by Jim Morekis
Motorcycle Madness
Growling engines? Spinning tires? Patriotic colors? Polished chrome? Bikini car washes? Erotic bull-riding contests? That is the spectacle known as Myrtle Beach Bike Week, one of the largest gatherings of Harley-Davidson enthusiasts on the East Coast and one of the oldest, at about 65 years.
The event has historically happened each May on the week and weekend before Memorial Day weekend, bringing over 250,000 motorcyclists and their entourages to town for 10 days of riding, bragging, and carousing. South Carolina’s lack of a helmet law is a particular draw to these freedom-cherishing motorcyclists. A few days later, on Memorial Day weekend, there’s another bike rally, this one simply called Black Bike Week. Nearly as large as the regular Bike Week, the focus is on African American riders and their machines.
Contrary to stereotype, there’s not much of an increase in crime during either Bike Week. Regardless, they are widely known as a particularly bad time to bring families to the area, and therein lies the controversy. Joining other municipalities around the nation in discouraging motorcycle rallies, the city of Myrtle Beach has enacted tough measures to force the bike rallies to leave town and make the area more family-friendly during that time. Most controversial among recent measures was a municipal helmet law, enforceable only within Myrtle Beach city limits, that was later struck down by the South Carolina Supreme Court. Other, still-standing measures include stringent noise ordinances designed to include the roaring, rattling tailpipes of pretty much every Harley ever made. The separate municipality of North Myrtle Beach, however, has made it clear that bikers are welcome there even if they’re non grata a few miles to the south.
As of now, it seems that the rallies will remain on the Strand rather than gun their collective throttle and head elsewhere, as they occasionally threaten to do when relations with local municipalities and police departments get too tense. The upshot for the nonmotorcyclist visitor? Bikers are somewhat less of a factor than in years past, and certainly local police are taking them more seriously. But the time around Memorial Day is still as crowded as ever.
Summer
Right after the Spring Bike Rally is the Atlantic Beach Bikefest (various venues), on Memorial Day weekend, much more commonly referred to as “Black Bike Week.” This event started in the 1980s and is spiritually based in Atlantic Beach, formerly the area’s “black beach” during the days of segregation. It sees over 200,000 African American motorcycle enthusiasts gather in Myrtle Beach for a similar menu of partying, bikini contests, cruising, and the like. While the existence of separate events often reminds some people of the state’s unfortunate history of segregation, supporters of both Bike Week and Black Bike Week insist it’s not a big deal, and that bikers of either race are welcome at either event.
Kicking off with a festive parade, the 50-year-old Sun Fun Festival (various venues, www.grandstrandevents.com), generally held the weekend after Memorial Day weekend, signals the real beginning of the summer season with bikini contests, Jet Ski races, parades, air shows, and concerts galore.
The City of Myrtle Beach Independence Day Celebration (www.cityofmyrtlebeach.com, free) each July 4 weekend is when the largest number of visitors is in Myrtle Beach. It’s fun, it’s hot, there’s fireworks aplenty, and boy, is it crowded.
Fall
For a week in mid-September, North Myrtle Beach hosts one of the world’s largest shag dancing celebrations, the Society of Stranders Fall Migration (www.shagdance.com, free). Head up to the intersection of Ocean Drive and Main Street to hear the sounds of this unique genre, and party with the shaggers at various local clubs. If you don’t know the steps, don’t worry—instructors are usually on hand.
There’s another, smaller Harley riders’ rally the first week in October, the Fall Motorcycle Rally (various venues, www.myrtlebeachbikeweek.com, free).
Thanksgiving Day weekend, when the beaches are much less crowded and the hotels much cheaper, is the South Carolina Bluegrass Festival (2101 N. Oak St., 706/864-7203, www.aandabluegrass.com, $30 adults, $20 ages 6-13, free under age 6), a delightful and well-attended event at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, celebrating the Appalachian music tradition in a coastal setting with some of the biggest names in the genre.
Shopping
Shopping on the Grand Strand is strongly destination-oriented. You tend to find shops of similar price points and merchandise types clustered together in convenient locations: Upscale shops are in one place and discount and outlet stores in another. Here’s a rundown of the main retail areas on the Strand with some of the standout shops.
