Day 18 - Georgetown to Myrtle Beach - Two Far 2022 - Reunion Bound (the long way around)

April 27, 2022

Day 18 - Georgetown to Myrtle Beach

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We rode from Georgetown to Myrtle Beach today. That persistent moderate headwind we can't seem to shake was back again, but the weather was otherwise just perfect. There was no repeat of the torrential rain and strong thunderstorms we rode through on this route in 2019.

Our first stop was at the Hobcaw Barony. It has an interesting history.

The Baruch home and some of the estate buildings are open for tours by reservation only, so we chose not to do that. We had a very good time exploring the visitors center. Belle Baruch, who created the foundation to preserve the land for research and education - and to prevent any commercial development - was quite a woman. She was an award winning equestrian, a pilot and a dedicated outdoorswoman. She also used her intimate knowledge of the Barony's coast to come to the aid of the FBI during WWII.

We decided to ride out to Pawleys Island today. It is a quiet, peaceful, very laid-back tiny beach community. I think that there are only two commercial properties on the island, both old historic inns. There are a number of rental homes, but none of the huge garish places found on nearby beaches. Pawleys Island is known for the rope hammocks created by a local riverboat captain in 1889 and still made and sold by his descendants and also for Palmetto pimento cheese, which I believe to be the only store bought pimento cheese fit to eat.

The Pelican Inn is still run as a bed and breakfast.

The beach cottages are mostly small and not newly built.

This is what a big beach house looks like on Pawleys Island.

The waterway which separates the island from the mainland is Salt Marsh Creek. This is where owners and guests dock their boats.

Heading on north from Pawleys Island, our route took us off US 17 for several miles. This was so nice - very little traffic and clean, smooth, unbroken pavement

You may be able to see the bike path on the far right. The road was so nice, we didn't use it.

Now, we get back to US 17, but have the Waccamaw Neck Bikeway to use. It did not have clean, smooth, unbroken pavement. It was twisting, with blind curves and rough, irregular pavement. We went from trail to road to trail to road, trying to decide which was worse. The road finally won out. Fortunately, we had only a short distance to go.

It looks pretty, but it wasn't a comfortable ride.

Just after our last stop of the day, we saw two cyclists and stopped to talk. They are from Quebec and with their moderate English and my limited French, we managed to communicate pretty well. They are from the small town of Sainte-Adele, which we visited in 2017 on the way to see our friends Jacques and Lise. Linda and Raynald are traveling in the southeast with their travel trailer and were out for a bike ride today.

The last little beach town before Myrtle Beach was Surfside Beach. It was very clean and well-kept with many smaller homes and condo developments.

We'll be here in Myrtle Beach for two nights. Neither of us can remember why we planned a rest day after just having a day off in Georgetown. It must have been due to availability of hotel reservations or an upcoming ferry schedule. For whatever reason, we're going to enjoy a day relaxing here tomorrow. We might even get out on the beach.

Today's ride: 40 miles (64 km)
Total: 665 miles (1,070 km)

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