterway is Wrightsville Beach.
Once a summer retreat accessible only by boat and steam train, today it’s popular for its restaurants, shops, pubs and resorts such as the beach-facing Blockade Runner. It’s also the beach for water sports like surfing, paddle-boarding and kayaking.
Nearby Carolina Beach has a popular boardwalk with food stands, live music, art festivals, an amusement park, aquarium and more, while Kure Beach is close to Fort Fisher State Historic Site, a Civil War-era fort. Summer festivals and events are held at Kure Beach Ocean Front Park & Pavilion. discoversouthcarolina.com; visitnc.com