Myrtle Beach -- known to many as 'America's Beach Playground' -- is one of the most popular family vacation destinations in the U.S.
Famous for its 'Grand Strand' -- a 100-km strip of white sandy beach with nary a cloud, a boat or an island dotting the horizon to disrupt the view -- it's not hard to see why.
Boasting 14-million annual visitors, a wealth of history, a never-ending amount of things to see and do, Southern hospitality and cuisine that can't be beat can be found any way you turn along the beautiful South Carolina coastline.
One of the main reasons for Canadians to trek south of the border to Myrtle in the month of March is the CanAm Days festival -- an annual week-long celebration hosted by Myrtle Beach to honour the area's annual crop of northern visitors. The ones they so fondly refer to as 'our Canadian snowbirds' in that unmistakable thick and slow Southern twang.
Myrtle Beach's nearest neighbour is a town by the name of Conway -- a 17th-century settlement nestled on the Waccamaw River, littered with Civil War reminders and remnants of its rich colonial history.
Quaint and quiet, the streets of Conway are lined with alternating American and Canadian flags during CanAm days and it doesn't take long to track down a few fellow-Canucks, such as Bob Jarrett and Mel Beatty from Ontario -- big grins on their faces, telling tale after tale of the many things that keep them coming back to Myrtle Beach year after year.
Brookgreen Gardens and the Huntington Sculpture Gardens Tour will truly take your breath away. And with a $12 admission that's good for seven days, you'll have time to see all the sculpture, horticulture and history you could dream of.
Considered one of the seven wonders of South Carolina, four former rice plantations have been combined to create the Huntington Sculpture Gardens. Opened to the public in 1932, the gardens now house more than 1,200 sculptures that stretch as far as the eye can see. There's also the Lowcountry History and Wildlife Preserve. And, most remarkable of all, the Lowcountry Trail and Ricefield Overlook -- a boardwalk stroll that will leave you standing in the exact spot where, a mere 200 years ago, thousands of enslaved Africans worked the rice fields.
For another history lesson on the controversial pre-Civil War South, visitors can take a walk through Litchfield Plantation. Established in 1750, Litchfield was one of the largest and most prosperous rice plantations in the 'Low Country' of South Carolina.
The old plantation house built in 1750 still remains, but is now a charming country inn resort offering Southern hospitality at its finest.
If a beachfront hotel on the strip is more your thing, the Anderson Ocean Club is a reasonably priced, full-service, five-star family hotel in the heart of the Grand Strand, with rooms ranging from studio-size to three-bedroom.
For the discerning business traveller looking for luxury tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Myrtle Beach, the Marina Inn at Grande Dunes is an unexpected gem.
Set adjacent to the picturesque Intracoastal Waterway, the rooms at Marina Inn go from the modest-yet-magnificent Mediterranean Club Suites to four-bedroom luxury, with stunning views of the water and surrounding golf courses.
Though the golfing in Myrtle Beach is world renowned, the links aren't the only place for the big kids to go out and play.
Top-of-the-line rollercoasters, state-of-the-art attractions and interactive amusements are all found at Hard Rock Park. It's the world's first rock'n'roll theme park and the first new major attraction to be built in the U.S. in nearly a decade.
The 20th Annual Run to the Sun Car Show is another must-see pit-stop on the CanAm Days schedule, featuring more than 2,500 cars and trucks and attracting more than 80,000 visitors every year, with muscle cars and street rods bearing plates from as far away as Saskatchewan.
And don't forget The Carolina Opry's presentation of Calvin Gilmore's Good Vibrations Show. The song and dance montage of music from the '60s, '70s and '80s is family entertainment at its finest.
And if you think the kids won't dig it, ask them how they feel about the famous foursome of teen heartthrobs known as All That, who tap-danced their way to the top in 2006 on NBC's hit show America's Got Talent.
Whatever your pleasure, rest assured Myrtle Beach is not just for retirees and golfers. With an uninterrupted beach longer than California's, weather far more reliable than in Florida, and a plane trip that's just a skip over the border from Canada, Myrtle Beach is the perfect getaway destination for vacationing travellers of all ages.
Y'all should see for yourself now, y'hear?
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder