We’re starting 2020, more or less, in one of our favorite towns: Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We began the day with a return performance at a preschool, which has been hosting us every year for the past several years. It was another fun show. These kids are young but bright and attentive; the preschool seems to strike a perfect combination of healthy discipline and healthy nurturing of individuality.
Then we had to track down a tire shop to look at the right tire on our trailer, which we’ve noticed has been slowly losing air — it was almost flat last night. The first one we went to didn’t want to fool with trailers, so we found another shop (NTB) that was happy to examine our tire, even though finding a parking spot for us in their lot was a bit of a challenge. The tire could not be repaired, as it had a hole in the side; so we had to spring for a new one. At a total cost of 89 bucks, it was not as bad as we feared; and it was a swift swap, and we were on our way.
We had to put in some time, of course, at Myrtle Beach’s great beach, near the boardwalk, the obligatory Ripley’s and other such attractions. It’s off-season, so we were able to park close, and the beach was not overrun with tourists. (On the down side, it was a bit too nippy to go into the water for anyone who doesn’t have penguin DNA.)
Nearby was the Myrtle Beach Colored School Museum, a facility with a rather controversial title incorporating an outdated ethnic label, commemorating a segregated school that operated from 1923 to 1958. The school itself was razed in 2001, and there’s nothing on the site but a plaque. Fortunately, it informs you that the building was reconstructed at a site around the corner, and a museum now occupies it — thanks in part to the efforts of some of the school’s former students.
Back to the beach itself. It’s a great location to stroll and get your thoughts together. And watch the sunset. Tonight we had a full moon to keep the dazzling Ferris wheel company.
world travel with a theatrical flair 