Issue 14, August 27, 1996
Hurricane Edouard is out in the Atlantic Ocean, 305 miles northeast of Puerto Rico. Winds have slowed to 130 mph, and the storm is moving WNW at 15 mph. It's still too early to say where it's headed, but the U.S. East Coast sure looks like a target. By late this week or the weekend, we should have an idea of where it will strike.
The Grand Strand Seniors for the Performing Arts will present The Good Doctor on the weekends of Sept. 20 and 27. The play will be performed at the Grand Strand Senior Center, 21st Ave. N. in Myrtle Beach. Friday and Saturday performances will be at 8 PM, Sundays at 3 PM. Admission is $5.
The Good Doctor is a series of stories by Anton Chekhov, converted for the stage by Neil Simon. Tickets are available at the Grand Strand Senior Center and all Chambers of Commerce. For further information, call the Senior Center at 626-3991.
(Thanks to a reader for the above info. Remember if you have any information about Myrtle Beach you'd like to share, contact me at bgrimsle@mbsc.com and I will include it in the next issue.)
Numerous boat tours are offered along the Grand Strand. At the docks on Front Street in Georgetown, Captain Sandy runs a number of excursions. The nighttime ghost stories tour is at 8 p.m. on Thursdays. A shell-collecting expedition to Shell Island is at 10 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and lasts five hours. Boat tours featuring the lowcountry plantations around Georgetown are at 1 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and last three hours. Tickets are $15, $25, and $18 respectively for the three tours, with reduced admission for children under 13. Call 803-527-4106.
Also in Georgetown, the Island Queen departs at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. from the Georgetown Landing Marina. The evening expedition features ghost stories. Call 803-527-3160.
Captain Dick in Murrells Inlet also offers a number of boating expeditions. Fishing trips to the Gulf Stream, cruises featuring nature, sightseeing, and even pirates, a fast-paced speed boat trip, and parasailing are among the choices. Call 803-651-3676 for all the details.
Further west in Socastee on S.C. Highway 707, the Southern Star tour departs from the Wacatee Zoo. The same company operates the Barefoot Princess from Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle Beach. Day, sunset, and dinner cruises are offered on both ships; call 803-650-6600 for all the details.
If you visit Brookgreen Gardens just south of Myrtle Beach, in addition to the outdoor sculptures, you can take a 45 minute trip among the ricefields on the Springfield. Besides admission to the gardens themselves, the boat tour costs an additional $5, $2.50 for children. Four or five trips are offered daily between 11 a.m. and 7:15 p.m. Call 803-237-4218.
If you don't mind really traveling a distance from the Grand Strand area, you can explore the unpopulated Bull Island in the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge. Travel to Moore's Landing on US 17 about 75 miles south of Myrtle Beach, and the Island Cat will take you to the island for a 3 to 3.5 hour stay. If that's not long enough, an all-day trip occurs every Thursday at 9 a.m. The regular tours are Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday at 9 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Tickets are $20, $10 under 12. 803-881-4582.
Looking for a really deluxe tour? On selected days of the year the Hurricane leaves Vereen's Marina in North Myrtle Beach (on US 17) and either spends the entire day cruising down to Georgetown and back, or sails south on the first day, docks for the night, and heads back the next day. The tour begins at 8 a.m. Breakfast is provided (but not other meals). After arriving in Georgetown, visitors are taken on a bus tour of the historic district. Overnight accommodations are at a local hotel, or, at a higher cost, a bed and breakfast inn.
Remaining day trips this year are October 16 and November 12, and are $70. The overnight cruises are September 18, October 3, October 30, November 6, November 14, November 27, December 11, and December 18, and are $130 (hotel) or $150 (bed and breakfast). You can take day trips on the days of the overnight cruises; you will be bussed back to North Myrtle Beach.
The Hurricane also takes 2.5 hour dinner cruises up the Intracoastal to the Little River Inlet, and daytime trips along the waterway and out to ocean. Also offered at this marina are fishing and scuba diving expeditions. Call 803-249-3571 for all prices and times.
In Little River, the fishing fleet will take you out for half or full day fishing trips ($24 - $65) or just sightseeing for the day (Saturdays, $60). 803-249-1100.
If smaller vessels are more to your liking, you can go on a kayak trip, courtesy of Wind N Sea Wail and Paddle Sports in Cherry Grove. The salt marshes and Wacammaw River near North Myrtle Beach are explored. A half-day tour is $40, while a full day is $65 and includes lunch. Call 803-272-4420 for more information.
Major sand renourishment is coming to the Grand Strand starting just after Labor Day. Details in the next issue.
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