Stretching north out of Charleston, the South Carolina coast rambles beside the Atlantic Ocean like the crooked path of a sand crab. Webbed with inlets and marshes much of the way, it finally yawns into a long crescent dotted with beach communities.

Myrtle Beach sits smack in the middle of that crescent, known as the Grand Strand. This vacation mecca extends for about 60 miles, beginning at the North Carolina border and ending on the oak-lined streets of Georgetown. South of Georgetown begins the Lowcountry, of which Charleston is the queen.