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South Carolina coast

If you read my recent post about planning for retirement, you know that we had a trip to the coast of northern South Carolina and the outer Banks of North Carolina planned.  That trip officially began!

Our first day was spent on the road traveling through the beautiful state of Virginia and down through North Carolina to the South Carolina coast.

Overllooking a valley

Beautiful Virginia! This is just a little north of Charlottesville.

Pawleys Island

The next morning we made the drive to our first official destination, Pawley’s Island, South Carolina.  Pawley’s Island lies 25 miles south of Myrtle Beach; it was founded in the early 1700’s making it one of the oldest resort areas along the east coast.

South Carolina coast

We took a leisurely stroll along the beach and then stopped in at the Island Bar and Grill before driving along the coast through Surfside Beach to Murrells Inlet.  Murrells Inlet wasn’t new to us and we knew exactly where our destination was….the MarshWalk!

Murrells Inlet

The MarshWalk is a 1/2 mile long wooden boardwalk along a marsh, as the name implies.  Pubs and restaurants line the boardwalk.  Music can be heard wafting through the air as visitors sit in the open air restaurants taking in the view and enjoying both the food and spirits.  Kayakers, boaters and fishermen are abundant in the marsh, but the marsh isn’t home to them alone, but other crazy things such as a paddle boat called the BrewBoat!  This is a paddle-boat filled with vacationers paddling like crazy as they enjoy their brew!

South Carolina coast

From our perch at Drunken Jack’s (where we were enjoying a delicious crab dip) we watched people taking a seadoo tour of the marsh, kayakers paddling by and boats with anglers trying their luck.  I think the anglers should have been angling closer to shore.  As I sat and watched them off in the distance, I caught glimpses of several fish jumping from the water just beyond the boardwalk!  Murrells Inlet also has it’s fair share of beautiful beach houses, which are visible across the marsh.

Visiting Pawleys Island, Murrells Inlet and Myrtle Beach. Vacation spots along the South Carolina coast! #vacation #SouthCarolina Click To Tweet

Myrtle Beach

From Murrells Inlet we drove further up the coast to Myrtle Beach and spent the night at the SeaCrest Resort in Myrtle Beach.  If you travel on a budget as we do, you can save a lot of money by being willing to give up the ocean front room with the balcony.  We opted for a room on the 2nd floor, side of the building and only paid $60 for the night.  Of course it will go up in peak season, but that is also why we travel in the off season!  The motel sat beachfront so  it wasn’t hard for us to give up the ocean view balcony room.  We could walk and be on the ocean in a couple minutes, getting some exercise in at the same time.

South Carolina coast

Myrtle Beach is a favorite South Carolina coast vacation destination, but for Paul and I it’s a little too commercialized.  We prefer more of an easy going atmosphere.

The South Carolina portion of our trip ended when we passed over the border into North Carolina.  Next stop the USS North Carolina battleship tour and then on to the Outer Banks!

Thank you for reading and sharing!

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{ 10 comments }
Nina May 9, 2017, 10:33 am

It sounds like a wonderful time. So glad you two get to do this! Enjoy!!

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Teresa May 10, 2017, 12:21 am

Thank you! We had such a good time. I wish it could have lasted longer!

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Ashley Chassereau Parks May 9, 2017, 11:28 am

I grew up in Georgetown (where there is nothing to do), so we were always in Pawley’s or Myrtle. If you are ever in Pawley’s again, I highly recommend taking a trip to Georgetown to ride on the LowCountry Plantation Tours boat. Cap’n Rod is a wonderful story teller and a sweet Christian guy! (I worked on the boat for 8 years, so I may be a little bias though.) Looks like an amazing time!! Love your photos!

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Teresa May 10, 2017, 12:20 am

Thank you Ashley! I wish I had known about the LowCountry Plantation Tours boat; I would have taken the tour no doubt. It sounds like something I would really enjoy. If I get back to Pawley’s Island I definitely will!

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Mother of 3 May 10, 2017, 4:57 pm

We just went to Myrtle beach last year and we loved it! We have yet to check out any of these other places along the coast.

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Teresa May 12, 2017, 6:08 am

I’m so glad that you were able to get to Myrtle Beach last year! We stayed in a beach house last year in North Myrtle Beach (Cherry Point) for one week in October. The summer season was over, so it wasn’t packed with people, but weather was still great. It was a family trip and we had a blast!

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Pam May 16, 2017, 10:29 am

Myrtle Beach is AWFUL. It’s gotten so commercial and the traffic is ridiculous. A friend who teaches there and lives only 5 minutes from her school and it can take over an hour for her to get home in the afternoons. Ridiculous. If you had come a bit further south, to Mount Pleasant/Charleston, we could have had lunch!

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Teresa May 16, 2017, 10:05 pm

I would love to see Charleston and would truly have loved to meet you and have lunch!

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Dianna May 22, 2017, 11:10 pm

Our favorite areas in SC are Hilton Head and Charleston, but we’ve enjoyed a couple of trips to Myrtle as well.

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Teresa May 23, 2017, 10:02 pm

I haven’t seen Hilton Head or Charleston, but I hope to get the chance one day. Thank you for reading today!

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