Peace, Serenity and Calabash & Myrtle Beach from 700 Feet

As Bike Week drew to a close this Sunday, so to did my patience. Self-admittedly, I had been a pretty good sport with the Harley noise and even allowed myself to find thrill in it. But after seven days of continually revving throttles, I was ready for change.

The days before were spent getting property and area footage.I also stopped at Broadway at the Beach. A common attraction here, it is a contemporary carnival with rides, games and theaters. It surrounds a big lagoon with some of the largest carp, er, koi, I’ve seen.

Saturday morning had started at the Captain’s house for breakfast. Not normally a breakfast eater, I made a point of it to sample one of their highlights. The brie and bacon omelet was fairly good. It tasted like something you would make yourself. I did have to ask for some hot sauce which was surprising. Normally you’ll find hot sauce on your table in the south. Crystal hot sauce is the best standard there is! Tabasco is always good. What came my way was some Texas hot sauce. But it tasted like a good south eastern hot sauce should – vinegary, salty and more of a brow wetter and lip sizzler than mouth scorcher.

Back to today…

After checking out of my hotel-ish lodging and making my way through the throngs leaving that day, I made an inquiry in a helicopter flight. In exchange for some promotion they were more than happy to have me come along. The trick was finding a group of two instead of three, so that there would be room for me.

After some false alarms, the time had come and I got the call! I was just in time as the helicopter was loaded and blades were spinning as I pulled up. I was then shuttled to the pad with the blades buzzin overhead, strapped into the front seat and then away we went! My camera set to record, I felt the sudden thrill as the nose pitched down and we accelerated forward. Pulling over Hwy. 17 we rose to 700 feet and then out over the coastline. Yawing north we flew up the Myrtle Beach shore. Then moving westward, we could see the many golf courses, Broadway at the Beach, Hardrock Park and the stream of traffic below. The circle was then complete and we soared back down to the pad. Tada!

With the thrill in my toes, I punched in the address of my next destination into my Neverlost and away I was towards Calabash, N.C.

There was golf course and after golf course, placed upon old plantation farmland. But as the area spread itself out, there were forests hiding everything. Towering up at least 50 feet adjacent to the road, the trees provided a cozy sanctity to the area. I had some time to kill so I pulled off into a little cemetery next to farmland. I walked amongst the tombstones, noticing so many of the individuals did not live much past 50. I glanced over at the cornfields standing in sandy soil. I though of the indigo that must have been planted there ages before. The sun warmed the stones and my spirit and I head to my next destination.

It was not long that I pulled into the golf resort where I’d be shooting and staying for an eve. It was healing. The only sounds were the wind in the trees and the occasional ‘ping’ of the striking of a golf ball. I got in a run in the Carolina sun and went to Ella’s, a local landmark, for a bite to eat. Ordering the Captain’s Plate and thinking I was being healthier for ordering it broiled, not fried, the beautiful offering was placed before me. ‘Oh no,’ I thought. This gorgeousness included over 10 thick and beautiful scallops, the same number of fat oysters with no shell, around 20 little shrimp and a nice piece of fish. All of this was covered in a golden butter and flavored just right. What could one do but eat it all?!

There were little whispers of ‘you have to see this’ coming from every niche of my route home. I stopped at the docks to look at the shrimp boats. I could even hear Forrest Gump and saw Jenny. There were proud trees and water grasses along the water inlets. I found sandy roads that disappeared from the main road and wanted to know where they went. I followed one, looking into the forest thinking of the Civil War and other human history. I was happy to see an entrance to the wood. The ground was soft and leaf-covered and the canopy shifting back and forth above. Ah, I needed that. I didn’t hear a single motorcycle.