| Birthplace
of Wheel of Fortune star Vanna White, Myrtle Beach is a brazen splurge
of seaside
fun, an unmitigated stretch
of commercial development twenty miles down the coast from the
North Carolina border at the center of the sixty-mile "Grand Strand." Predominantly
a family resort, it's packed fit to burst during mid-term vacations
with leering, jeering students in fluorescent beachwear - if you've
seen the movie Shag , you'll know what to expect. Fans of crazy
golf, water parks, factory outlet malls, funfairs and parasailing
will
be in heaven, and the beach itself isn't bad. The widest stretch
is at
North Myrtle Beach, a chain of small communities among which Ocean
Drive is the center and Atlantic Beach is exclusively used by African
Americans.
South
of Myrtle Beach lie Murells Inlet , a fishing port with lots
of good fish restaurants, and Pawleys Island , a secluded resort
once
favored by plantation-owners and today retaining a far slower
pace than its neighbors. Between the two on Hwy-17 is the beautifully
landscaped Brookgreen Gardens (summer daily 9.30am-9.30pm; rest
of the year 9.30am-5pm; tel 1-800/849-1931), a former
rice
and indigo plantation with an outdoor display of American figurative
sculpture, and the setting for many of Julia Peterkin's novels
of gullah life. There's also a wildlife sanctuary, where you're
likely to spot alligator and deer, and an hour-and-a-half boat
tour around the area. Hostels in Myrtle Beach |
ROOMS USA
