Charleston, SC Area and up to Myrtle Beach
 

Headed to Charleston in a week for a few days and might go up to Myrtle Beach for one of the days.

Welcoming any interesting ideas of things to do, see and eat in and around or along the way to these places. We like off the beaten path/local type of stuff.

We go to Litchfield just south of MB, and never go to MB!!
There is a LOT to do.
Head up route 17 and peek in at the SeeWee for an order of fried pickles or good shrimp.
There are several old plantations south of Georgetown that maybe Sue can fill in. They are not the fine and restored ones that are around Charleston.
Stop in Georgetown and look along the waterfront. It is a Revolutionary War era town with lovely homes.
Then stop in Pawley's Island and go over to the beach and look at the historic district there where the rice planters from Charleston went for the summer to escape the malarial mosquitoes.
There is good fun shopping at several places in Pawley's on the mainland (the beach is on an island out from Route 17). There is the Hammock Shops and then there are the shops at the Mole Hole.
There are myriad good places to eat in Pawley's. For lunch you might enjoy Roz's in the Hammock Shops, or the Island Cafe and Deli in the Mole Hole shops. There are LOTS of others also.
Then on up the road about 8 miles is Brookgreen Gardens. It is a beautiful garden and sculpture and art "exhibit" on the grounds of an old plantation. It was given by the Huntingtons who lived in the house, Atalanta, across the road, and where Anna Huntington did her massive metal sculptures. It is a VERY interesting and odd piece of architecture!! There is also Huntington State Park where you can see alligators, and other wildlife, and have a nice stroll on the beach.
Then just a bit up the road from Brookgreen is Murrell's Inlet which is home to the most and best seafood restaurants (maybe outside Charleston). there is a nice boardwalk along the inlet. REALLY good fried and fresh oysters.
There are several places to eat right on the water.
Then if you need to, MB is about 20 minutes further up the road.
There are two outlet malls--one in North MB and one on 501 toward Conway.
MB is nothing but traffic and gridlock.

Thanks for all the info. Really only wanted to go up to Myrtle Beach just to say we've been there. Also, we are beer drinkers and I found a few breweries in the area.

Litchfield is the area to go to the beach? Is it a small town?

Is Fort Sumter worth the time and money?

We do want to go to one plantation during our visit. I'd rather see one that has not been turned into such a tourist trap refurbished sort of place.

Have info on Drayton and Magnolia. Magnolia seems expensive. Drayton says it is the oldest unrestored.

I would go to Middleton. Your comment on the plantation is a little harsh, to me. They are FAR from tourist traps. And there is a cost to upkeep on something 200 years old and with many acres of land.
Now Myrtle Beach--THERE is a tourist trap, since you mention it!!
You can go to the beach over on Pawley's where there is a public walk through to the beach.
LItchfield is a gated community in Pawley's. It just happens to be where we have a place. You can maybe get in at North Litchfield, but probably the nicest place available would be Huntington State Park. The shelling is pretty good on their beach. Or you could go on the beach at Atalanta, the house I mentioned.
I think you'll have to answer the Ft. Sumter question. It really depends on your interests, doesn't it?

Gretchen is giving some good advise. Ditto on stopping at SeeWee - in addition to what was mentioned, don't leave without trying the hush puppies - best you will ever have.
Also ditto on Gretchens description of Myrtle Beach. Also, if you visit Georgetown, you can take an inexpensive one hour tour that we found to be quite informative.

Following is an edited version of a visit to Boone Hall, located just outside of Charleston just off of Route 17. It is from my TR which covers some of the same ground that you will be traveling. Speaking of Rt 17, stop at one of the roadside stands and treat yourself to a sweetgrass basket. They are special and a local craft.

Boone Hall is a working plantation in that they actually use their fields for growing produce that is sold to the public as well as a demonstration cotton field.... [We] paid our entrance fee and obtained a time for the house tour, a tour that was ok but not much more. The [present]house is not particularly old, but it does have some interesting furniture and artifacts. They also have an enclosed butterfly garden that we looked forward to seeing, but it only had at most a dozen butterflys of what seemed to be only one species. So far it sounds that our impressions of Boone hall are negative. Not so. There is much to learn at the plantation. First, after visiting the house, we headed over to a row of preserved slave quarters. These are made of brick and housed the more "important" slaves such as those with special skills such as carpentry and those who worked in the house. Each of the 9 small slave quarter buildings had a display with recorded narrative of elements illustrating a slave's life and of the Gullah culture. Since we were interested in Gullah sweetgrass basketware, we particularly enjoyed learning from one display of historical basket designs. There was also a woman who was making baskets and we watched her work, asked questions and learned some more about the technique and background of the craft. The absolute highlight of the plantation visit was a 1/2 hour presentation of Gullah (apparantly a shortened form of Angola the ancestral home of most Gullahs - the slaves from there being more valued than from other places because of their knowledge of rice cultivation)culture. The presenter was Jackie, and she was brilliant. Even if the plantation had nothing else to offer, Jackie's presentation was more than worth the price of admission.

Ah, yeah. If you want to avoid a tourist trap, skip Myrtle.I agree with all the recs above.

Drayton House is my favorite plantation since it's been maintained (not restored) in its original state. That's what it meanss by oldest restored.

Middleton has beautiful camellias but it's a little early for them to start blooming. None are cheap, since it costs to keep them all up. At Middleton you can pick and choose what you want to do and pay for.

Be sure to go to Closed for Business on Upper King while in Charleston. They have a huge beer selection, great food, and fun people.

Thanks for the info.

Drayton sounds like the place I'd be interested in as it is in an original (but maintained) state.

Myrtle Beach is going to be like Ocean City, MD I guess but it is one of those things my wife wants to do just to say she has been there and seen it.

Someone else on Fodor's recently described Myrtle Beach as "a commercialized sandbox with neon lights". If that still appeals to you, go for it!

I know! That was palmettoprincess-so funny.

Myrtle and North Myrtle combined are 60 miles of beautiful beaches with stacks of condos. If you like shopping there's something called Broadway at the Beach. I can't vouch for it-I've never been and I ain't goin'. I heard the Gospel Brunch at House of Blues on Sundays is good.