They like to call this 42-mile expanse of Atlantic beachfront the Grand Strand, an appellation that makes Myrtle Beach sound sedate, proper, Victorian. Parts of it are anything but.
The ’70s metal band KISS has opened a coffee shop here. Nevermind the KISS signature grinds; it’s the establishment’s architecture that percolates interest. What self-respecting head-banger wouldn’t be drawn into a building hedged by gigantic replicas of the group’s signature elevator boots, one of which snorts smoke out of its dragon-like nostrils?
Nearby, the party crowd converges on Senor Frog’s, a Mexican chain of bars that earned notoriety among spring-breakers in places such as Cancun and Cabo. A few well-directed steps away looms the pyramid-shaped, Pharaoh-bedecked Hard Rock Cafe Myrtle Beach.
You’d think these three hot spots might be part of the scene at the 55-acre music-themed Hard Rock Park, which opened here in May to a volley of media coverage. But they’re not. They’re 3 miles away at an outdoor shopping/dining/entertainment/hotel complex almost seven times larger than Hard Rock Park: the 350-acre Broadway at the Beach.
Only weeks into its incarnation, Hard Rock Park is as predictable as Keith Richards’ next wrinkle, as tiresome as a Grace Slick interview. Its theming is dominated by the notion that rock ‘n’ roll began with the Beatles, peaked with Jim, Jimi and Janice, and ended with the Ramones.
On a purely practical note, Myrtle Beach and its vacationers stand to benefit from an infusion of small- to mid-sized stages for resurrected acts such as KC & the Sunshine Band and emerging artists such as Singleton and Need to Breathe. After all, the Grand Strand’s other show-biz enterprises already are occupied by Dixie Stampede, the Carolina Opry, Legends in Concert, Medieval Times and so forth.
So Hard Rock Park’s four performance venues — the largest can pack 10,000 — serve a need. And if concertgoers can ride a roller coaster or two, catch a family-friendly beach-party show and tank up on coffee and pretzels while they wait for the curtain, there’s no harm done. The $50-a-pop admission (plus $10 parking fee) covers all concerts except for biggies such as The Moody Blues and the Eagles, which command higher ticket prices.
People coming to Hard Rock Park for a concert stand a good chance of getting their money’s worth. But despite the park’s blistering Led Zeppelin-The Ride coaster — pumping 1,200 watts of “Whole Lotta Love” per ride — and beyond the psychedelic, black-light, 3-D effects of the laid-back journey through Knights in White Satin-The Trip, anyone looking for over-the-top themed rides and attractions had better be ready for a road trip: 475 miles south of here to Orlando. On the Thursday of Memorial Day weekend, and with a big motorcycle convention in town, Hard Rock Park was almost as empty as the rack of “Free Air Guitars” that stands just inside the park entrance.
Myrtle Beach-goers who enjoy midway rides and water slides will be satisfied with Family Kingdom, an amusement and seaside water park where patrons may pay per ride; buy an all-day pass to the amusement park for $23 or the water park for $18; or get a $32 combo pass for a full day in each park.
Or there’s the aforementioned Broadway at the Beach, pegged as South Carolina’s best travel destination by the state’s Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism. In addition to the KISS Coffeehouse, you’ll find:
– Ripley’s Aquarium: The Believe-It-or-Not museum chain gets you up close to rays, sharks and such.
– MagiQuest: a 20,000-square-foot interactive fantasy involving unicorns, dragons and a magic wand that makes it all happen, yours to keep.
– The Palace Theatre: Live shows include the acrobatic review “Le Grande Cirque” or “The Magical Spirit of Ireland” presented by Spirit of the Dance.
– IMAX 3D Theatre.
– A 16-screen cinema with stadium seating.
– Dragon’s Lair Fantasy Golf, a miniature golf course.
– The Pavilion Nostalgia Park, good for kiddie rides.
– The 23-acre Lake Broadway: feed the fish, ride the pedal boats, catch the water taxi, watch the dancing fountains.
– A hundred-and-some shops.
– A bunch of restaurants, pubs and snack bars.
– Three chain hotels.
– Fireworks.
Over at Coastal Grand Mall, there are kiosks where you can have a water massage while remaining dry and fully clothed, get your teeth whitened or sit for a reflexology session.
Around the rest of Myrtle Beach are miniature golf parks set with dinosaurs or pirates or elephants; big-box souvenir shops sporting playful whales or angry sharks or giant crabs on their roofs; pizza joints; strip clubs; bars; golf courses; a speedway; and lots of palm trees — just like most any other beach with mass appeal. And speaking of the beach, there’s enough soft sand to satisfy the most ardent sand baby.
But if there’s one attraction that puts the Grand back in this Strand, it’s a sculpture park called Brookgreen Gardens. This is the sort of place art students would expect to sketch on summers abroad in Europe — except that this National Historical Landmark constitutes what is considered to be the nation’s largest and most comprehensive collection of American figurative sculpture, with more than 1,200 works.
On grounds that once included four plantations, walkways now guide visitors through landscaping that frames the sculptures with floral displays, moss-hung tree branches or neatly trimmed hedges. There’s a Sculptor in Residence program, and, for the public, sculpting and drawing workshops are held through Brookgreen’s Center for American Sculpture.
Now that rocks!
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tsalama@tribune.com
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IF YOU GO
GETTING THERE
By car: Myrtle Beach, S.C., is about 950 miles southeast of Chicago via a series of Interstate highway connections.
By air: Round-trip fares between Chicago and Myrtle Beach are running in the $550-$650 range through August. But in that same time frame, you can cut those fares in half by flying into Charleston, S.C., instead. Because you’ll want to rent a car when you get there anyway, driving the 100 miles between the two places will save considerable cash.
GETTING AROUND
Most hotels, restaurants and attractions are strung along U.S. Highway 17 and Business 17, a.k.a. King’s Highway, between Pawleys Island and Little River. The remainder are accessed from U.S. Highway 501.
STAYING THERE
If you’re going to come all this way to the beach, you want to get a place on the oceanfront. Even during the peak months of July and August, you can do that through the major travel-search engines for about $160/night, maybe even less if you’re willing to stay in an older property such as Caravelle Beach Resort or Grande Shores Ocean Resort, where I spent two nights booked through Orbitz. This is also a good place to check out vacation rentals. Agencies such as Dunes Realty (888-889-0312; www.dunes.com) can put you in an oceanfront condo starting from about $900/week.
DINING OUT
All the locals will send you to Angelo’s (21st Ave. South at King’s Highway; 843-626-2800; open for dinner only) for what everyone says are the best steaks on the beach. After slicing into their $24, 14-ounce rib eye, I have to say that the local advice is worth heeding. If you are comforted by eating from a familiar menu, then you’ll thrive on the abundance of chain restaurants here. Mexican food puts me in my comfort zone, which I found on the $10 enchilada plate at Abuelo’s (740 Coastal Grand Circle, at Coastal Grand Mall). I wish I’d been in town long enough to try Collector’s Cafe (7740 N. King’s Highway.; 843-449-9370), an art gallery known for its Mediterranean cuisine.
INFORMATION
Contact the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce: 800-356-3016; www.myrtlebeachinfo.com.
— Toni Salama
