Often I get asked why I would ever come to Myrtle Beach in February — something we have done for five straight years. There’s no easy answer but let me just give you a look at the day I had Saturday and why to me that more than justifies a trip to Myrtle Beach.
It started with me participating in the annual Winter Run in North Myrtle Beach. I met UK fan Paul Rogers, owner of Fleet Feet stores in North Myrtle Beach and Pawley’s Island, on a trip to the beach and he helped get me registered for the run.
Participants have a choice of a 5K (3.1 miles) or 15K (9.3 miles). I could go 9.3 miles but worried that I might make everyone wait way too long for me to finish. Instead, I enjoyed the 5K that ran partially on Ocean Blvd. and finished in a respectable 37 minutes, 38 seconds for me — which was 83rd out of 147 finishers.
But what I loved was how welcoming everyone made me feel before, during and after the race. It was just like being gin Danville listening to runners share their stories and everyone knew Paul.
There’s just something about watching the sun come in at the ocean and it was a gorgeous day. That’s why I decided to head out to the beach when I got back to our resort.
I always love walking on the beach, especially when I can collect shells like I did today. With it being a holiday weekend, there were a lot of folks also on the beach, especially near Myrtle Beach State Park — about a 1.3 mile walk from our resort.
But the best part was I got to see dolphins and horses.
Two local residents had their horses out at the beach — something that is allowed at this time of year. The state park offers an organized horse ride to the beach but these young women lived here and said they come out a few times per month because the horses like the water.
Both horses went right into the “cool” water with no problem and do like playing in the waves just like most of us do (when the water is warmer).
After I spent about 15 minutes talking with them and watching the horses play, I started back and four dolphins were putting on a show. They would swim one way for about 200 yards and then turn around and come back. They continued to do that for about 15 minutes and they came to the surface a lot.
It didn’t take long for a lot of folks to gather to also watch the dolphins.
So give me a chance to run/walk with the sun rising and then see horses and dolphins at the beach in 65-degree weather and you know why I am here in February.
