Seriously, Folks, I Miss the Oldest Seaside Resort in America

Hubby Russell and I have now been back in N.C. (the state where we were both born) for two and a half years; though rarely a day passes that I don't think about our many friends back in Pawleys Island and Myrtle Beach.

There is so much that I miss and yearn for: the beaches, Murrells Inlet Community Theatre, Brookgreen Gardens, Georgetown Times, church, the grocery stores, even the dry cleaners--especially the places where I would run daily errands.

Oh, and I almost forgot about the restaurants. Yes, I definitely miss them.

Russell especially misses the wonderful golf courses and fusses about the local municipal golf course here--it's not quite what he is used to.

But all in all, we are completely settled in.

I've discovered that some of the things we have in common with our former residences in S.C. are, for starters, the beaches: We have two--Wrightsville Beach and Carolina Beach, and both are 12 miles away, in opposite directions of our home.

We have a major university (University of North Carolina at Wilmington) and wonderful theatre (Thalian Hall).

We are also a tourist town and in addition, a movie town, home of EUE Screen Gems Studios.

In addition, we're a port city, like Georgetown, and we have a small Coast Guard station.

We have super gyms and great nurseries and the shopping is actually pretty fine.

I'm still learning some of the back roads that the locals use.

I just discovered a really neat, humongous produce stand.

What a joy! I'm now a locavore (the new craze--eat food grown locally while helping the farmers, saving the planet and improving your health).

Sadly, our roads get just as congested as South Carolina's.

I've learned to always have a book with me in my car and a pad of paper and a pen.

There are a few outdoor markets, which I do love.

My favorite is the Downtown Riverfront Farmer's Market on Saturday where you can buy anything from goat cheese to pickled okra, flowers (cut and live plants), country eggs, jewelry and paintings all in one place. Cool!

We just got a "Living Here" pull-out guide last Sun. in the local newspaper.

I looked it over to see if there's anything I'm missing about this fine place we now call home.

But imagine my shock, when I opened the first page and saw the most interesting thing: First was an ad for rental properties, then an ad for retirement living and next -- I am not making this up -- an ad for the local mortuary!

This was all on the same page! What were they thinking? It's like 1-2-3: this is how your life will play out if you live here.

Isn't that nice and concise? I don't think so!

At least the folks at the local paper have a sense of humor.

No, honestly, I DON'T THINK they realized what they'd done.

I'll have to mention that to my new friend from church, Ben Steelman, the local paper's book editor.

He invited me recently to speak on NPR through the Prologue program and that was tons of funs.

I met some new faces, discovered some old friends and a chatted with some loyal readers who had searched me out.

That was a good thing.

But there are still days when I walk out to my porch rocker, hear the wind rustling through our huge Bradford pear and I swear it sounds like waves rushing in.

I close my eyes and wonder what's going on back at our old home--in Pawleys Island.

If I sit there and get real still, let all the distractions go away and concentrate really hard, I can see myself at the public access on Pawleys Island where I walked every day come rain or shine (and even sometimes in the rain) when possible, for over ten years.

And I can tell you, it's not the same for me. That's probably the reason I still haven't removed my Pawleys Island license plate. And guess what--I don't plan to.

I'm proud of it and right now it's the only tangible thing I've got to show and display from the oldest (and in my opinion, prettiest) seaside town in America. And I don't need a "Living Here" guide to tell me that.

Ann Ipock "Life Is Short, So Read This Fast!" www.annipock.com, amipock@ec.rr.com