Myrtle Beach's Best Time of the Year ... Shhhhhh: Part I | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: This is the first installment of a multiple part series. The second segment may be accessed by clicking here.

We wouldn't want too many folks to know about this perfect time at the beach, for obvious reasons.

    Myrtle Beach, South Carolina's unambiguous inclusion into the vaulted "Redneck Riviera", which dots much of the Atlantic and Gulf coastlines of the southern United States, has most different rhythms at most different points of the year, irrespective of seasons. Those rhythms are controlled by two codependent, and primary factors: Population of shabbily attired tourists, and weather.

    When it comes to the weather in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, it is not totally dependent on the season, with there being many fine days strung in a row in late spring and early autumn. In late Autumn and early Spring, I have experienced good weather and less bad weather. I am have had many good days there in November and February; however, far less than the conventional best times of the year. I have even enjoyed many sunny 70 degree days during the dead of winter, sometimes strung two or three in a row, but they are rare, and, obviously, short in duration.

The day light begins on Myrtle Beach Boardwalk and Promenade this September morn: Above. The new day sun shown orange in the storefront window, there in the vicinity of the Skywheel: Below.     photos by Stan Deatherage   Click the picture to expand to as much as 1000 pixels wide within most expanded images, and then push the arrows embedded in the center edge of the play-box to access the gallery, and slide new images into viewing within the center of the screen.
    As a frequent consumer of this most exceptional location and habitat of the not so rare southern Redneck, a curious and yet most dependable of all the Southern species, I have gained knowledge of the best times to frequent this sunny home of these curious folks; remarkably, very much like myself in many fine qualities, or detriment of such, depending on your unique perspective.
In the early light of day here along the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk and Promenade there is the Skywheel and it does take center stage year round: Above and below.     photos by Stan Deatherage   Click the picture to expand to as much as 1000 pixels wide within most expanded images, and then push the arrows embedded in the center edge of the play-box to access the gallery, and slide new images into viewing within the center of the screen.
    Accordingly, from my unique perspective, we discuss one of my favored times to be there - early to mid September for a few weeks.

   Why?

    Usually, the weather is warm, but not like late June, July, or early August when it is so terribly hot during these summer months, when Myrtle Beach is inundated by tourists with school age children. At this time of the year, the children are back in school, the water temperature is still warm, but the air is more pleasant. The Summer traffic is gone, and the busy restaurants are still open, but less busy, and the beaches thinly populated by the folks who are less likely to burn their bare feet on the blistering summer sand.
Where the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk and Promenade meets the sand, sea and foam: Above and below.     photos by Stan Deatherage   Click the picture to expand to as much as 1000 pixels wide within most expanded images, and then push the arrows embedded in the center edge of the play-box to access the gallery, and slide new images into viewing within the center of the screen.

    The days, while growing shorter, are still long enough to enjoy the great outdoors in all its many resplendent guises, as if it puts on one colorful cloak for a measure, to only remove it for another, as the time of the day in this season warrant it to do so.
The beginning of a new day with the soft yellow light upon the Palmetto trees: Above. And the darkening blue light of a dying day as two friend make their way along the beach in front of the Myrtle Beach State Park serves as quite the contrast: Below.     photos by Stan Deatherage   Click the picture to expand to as much as 1000 pixels wide within most expanded images, and then push the arrows embedded in the center edge of the play-box to access the gallery, and slide new images into viewing within the center of the screen.
With Hurricane Leslie far off the coast of South Carolina the packed beach sand is cut by the advancing waves, from that far away storm, leaving a migrating ridge that will remain for the duration of this stay at Myrtle Beach. In the images that follow, we see that action noticed, and recorded, at the end of this second day, September 13, 2012, of my stay: Above and below, and the sunset, over Myrtle Beach State Park, further below.     photos by Stan Deatherage   Click the picture to expand to as much as 1000 pixels wide within most expanded images, and then push the arrows embedded in the center edge of the play-box to access the gallery, and slide new images into viewing within the center of the screen.


   To be continued on Myrtle Beach's Best Time of the Year ... Shhhhhh: Part II .