For some people, going on a family vacation means Tahoe or Hawaii. For me, it means Pawley’s Island, South Carolina.
Pawley’s Island is one of the best-kept secrets on the East Coast, and my family and I go there for a week every July. We all love it, because no matter how old or young you are, there is something close by that will interest you.
This little-known vacation spot is home to 176 people and covers an area of about two square kilometers. The island  itself is surrounded by the warm Atlantic Ocean on the east and a salt marsh on the west. Located between Myrtle Beach and Charleston on South Carolina’s Grand Strand, Pawley’s Island is famous for endless supplies of fresh, local seafood, ghosts, golfing and a beautiful landscape filled with ancient oak trees covered in Spanish moss.
For someone looking for a more relaxing time, there is plenty to do without having to leave the island. The beaches are never crowded, and it would be a surprise to have to set your blanket up right next to someone else. This makes for a great reading and sunbathing environment. I always bring at least two books with me and lots of sunscreen. The scorching heat and high humidity can be pretty intense, but luckily the water is only a few feet away. If you want to test out your sea legs, there are several surf shops as you cross the bridge to the mainland, where you can rent surfboards and Jet Skis.
Two bridges hover over the salt marsh, connecting the island to the mainland. The bridges are the hot spot for fishers at high tide. They line up and compete for the seemingly infinite amounts of flounder passing through the marsh, which they then sell to the local fish markets in town. Most of the houses on Pawley’s have a wooden walkway stretching out over the marsh. Ours has a covered patio at the end with a metal crab trap, which allows the crabs to crawl in but not out. Usually once during the week we walk out in the morning, put some meat in the trap and throw it into the water. When the sun sets, we go out and pull up the trap, which is filled with blue crabs that we cook and eat for dinner.
My and my little sister’s favorite thing to do at Pawley’s Island is night crabbing, which is not the same as using a trap. To be a successful night crabber, you need a bucket, a net with a long handle and a flashlight. You also have to be brave, quick and cunning. Once the sun has gone down and it is completely dark outside (around nine or so), you grab all of your supplies and go down to the beach. There are white crabs that run from their burrows in the sand to the water where they eat all night long, only to return the next morning to make a new burrow. You run the flashlight along the sand until you see one. The crab will freeze in the light and hope you don’t see it. You keep the light on the crab as you run up, catch it with the net and put it in the bucket. It may sound easy, but those crabs can be tricky. They have huge claws that pinch really hard, and when you get close to them they hiss and spit at you. When they see you coming they run in all different directions, sometimes right at you. They are not the kind of crabs that you eat, though, so we catch them, show them off to the rest of the family at home and then let them go on the beach.
If you are going to go out at night, it is best to take someone along with you. According to legend, ghosts live on the island. The “Gray Man” is the most famous of them. His story dates back to the 1820s, when a wealthy young planter was on his way to propose marriage to his lover and was thrown off his horse into quicksand and died. Two days had passed when his girlfriend was walking on the beach and saw a gray figure. As she got closer, she realized that it was her lover. The figure had disappeared by the time she reached it, and that night she had a horrible nightmare that she was swept to sea by a storm. She and her family left the island right away, and narrowly escaped a fatal hurricane. Some 35 years later, the Gray Man was seen again, only to be followed immediately by the great hurricane of 1893 that destroyed Magnolia Beach just north of Pawley’s. The Gray Man has been spotted once more, this time in 1989, just before Hurricane Hugo.
If you happen to see the Gray Man, it is probably a good idea to leave the island, but if you are just looking for some harmless excitement, Myrtle Beach is the place to go. Just 30 minutes north of Pawley’s Island, Myrtle Beach is home to amusement parks, water parks, aquariums and a plethora of shops, restaurants and more than 100 golf courses. Spots my family and I are always sure to hit are the Broadway at the Beach outlet mall, Hard Rock Café, Ripley’s Aquarium and the beautiful oak trees at Brookgreen Gardens.
The great part about Pawley’s Island is that it can be whatever you want it to be. It is never crowded, and is a great place to enjoy the company of your family without the hassles of being at home. Whether you want to ride waves or rollercoasters, lie on the beach or run around and catch crabs, Pawley’s Island provides the perfect atmosphere for any family looking to get away.
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