Myrtle Beach, South Carolina - Day 4

Garmin hosted a dock 'play-aboard-my-aft deck' play date with his new buddy, Dylan!

Dylan wants a biscuit!

Who knew?!

The Intra-coastal waterway was originally built in order to be used as a secret passageway during WWII.

Myrtle Beach’s Kings Highway was an Indian trail long before European settlers arrived in the New World.  As the colonies grew, that Indian trail became the main route between north states and southern cities.

George Washington toured the area in 1791, while he was president.

Myrtle Beach’s first hotel was the Seaside Inn, built in 1901 at a cost of $3,813 for materials and labor. At first, the hotel had no plumbing or electricity and you could get three meals and an overnight stay for just $2.

There are 295.79 miles of streets inside the Myrtle Beach city limits.  That’s 1,561,782.40 linear feet, if you’re counting.

The city of Myrtle Beach has an ordinance that requires you to pre-pay for gasoline.

It is illegal for a driver to leave the engine running in an unattended vehicle or to leave the key in the ignition when leaving a vehicle unoccupied.

The city’s official reptile is the Loggerhead Sea turtle.

The number of golf courses along the Grand Strand now totals around 120.

Myrtle Beach is the birth place of Wheel of Fortune hostess, Vanna White.

Myrtle Beach received its name after the Sweet Myrtle (Crepe Myrtle) tree native to the area.

The dance called, 'The Shag" was thought to have originated on Ocean Drive in the 40's. It began as an attempt to do the Jitterbug but the Jitterbuggers had drank too much so the slowed-down version of this became known as "The Shag".

Oceanfront lots in Myrtle Beach were $25 in 1905. If you built a property for at least $500 you received a second lot for free.

The first people to arrive in Myrtle Beach were a group of Spaniards from Hispaniola in 1526 who established the first European settlement 30 miles south of the beach town called San Miguel de Cauldape; however it was abandoned one year later when the settlers returned to their homeland.

Myrtle Beach’s population is approximately 30,000 during the winter months and 350,000 during the summer.

Boiled peanuts are the official state snack food offered roadside May through November. 

There are over 1,400 restaurants in the area.

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina - Day 3

We enjoyed the Boardwalk on The Grand Strand and the beach with friends!

Moe Moon''s for lunch.

Local law enforcement on a golf cart, now that's tough?!

Nice evening at port after a great day! The forecast was for rain and it turned out to be a perfect weather day to enjoy the beach and board-walk!

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

We spent the morning touring downtown Georgetown, SC.  We stocked up on their famous cheese biscuits and had to sample the amazing pecan pie and cinnamon rolls from Kudzu Bakery.

Murals painted on the rear side of the buildings.

Ship's propeller from the 1905 wreck of the Norwegian Steamship, Lee Erickson.

Smallest park Garmin has seen....was approximately 25' x 80' 

Historic Rice Museum and Clock Tower

Lafayette Park!

Fellow Loopers leaving port, Shelly and Steve aboard the 'Pura Vida'. They have been looping since Labor Day from Michigan.

We then traveled 27 NM up the Waccama River from Georgetown to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with cypress swamps on each side of the waterway.  The water was not shallow along the way and the channel was wide.  Very enjoyable cruise..  The scenery was beautiful consisting of thick cypress trees along this entire stretch.  Much different than south of Georgetown down to Florida where the scenery was mainly grasslands. We are docked at Osprey Marina, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for a few days to relax and let a weather system blow through.

This girl born and raised in Lafayette, LA has found and cruised under the Lafayette Bridge, Georgetown, SC

Golf course along the Waccame River, SC

We saw so many Osprey nesting along this river.

I do love turtles.

Contents of the generous 'Welcome Bag' courtesy of Osprey Marina, Myrtle Beach, SC

Large gathering of fellow Loopers at port this evening at Osprey Marina, Myrtle Beach, SC. We all enjoyed Docktails and fellowship.

Evening photos from our dock.

Grilling fresh shrimp and stuffed portabella mushrooms with a backdrop of water like glass at port after a great day cruising.....Our best day yet in route.  Finally getting to settle down to what we expected cruising the LOOP would be like!