BROADWAY AT THE BEACH
The sprawling Broadway at the Beach (U.S. 17 Bypass and 21st Ave. N., www.broadwayatthebeach.com, hours vary) complex has scads of stores, some of which are quite interesting and rise well beyond tourist schlock. There are maps and directories of the site available at various kiosks around the area.
One of my favorite shops is Retroactive (843/916-1218, www.shopretroactive.com), a shop specializing in 1970s and 1980s styles and kitsch, with some of the best (and wittiest) pop-culture T-shirts I’ve seen. The owners are frank about their continuing obsession with ’80s hair bands. Another awesome T-shirt and trinket shop that the kids and teens will particularly enjoy is Stupid Factory (843/448-1100). The kids—and those with a sweet tooth—will go crazy in the aptly named It’SUGAR (843/916-1300, www.itsugar.com), a store dedicated to just about any kind of candy and candy-themed merchandise you can think of, from modern brands to retro favorites. If the packaged or bulk varieties don’t float your boat, you can design your own massive chocolate bar. And, of course, this being Myrtle Beach, there’s a Harley Davidson (843/293-5555) gift store with Hog-oriented merch galore.
The bottom line on Broadway at the Beach, though, is that it’s made for walking around and browsing. Just bring your walking shoes—the place is huge—and keep in mind that there’s not a lot of shade.
BAREFOOT LANDING
There are over 100 shops at Barefoot Landing (4898 U.S. 17 S., 843/272-8349, www.bflanding.com, hours vary) in North Myrtle Beach—as well as one cool old-fashioned carousel—but perhaps the most unique spot is T.I.G.E.R.S. Preservation Station (843/361-4552, www.tigerfriends.com, hours vary), where you get the opportunity to have your picture taken with a live tiger or lion cub. This is the fund-raising arm of a local organization for conservation of the big cats as well as gorillas and monkeys, so the service isn’t cheap. Portraits begin at about $60 to pose with a single critter and go up from there depending on the number of animals you want to pose with. However, you don’t pay per person, so the whole family can get in the shot for the same price as a child. It may sound like a lot of money, but this is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. An attendant takes the animal of your choice out of a spacious holding area, places it on your lap, and a photographer takes the shot. Sometimes you can hold a milk bottle to the cub’s mouth. If you don’t want to spring for a photo, you can just watch the frolicking (or more often, slumbering) cubs up close from behind a transparent wall. They’re unbelievably cute, as you can imagine.
Just relocated to the Strand from their grape yards in Chester, South Carolina, is Carolina Vineyards Winery (843/361-9181, www.carolinavineyards.com). Buy wine as a gift, or taste any seven of their labels for only $3.
There are magic shops, and then there are magic shops. Trickmaster Magic Shop (843/281-0705, http://trickmastermagicshop.com) is definitely the latter. Packed in this relatively small space is just about every legendary trick and trick deck known to the magician’s art, along with a cool variety of magic books teaching you, in deadly serious fashion, the innermost secrets of the trade.
THE MARKET COMMON
The Market Common (4017 Deville St., www.marketcommonmb.com, hours vary) is an ambitious residential-retail mixed-use development opened for business on the site of the decommissioned Myrtle Beach Air Force Base. While its location near the Myrtle Beach International Airport means it’s not exactly amid the sun-and-fun
action (possibly a good thing, depending on the season), the very pedestrian-friendly development style and tasteful shops might provide a refreshing change of pace.
There are three dozen (and counting) stores, including Anthropologie, Williams-Sonoma, Copper Penny, Chico’s, Brooks Brothers, Fossil, Banana Republic, Barnes & Noble, and Jake and Company (“Life Is Good”). There are plenty of restaurants, including Ultimate California Pizza and P. F. Chang’s, and a large multiplex movie theater.
For those interested in how the sprawling old base was closed in the 1990s and repurposed so completely, there’s interpretive signage all around the pedestrian mall and along the roadways leading to it. At the Market Common’s entrance is Warbird Park, a well-done veterans memorial featuring an Air Force A-10 attack aircraft, an F-100 Super Sabre, and a Corsair II.
