The Boardwalk & Sky Wheel, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

An extra fun part of our trip to the Carolinas was visiting the boardwalk in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The boardwalk itself was narrower than I was expecting (unlike the wide venues in Ocean City, Maryland, and Virginia Beach, Virginia). It had the usual concentration of tourist dives/traps/destinations. We started from 16th Street and worked our way southward.

The quiet end of the boardwalk

One of the rooftop bars

Beach cornhole

Our main destination was the Sky Wheel, a large ferris wheel that is highly visible from most of downtown Myrtle Beach. I think the write-up from the website has a funny quote: "The SkyWheel® is not a carnival ride, but a modern, safe observation wheel towering almost 200 feet in the air. " Sorry for calling you a "Ferris Wheel!"

Our first good view

View from the base of the wheel--it doesn't fit in the frame!

We got tickets and were shortly on our way up and around. The views were quite delightful.

You can see the wheel's reflection!

The lonely pier

Nearby we saw another attraction that captured the imagination of my eldest. It was a bungee-jump ride that flings two riders up and down, as well as spinning them around and around as they go up and down. It looked horrifying to us parents but he would have gone on it if we let him.

Does not look safe to old people

Look at this instead, it is much more comforting

Some of my children decided to make faces at the camera as we rode.

Even before seeing the bungee ride, he was excited

View of the horizon

View of the chin

Caught not looking at the camera

Not fast enough to get a chin-only shot

They enjoyed looking at their antics.

They laughed at their poses for Mom, too

Enjoying some screen time

I am sorry to present one last view of the horror.

Lights coming on as darkness falls

After the ride we went for a snack. The younger ones wanted some pure sugar. Plenty of shops offer such treats. I was surprised by the newest gummy shapes.

Sharks, snakes, and sodas in the S-section

Monkees soda?

My wife and I and our eldest held out for ice cream which we found across the street at Mad Myrtle's Old Fashioned Ice Creamery. I had a brownie s'mores milkshake, which was delicious.

Mad Myrtle's

Across from the ice cream joint is a Ripley's joint that seemed less horrifying the bungee-jumping.

Horror excitement that I would go to

On our way back to the car, we stopped in the plaza by the Sky Wheel for some pictures.

Still mugging for the camera

Bungee tower and Sky Wheel

The middle of the plaza has a sculpture called Goddess of the Sea by Kristen Visbal, installed fairly recently--2018. 

Goddess of the Sea, front view

The goddess's backside

Night view of the lonely pier

As far as tourist traps go, the boardwalk at Myrtle Beach is a fun one to be caught in.