Around the Grand Strand...
Entertainment comes in many forms along the Grand Strand. On those days when you're not playing golf or if you and your family come here for golf combined with vacation, you have an almost endless choice of activities. Senior and children's prices are offered on most activities.
You only have to look at the Atlantic Ocean for the most obvious entertainment. The entire stretch of beach is public, and free parking is plentiful. If the sedentary life of sunbathing while reading a book isn't for you, you can rent a Jet Ski, take a sailboat ride out into the wild blue yonder or do a little parasailing. Or rent a bike and pedal along the sand with the kids on funny low-slung, three-wheel banana bikes until you've seen it all.
Of course, the ocean also provides fun in the form of fishing, whether from one of the many piers, in the surf or aboard a Gulf Stream charter boat in search of the big ones. Several charters are available in Murrells Inlet, Little River or Calabash.
Speaking of water, just wait 'til you see the giant water slides on a 10-acre water park at Myrtle Waves, off U.S. 17 Bypass at 1001 10th Street N. in Myrtle Beach. This fun is dictated by the heat of the summer season, so call (843) 448-1026 for information on hours and rates. Or visit Wild Water Waterpark and Family Fun Center, 910 U.S. Highway 17 S., (843) 238-WILD, a 16-acre park in Myrtle Beach featuring 33 exciting rides, miniature golf, video arcade, food court, picnic facilities and much more. If you tire of the water, the place to race is Myrtle Beach Grand Prix with two locations: 3201 S. Kings Highway, Myrtle Beach, (843) 238-2421; and 3900 U.S. 17 S., in the Windy Hill section, North Myrtle Beach, (843) 272-6010.
To combine some nature and education for another big splash of entertainment, take a walk on the wild side and visit Alligator Adventure for live shows with exotic wildlife including albino American alligators, giant Galapagos tortoises, dwarf crocodiles of West Africa, enormous pythons, boas and anacondas, all totaling more than 1,000 alligators and reptiles. Call (843) 361-0789 or (800) 631-0789. It adjoins Barefoot Landing, U.S. 17 N., North Myrtle Beach.
When the sun goes down, you don't have to sit around and clean your clubs to get ready for your tee time tomorrow. The fun, entertainment and enjoyment can continue when the moon comes out. The beach is alive with music at one of the many theaters. Calvin Gilmore's Carolina Opry, N. Kings Highway at U.S. 17 Bypass, Myrtle Beach, was one of the first to bring country music fans to Myrtle Beach in lieu of Nashville, and his popularity continues. Call (843) 238-8888 or (800) THE-OPRY for reservations.
The newest venue is House of Blues, where three stages showcase a variety of musical talent all night every night plus a summer gospel brunch. The fine varieties of spicy Southern food mixed with the outstanding names in music offer something for every taste and every age group. Call (843) 272-3000 or visit the web site at www.hob.com.
Legends in Concert, Third Avenue S., Surfside Beach, features impersonators of Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and scores of others barely discernible from the original superstars in live, full-stage productions. Call (843) 238-STAR.
Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede, N. Kings Highway at U.S. 17 Bypass, Myrtle Beach, is an exciting dinner theater with horses and wagons and a friendly north-south rivalry entertaining you while you feast and applaud. Try the melons for desert. New to the show recently were 7-foot-tall, 300-pound racing ostriches, which add a hilarious touch to the fun, and the food is unsurpassed. Call (843) 497-9700 or (800) 433-4401.
Fantasy Harbour, U.S. 501 (behind Waccamaw Pottery), Myrtle Beach, also features live entertainment at The Gatlin Brothers Theatre and a variety of other theaters. Call (843) 236-8500 or (800) 681-5209 for information. Medieval Times dinner theater, (843) 236-8080, also at Fantasy Harbour, provides a fine feast served by your own wench and a jousting tournament for knightly entertainment from another century.
The group Alabama appears several times each year in its namesake theater at Barefoot Landing, U.S. 17 N., Myrtle Beach. Guest performers have included Barbara Mandrel, Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, Tammy Wynette and many more of the biggest names in country music. Call (843) 272-1111 or (800) 342-BAMA for information.
The Palace Theater offers a varied list of entertainers reaching far beyond country styles. This venue at Broadway At The Beach (see subsequent mention), from 21st Avenue N. to 29th Avenue N., off U.S. 17 Bypass in Myrtle Beach, opened in 1995 with Bill Cosby, Kenny Rogers and The Righteous Brothers (not all together, of course). The Rockettes traveled here from New York City's Radio City Music Hall for a two-month-running Christmas show in 1996 and 1997. From Cats to Sawyer Brown, The Beach Boys, Johnny Mathis and Jeff Foxworthy, big-name performers and performances comprise the entertainment du jour. Call (843) 448-0588 or (800) 905-4228 for information.
You may want to add a little culture to your trip. If so, take a trip to Brookgreen Gardens, U.S. 17 S., Murrells Inlet, the world's largest outdoor sculpture garden. This beautiful slice of Lowcountry landscape features more than 500 pieces of sculpture. Wildlife and botanical gardens boast more that 2,000 different plants. Children and adults, alike, will enjoy this natural attraction. Call (843) 237-4218 for information.
Shopping is always on the agenda when you are visiting Myrtle Beach, and with the 1995 opening of the Myrtle Beach Factory Stores, U.S. 501, west of the Intracoastal Waterway, Myrtle Beach, (843) 236-5100, the variety is even larger. Other familiar places are the Outlet Park at Waccamaw, U.S. 501, west of the Intracoastal Waterway, Myrtle Beach, (843) 236-1400, and Barefoot Landing, U.S. 17 N., North Myrtle Beach, (843) 272-8349, still award winners for the bargains and variety plus proximity to theaters and children's entertainment.
Another visitor's delight is Broadway At The Beach, from 21st to 29th avenues N., off U.S. 17 Bypass in Myrtle Beach, (843) 444-3200, a unique place to eat, shop and be entertained (see previously mentioned Palace Theatre). You can spend a day or an evening here and never be finished doing it all. The $250 million complex includes more than 100 specialty retail stores and 15 restaurants (including Hard Rock Café, Planet Hollywood, NASCAR Café and All Star Café--described in the Where to Eat section that follows). It also includes miniature golf and the IMAX theater, with a six-story-tall screen and surround-sound that brings you feature films bigger than life. Ripley's Aquarium opened here in 1997 with thousands of sea creatures in a 1.3 million-gallon tank you may view from the moving sidewalk. Weekly fireworks displays and evening light shows over the lake are scheduled during summer months. Also, eight clubs within Celebrity Square have the dance floors, music and cocktails for any style you could choose. Dancin' in the street is literally encouraged here. For one admission ticket, you may mix and match any of the clubs, and street parties on summer weekends are frequent.
The Grand Strand has much to offer vacationers and residents who come here to play golf. It's possibly the miniature golf capital of the world, not to mention the ever popular Pavilion Amusement Park, 812 N. Ocean Boulevard, Myrtle Beach, (843) 448-6456, which has been spinning its Ferris wheels for years and luring every kid to rides and amusements that delight the entire family. You might go home tired, but never bored.