MALLS
The premier mall in the area is Coastal Grand Mall (2000 Coastal Grand Circle, 843/839-9100, www.coastalgrand.com, Mon.-Sat. 10am-9pm, Sun. noon-6pm) at the U.S. 17 Bypass and U.S. 501. It’s anchored by Belk, J. C. Penney, Sears, Dillard’s, and Dick’s Sporting Goods.
Your basic meat-and-potatoes mall, Myrtle Beach Mall (10177 N. Kings Hwy., 843/272-4040, http://shopmyrtlebeachmall.com, Mon.-Sat. 10am-9pm, Sun. noon-6pm) is anchored by Belk, J. C. Penney, and Bass Pro Shops.
the innovative repurposing of the Myrtle Beach Air Force Base as The Market Common
DISCOUNT BEACHWEAR
Literally dozens of cavernous, tacky, deep-discount T-shirt-and-towel type places are spread up and down Kings Highway like mushrooms after a rain. The vast majority of them belong to one of several well-established chains: Eagles Beachwear (www.eaglesbeachwear.net), Whales (www.whalesnauticalgifts.com), Wing’s Beachwear (www.wingsbeachwear.com), and Bargain Beachwear (www.bargainbeachwear.com). These are the kinds of places to get assorted bric-a-brac and items for your beach visit. The quality isn’t that bad, and the prices are uniformly low.
OUTLET MALLS
There are two massive Tanger Outlets (www.tangeroutlet.com) at Myrtle Beach: Tanger Outlet North (10835 Kings Rd., 843/449-0491), off Kings Road/U.S. 17, and Tanger Outlet South (4635 Factory Stores Blvd., 843/236-5100), off U.S. 501. Both offer over 100 factory outlet stores of almost every imaginable segment, from Fossil to Disney, OshKosh B’Gosh to Timberland. Full food courts are available, and many folks easily spend an entire day here.
For years, busloads of hard-core shoppers from throughout the South have taken organized trips to the Grand Strand specifically to shop at Waccamaw Factory Shoppes (3071 Waccamaw Blvd., 843/236-8200). Their passion hasn’t abated, as new generations of shopaholics get the fever to come here and browse the often deeply discounted offerings at row after row of outlet stores. There are actually two locations, the Factory Shoppes themselves and the nearby Waccamaw Pottery (3200 Pottery Dr., 843/236-6152). Bring your walking shoes (or buy some new ones at one of the many shoe stores), but don’t worry about getting from one mall to the other—there’s a free shuttle.
Sports and Recreation
Myrtle Beach’s middle name might as well be recreation. While some of the local variety tends toward overkill—I personally loathe Jet Skis, for example—there’s no denying that if it involves outdoor activity, it’s probably offered here. For general info, visit www.grandstrandevents.com. For municipal recreation info, visit www.cityofmyrtlebeach.com.
ON THE WATER
Beaches
The center of activity is on the Strand itself: miles of user-friendly beaches. They’re not the most beautiful in the world, but they’re nice enough, and access is certainly no problem. In Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach, you’ll find clearly designated public access points off Ocean Boulevard, some with parking and some without. Both municipalities run well-marked public parking lots at various points, some of which are free during the off-season.
Dog owners will be pleased to know that May 15-September 15, dogs are allowed on the beach before 9am and after 5pm. September 15-May 15, dogs are allowed on the beach at any time of day.
Restrict your swimming to within 150 feet of shore. Surfside Beach to the south is a no-smoking beach with access points at 16th Avenue North, 6th Avenue North, 3rd Avenue North, Surfside Pier, 3rd Avenue South, 4th Avenue South, 13th Avenue South, and Melody Lane.
Surfing
There’s a steady, if low-key, surf scene in Myrtle Beach, despite the fact that the waves are not really that good and the sport is restricted to certain areas during the busy summer season. The rules are a little complicated.
