Quick Trip to the Coast

While we still have a couple of weeks until Christmas, I feel like it's all happening tomorrow!  One of my all time favorite things about the holidays are the lights!  There's just something about it being chilly/cold outside, wearing layers of warm clothing, grabbing a coffee and going to look at all the Christmas lights.  My love of lights is what took me to Brookgreen Gardens in Murrells Inlet, SC to see Night of a Thousand Candles.

Our trip began at Huntington Beach State Park.  It was raining and cold but we put on our rain gear and off we went to explore Atalaya Castle.  This is a beautifully unique castle and was built in a U shape for Archer and Anna Huntington.

After a quick bite to eat and checking into our hotel (I've fallen in love with Holiday Inn Express!), we got ready (and by ready I mean added another layer of clothing under our rain gear) and headed to Night of a Thousand Candles at Brookgreen Gardens.

Night of a Thousand Candles!  Night of a Thousand Candles!  Where do I start?!?!?!  If you haven't been you need to drop everything that you are doing, purchase your tickets in advance and head to Murrells Inlet next weekend to see all the lights (& sculptures!)!  Warning:  Photo overload below.

Night of a Thousand Candles was from 3p-10p.  We arrived when it was still light out so I could see and read about the sculptures.  These sculptures are a dream and a talent I can't even comprehend!

Saturday morning we drove over to All Saints Church to visit the grave of Alice.  Have you heard the story of Alice Flagg?  Well (short version) she falls in love with a man who she is forbidden to marry, she becomes secretly engaged to him only for the ring to be discovered by her family.  She is forbidden to marry her one true love (the man is instructed to leave & never come back and her engagement ring is thrown in the ocean).  She dies a short while later some say from a broken heart.  She still haunts the coast looking for her ring.  Of course, being so close to her grave I had to visit.

I had read/was told that if you were wearing a ring and walked backwards around her grave 3 times, on the third time Alice would tug on your ring.  Well of course this didn't happen, but it was fun(ish) to do.  We walked around the rest of the cemetery and it is truly beautiful.

We made a quick drive through Pawleys Island Historic District...

Since we weren't far, we decided to head to Georgetown to explore a little before heading back home.  Georgetown is such a great place!  We started with the Georgetown Visitor's Center, where Susan (such a nice lady) talked/joked with us, told us about some great things to do while in Georgetown, and where to get some yummy lunch.  Our next stop was to the Georgetown County Museum.  This museum is full of great artifacts from different time periods in Georgetown's history.  This museum is a must see when visiting Georgetown.  We then decided to walk through the historic district where it is full of cute shops and places to eat.  When we were parking the vehicle, I noticed that there was a Tomlinson's.  There is a Tomlinson's where I grew up but haven't been to the store in years so I thought it would be fun to make a quick stop just to look around.  Well I didn't make it past the entryway!  A book signing was taking place at Tomlinson's and guess who the author was?????  Sherman Carmichael!  Have you read his books (Eerie South Carolina, Forgotten Tales of South Carolina, Strange South Carolina, Legends and Lore of South Carolina, and UFOs Over South Carolina)?  I had read all of them except UFOs Over South Carolina (we purchased the book and had him sign it at the book signing).  We had a great hour long conversation with him talking about the supernatural, the unknown, time travel and our unexplained experiences.  It was a pleasure meeting Sherman and having the opportunity to have such a great conversation with him.  If you haven't read his books you need to!  After leaving Tomlinson (even though I could have seriously talked with Sherman for the rest of the day), we stopped into Castaways for a quick bite (get the burger, you won't be disappointed!) for a late lunch then hit the road back home.

While it was a quick road trip, it was jammed back full of fun and really great people meeting!

Happy Travels,
Amber