Newspapers / The Brunswick beacon. / May 21, 1992, edition 1 / Page 84
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Coastal Tours Begin In Calabash Country BY TKRRY POPE P:rhaps coastal tourists arc just pressed for time. Or maybe they tint] the ocean waves Ux> relaxing for further trav el. Determined to prove that there's more to do at the coast than just soak up the sun. Nancy Rhync serves as tour guide and local histo rian in charting trips for the curious and adventuresome in her new book published this March by John F. Blair of Winston-Salem. ITic first of 13 lours outlined in Ms. Rhvne's book. Touring the Coastal South Carolina Back roads . begins not in South Carolina but at Calabash in Brunswick County. After all. the quaint "Seafood Capital of the World" is often the first stop for many who visit both coastal stales in search of restau i rants with fresh seafood served i "Calabash style." It is her eleventh book, but one gets the impression that the writer had fun gathering material this | time. She proves there is more to i the coast than just surf and sand: ; there are barrier islands, marshland, forests, rivers and farmland thai should be explored, and all within a short drive. A longtime low country resident and well-known storyteller, Ms. Rhync has visited libraries and traveled country roads for nearly 30 years to gather information for her bixiks. Her attempt is to give readers a taste of the variety of people, places and lifestyles of the coast. Aside from South Carolina's Grand Strand attractions, the two slates have very similar environments. Much of the low country's past revolved around the old plantations BOOK REVIEW Touring the Coastal South Carolina Backroads BY NANCY RHYNK that had their golden days about 150 years ago. For architectural buffs, historians and folklore enthu siasts, the tours on Ms. Rhvnc's agenda hold a bit of interest for all ages. "Indeed, every backroad in the low country seems to have a planta tion gate, an old church, an eerie graveyard or an interesting house, each with a story to tell," she states. Tjuts range from 25 blocks of the old historic homes in Charles ton. S.C., to 140 rural miles. She had to pick and choose where her paths would lead, but began the trail on N.C. 179 in Calabash. Calabash Onward The 56-mile 'Calabash to Bucks port Tour" starts on N.C. 179 and River Road in the restaurant village "considered the gateway to South Carolina's Grand Strand." she notes. It then heads to Marsh Harboui Gull Links ai Calabash, to Little River. S.C., and then inland to Conway and Bucksport. Locals and visitors will want to read Ms. Rhync's interesting ac count of how Calabash got its name and of the still-uasolved mystery surrounding the late comedian Jim my Durante's famous closing line. "Goodnight. Mrs. Calabash, wher ever you are." The book also explores why the town has become a mecca for seafood lovers and the history of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. including how i! brought improved drainage to land now used for farm ing. residential development and golf courses. There arc photographs of the shrimp trawlers docked along the Calabash River and of golfers in action at Marsh Harbour Golf Links, hailed by its pro upon open ing as the most scenic of the 1 (X) plus courses along the Grand Strand. "He was probably right," Ms. Rhyne notes. "When they least ex pect it. Marsh Harbour golfers may sec the mast of a sailing yacht mov ing into their fairway from among the giant oak trees shrouded in moss. The effect is startling." Marsh Harbour lies squarely on the North-South Carolina border, prompting golfers to note that on the 10th hole a good drive may pass the ball from North Carolina, into South Carolina and then back to North Carolina. Another reason lor visiting the course, the writer notes, is for a history lesson or two. The golf course lies on some of the area's most historic land. A 6(X)-pound granite monument near the clubhouse marks the spot where the historic Boundary House once SltXXI. It straddled the North-South Carolina line and is recorded as the oldest home in Horry County. S.C. Isaac Marion, older brother of Francis Marion, the legendary Swamp Fox of the Revolutionary War, was dining in the home when he heard of the Battle of Lexington. The house was also noted as a spot tor duels. Benjamin Smith, who had served as governor of North Carolina, was wounded by a bullet there. Such stories are typical of the V . I >?> FINE ART & FRAMING / v //>. / 1 * if ! / w X J \ ? ***** **& Pelican Flight by Mary Ellen Golden 600 signed & numbered prints. Image size 16x20. $50 each. EXPERT CUSTOM FRAMING ? CALABASH LOW COUNTRY STORES ? 579-6284 NANCY RHYNE'S string of coastal adventures in Touring the Coastal South Carolina Backroads actually begins in Calabash in southern Brunswick County. history and folklore Ms. Rhync mixes with the sishts for her tours. It next visits the Vereen Memorial Historical Gardens and its nature trail where N.C. 179 and U.S. 17 merge. From there, it wanders to Little River. S.C.. a small fishing village at the end of Mineola Avenue that was once a thriving port. The wa terfront section of Little River is about a block long, but it "boasts a lively collection of seafood restau rants and ticket shacks for the fish ing and sightseeing excursions that depart the docks the writer states. Ms. Rhyne carries the traveler through Horry County to Conway, noting the historic buildings there before turning south to Bucksport, a small village on the Waccainaw River, which also Hows through Brunswick County. Brunswick County visitors may also want to note Ms. Rhyne's northern Grand Strand tour, a 15 mile route that begins at Cherry Grove and travels Ocean Drive Beach. Crescent Beach. Atlantic Beach and Windy Hill Beach to view the spot that made beach mu sic famous. It ends at Singleton Swash, where perhaps a Confed erate gunpowder factory once oper ated. The chapters contain enough lo cal history and folklore to encour age persons to give up a day in the sun to tour the historic south. Ms. Rhyne's curiosity for the low coun try is contagious. Her chapters are not too heavy on detail, as other tour books tend to be. Other tours for the curious in clude: a 10-mile Myrtle Beach tour; a 43-milc southern Grand Strand tour that includes Brookgrccn Gardens and Pawley's Island; an 11 -mile Georgetown tour; a 25 mile Santee plantations tour; a 56 mile Swamp Fox lour that includes Fort Moultrie; a nine-mile Charleston driving tour; a 25-block Charleston walking tour, a 140 mile Charleston plantations tour; a 76-mile witch doctor tour of Parris Island, Fripp Island and St. Helena Island; a 36-block historic Beaufort tour, and a 27-mile Hilton Head tour. Also included is a handy list of addresses for federal and state agencies and parks where tourist in formation is available. COASTAL 'PEDIATRICS James V. Mutf.ottandM.'D., J.R.A.T. The OtiCy (Board Certified Pediatrician in (Brunszvicl^County Sfiaffotte TrofessiotiaC TCaza 5(zuij. 17 ? Sfiaffotte 754 -%l (DS (5437) I H99? THf nnuNSWICK BFACON
May 21, 1992, edition 1
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