myrtle beach

This week I travelled to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to visit my friend Mary. Mary and I met at the gym when Mark & I first moved to Virginia and we soon became friends and "scrapbooking buddies". (Mary taught me everything I know about scrapbooking!) Mary & her husband Kevin (a keen golfer) bought a holiday home just north of Myrtle Beach 4 years ago and this year decided to make a "sea change" and move permanently from Virginia to Myrtle. I decided this was a perfect opportunity for me to catch up with a dear friend, see another part of the country and get in some sun, sand and surf - the latter of which I haven't seen for 3 years. We spent a wonderful 5 days, chatting, relaxing, scrapbooking, dining out and (of course) going to the beach. Although I love the mountains, snow and scenery here in Utah it was great to feel the humidity, smell the salt air, feel the sand between my toes and swim in the surf again.

A huge stretch of the coastline along the Carolinas (both North and South) is made up of a long stretch of sand "islands" with a marshy inland waterway separating the ocean side from the rest of the mainland. There is a lot of boating traffic moves up and down this Atlantic Intracostal Waterway so many of the bridges that cross the waterway contain a center section that is "opened" on the hour to allow boating traffic through. (see pic below)

Looking across the dunes towards the many holiday homes that stretch along the oceanside at Sunset Beach.

The beach was quite busy with families on their summer vacations. In the car park there were license plates from Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and even Michigan.

Yes that small dot in the water is me, enjoying a refreshing swim in the surf. The water was actually quite warm.

We also went for a couple of evening walks after dinner along the beach. Sunset at Sunset Beach -what more can I say?