
DATE: Friday, July 4, 1997                  TAG: 9707030610

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A8   EDITION: FINAL 

SERIES: East Coast Beaches 

SOURCE: BY NIA NGINA MEEKS, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.                LENGTH:   78 lines

``REFRESHING CHANGE OF PLACE,'' MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.

If Virginia Beach is a mature, stable matron among East Coast beaches, then the Grand Strand is a young, spicy go-go girl. Recent developments there could be likened to a hormone boost.

Outlet malls with staples such as Nautica and Jones of New York emerged. Stages for acts from Alabama to Erykah Badu sprang. Golf courses swelled. Now, theme restaurants such as the NASCAR Cafe and Planet Hollywood sprout among the palmettos.

``What we have . . . attracts people who are looking for the wider variety and diversity,'' said Liz Mitchell of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce. ``We have something for every age group.''

And every age group flocks to Myrtle Beach. Tourism is the area's business and major employer for the six beaches and two islands that make up the 60-mile Grand Strand.

Much of the land belongs to a timber and development company whose roots extend to the 1800s. In the '40s, it erected a local landmark, the Pavilion amusement park. Decades later, came the area's first indoor mall. The giant - known now as Burroughs & Chapin Co. Inc. - lay still until the '80s, when it decided to capitalize on the acres it owned.

At sunset, neon rises around the Grand Strand, from Ocean Boulevard along the beach to Restaurant Row in the north.

On the Boulevard - a quasi-boardwalk - moms and pops, grandmoms and granddads walk with kids and strollers as young people cruise the strip until 2 a.m., the official quit-or-get-fined time.

In North Myrtle Beach, bold lights flag down would-be diners, flashing cuisine ranging from prime rib to sushi.

To the chagrin of some, similar signs alert visitors to other venues that lie tucked in and around the area. Those signs promise thrills at places such as Thee Doll House. Escort services providing ``golf companions'' cram the phone book, accepting most major credit cards for ``discreet and confidential'' services.

The dual glory and pain of Dixie also is on display. ``Plantation'' serves as an adjective for everything from restaurants to golf courses. Confederate flags - ``Heritage, not hate,'' one sign says - flap on T-shirts and cars.

Yet, beneath the flashy flesh of the Grand Strand beats a heart of gold. Like those who prefer Sandbridge to the Oceanfront, Myrtle Beach tourists can slip into secluded natural beauty north and south of the resort area.

The Waccatee Zoo Farm invites visitors to gaze upon the 100 or so species that were once held in a private collection.

Farther south in Murrells Inlet lies Brookgreen Gardens, an outdoor exhibit of American figurative sculpture. Marble, bronze and stone incarnations rise among the foliage and wildlife of the 9,000-acre grounds.

Even farther south sits historic Georgetown, where antebellum homes and oak-lined streets retain much of the glamor of the Old South. The Rice Museum there brings a flavor of South Carolina's past economy.

The Grand Strand as a whole is central to the state's economy, for sure. Gov. David Beasley called the area a state ``cash cow'' at a ceremony last week where he signed a roads project into law.

``We have to make sure the infrastructure needs are met so that the people down here can continue to do what they do best,'' Beasley said. ``And that is to provide good entertainment, good lodging and good care for one of God's greatest creations - that beach out there.'' MEMO: Related stories on pages A1 and A8. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

THE ``GRAND STRAND''

60 miles of beach; no continuous boardwalk

Three top attraction: the beach, golf, shopping/live entertainment

Average summer climate: 89.3 degrees

Average week's lodging family of four, $532.02

Latest attraction/newest development: Planet Hollywood, All Star

Cafe, opened by Tiger Woods, NASCAR Cafe, nation's largest House of

Blues, Easy Rider's Cafe and Ripley's Aquarium KEYWORDS: TOURISM BEACH VACATION