Yep I’m actually setting down here to write a post about my time in South Carolina. My beautiful young bride and I have been back for a few weeks now (and no this isn’t as timely as it should be) but time spent in new and exciting areas seems to linger on as long as we let it. Memories and photos of relaxing getaways should be held on to, well forever!
We have some resort property we purchased a few years ago through Marriott Vacation Club, specifically Ocean Watch Villas at Grand Dunes in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. This makes our second visit in the last 3 years with a stay last year in Vail Colorado. A little perk of being able to trade your home base for another one of many locations through the U.S. and world for that matter made it an attractive option for us. Our 7 day stay the end of September was full of sun, sand, salt water, plenty of seafood and good amount of sight seeing. Of course I made many trips out with camera in hand to see what I could find to capture my attention for photos.
Up each morning before sunrise was easy for me but wasn’t totally necessary since we could watch the sunrise over the Atlantic from bed and that is cool, but there is nothing like the early light approaching while standing with the sand between your toes and hearing the gentle roar of the waves rolling on the beach. One thing that was different this time was a good amount of cloud cover in the mornings which made for much more subdued sunrise color compared to our last visit but I didn’t let that stop my enthusiasm for being their.
© Brad Mangas
I found a nice area just down the shoreline that I could get behind the wonderful sea oat covered dunes to make a few images from. I can only speak from my experience of this area but the beaches are lined with beautiful dunes and one of my favorite photo subjects, grasses and in this case as I stated the grasses are sea oats. These sea oat covered dunes serve more than just aesthetic appeal they are very important in the aid against storm waves and erosion so if your ever there what ever you do, stay off the dunes as you will be reminded by the many signs telling you just that.
© Brad Mangas
Never feeling a rush to take a shot, a lot of time was spent just wondering around enjoying what I don’t get to see on a regular basis. From time to time I can get somewhat antsy and think I have to be in some kind of rush when trying to capture a specific moment but that was not the case while strolling the beach I was very content just being there and knew the most important part was enjoying just that, if I could take a few pictures that would be a bonus. Of course a bonus I planned on working on none the less.
© Brad Mangas
The area heading south out of Myrtle beach is part of what’s known as the Grand Strand, this area actually consists of over 60 miles of beach from north of Myrtle Beach down to the historic port city of Georgetown. One of the hot spots along this stretch is Murrells Inlet probably known best for it restaurants but there is a nice pier that one can view some of the marsh land and watch a few smaller boats come and go.
One of our days was spent in the historic port town of Georgetown we were even lucky enough to get a private morning boat tour by boat of some 3 hours and over 40 miles with Captain Rod of Lowcountry Plantation Toursin his smaller personal boat. That was followed later in the day with a Shell Island Tour on the bigger tour boat. It was during that boat ride back that the image of the sailboat was taken in the previous post.
© Brad Mangas
We explored the inland rivers that are lined with among other things, old rice plantations and beautiful scenery along every inch. One thing that was exciting was seeing many bald eagles along the way. I had brought along my camera (of course) outfitted with a 17-50mm lens so closeups of such things wasn’t going to happen but it didn’t stop me from pointing the camera their way.
It was a week of fun and relaxation with a healthy dose of exploring thrown in. Pictures were many and memories precious as it should be. Here are a few more of the pictures worked up and there will be more I’m sure I will have to work up. As I stated in the last post this is a busy time of year in these parts with the Autumn season moving in fast. Most of my time in the next few weeks will be spent out in search of the colors of the season. This mornings low was in the low 30’s so the leaves will be changing fast and the winds will be blowing them away even faster.
© Brad Mangas
© Brad Mangas
© Brad Mangas
© Brad Mangas
© Brad Mangas
© Brad Mangas
© Brad Mangas
© Brad Mangas
You were able to get some wonderful images on your vacation. We know a few folks that go down to South Carolina each year and they always enjoy themselves. It’s such a beautiful area.
Thank you Ken, we started learning much about the history of the low country around Georgetown. I have a feeling we will visit often for years to come.
Awesome review, I love your site.
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