In Myrtle Beach proper, surfing is only allowed April 15-September 15 daily 10am-5pm in the following zones:
• 29th Avenue South to the southern city limits
• 37th Avenue North to 47th Avenue North
• 62nd Avenue North to 68th Avenue North
• 82nd Avenue North to northern city limits
Up in North Myrtle Beach, surfers must stay in the following zones May 15-September 15 daily 9am-4pm:
• Cherry Grove Pier
• 6th Avenue North
• 13th Avenue South
• 28th Avenue South
• 38th Avenue South
Down at Surfside Beach, surfing is restricted to the following zones, year-round daily 10am-5pm:
• 12th Avenue North to 14th Avenue North
• Melody Lane to 13th Avenue South
The oldest surf shop in the area, south of Myrtle Beach in Garden City Beach, is the Village Surf Shoppe (500 Atlantic Ave., 843/651-6396, www.villagesurf.com), which has catered to the Strand’s growing surf scene since 1969. Nearly as old is the Surf City Surf Shop (1758 U.S. 17 S., 843/272-1090; 3001 N. Kings Hwy., 843/626-5412, www.surfcitysurfshop.com) franchise in Myrtle proper.
Diving
Diving is popular on the Strand. As with fishing, many trips depart from Little River just above North Myrtle Beach. Offshore features include many historic wrecks, including the post-Civil War wreck of the USS Sherman offshore of Little River, and artificial reefs such as the famed “Barracuda Alley,” teeming with marine life, off Myrtle Beach.
Coastal Scuba (1901 U.S. 17 S., 843/361-3323, www.coastalscuba.com) in North Myrtle is a large operator, offering several different dive tours.
Parasailing, Windsurfing, and Jet Skis
Ocean Watersports (405 S. Ocean Blvd., 843/445-7777, www.parasailmyrtlebeach.com) takes groups of up to six people on well-supervised, well-equipped parasailing adventures (about $50 pp), with tandem and triple flights available. Observers can go out on the boat for about $20. They also rent Jet Skis and offer “banana boat” rides ($15) in which a long—yes, banana-shaped—raft, straddled by several riders, is towed by a boat up and down the beach.
Downwind Watersports (2915 S. Ocean Blvd., 843/448-7245, www.downwindsailsmyrtlebeach.com) has similar offerings, with the addition of good old-fashioned sailboat lessons and rentals ($16). Parasailing is about $65 per person for a single ride, banana boats are $16 for 20 minutes, and Jet Ski rentals are about $100 per hour.
Farther up the Strand in North Myrtle, between Cherry Grove Beach and Little River, you’ll find Thomas Outdoors Watersports (2200 Little River Neck Rd., 843/280-2448, www.mbjetski.com), which rents kayaks in addition to Jet Skis and pontoon boats. They offer several Jet Ski tours ($75-125), including a dolphin-watching trip, as well as all-day kayak rental ($45 pp).
Fishing
Most fishing on the Strand is saltwater, with charters, most based in Little River, taking anglers well into Atlantic waters. Tuna, wahoo, mackerel, and dolphin (not the mammal!) are big in the hot months, while snapper and grouper are caught year-round but are best in the colder months.
A good operator up in Little River is Longway Fishing Charters (843/249-7813, www.longwaycharters.com), which specializes in offshore fishing. Another in the same area is Capt. Smiley’s Inshore Fishing (843/361-7445, www.captainsmileyfishingcharters.com). Fish Hook Charters (2200 Little River Neck Rd., 843/283-7692, www.fishhookcharters.com) takes a 34-foot bo
at out from North Myrtle Beach.
For surf fishing on the beach, you do not need a license of any type. All other types of fishing require a valid South Carolina fishing license, available for a nominal fee online (http://dnr.sc.gov) or at any tackle shop and most grocery stores.
Cruises
Except in the winter months, there are plenty of places to cruise in the Strand, from Little River down to Murrells Inlet, from the Waccamaw River to the Intracoastal Waterway. The Great American Riverboat Company (8496 Enterprise Rd., 843/650-6600, www.mbriverboat.com) offers sightseeing and dinner cruises along the Intracoastal Waterway. Island Song Charters (4374 Landing Rd., 843/467-7088, www.sailingmyrtlebeach.com) out of Little River takes you on sunset and dolphin cruises on the 32-foot sailboat Island Song.