Visit to Myrtle Beach.... in January

Paul and I took a quick weekend trip down to North Myrtle Beach back in January. I had started a post about it and then it somehow just got left unposted. Although the finer details of the trip are faded on my memory, I wanted to share one place we visited while there.

North Myrtle Beach


After deciding that North Myrtle was fairly boring, and Myrtle Beach proper just didn't suit us for the day we drove south to Huntington Beach State Park.

The park land was once the winter home of Archer and Anna Huntington. They built their home and called it Atalaya, which means "watch tower." Their beloved sculpture garden, Brookgreen, is across Hwy 17 and is still privately held.

Here's some cool info that I've gleaned off a few sites:
-- Historical Significance: Atalaya, a National Historic Landmark, stands as monument to the creativity and generosity of Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington.

A noted scholar of Spanish culture and art, Archer Huntington modeled the couple’s winter home in the style of the Moorish architecture of the Spanish Mediterranean coast.

-- Significant Natural Features: Perhaps the best known "studiers" of wildlife at Huntington Beach State Park are the birders who for years have been coming to see some of the more than 300 species that have been recorded here, giving the park a reputation as a top spot on the East Coast.

In addition to three miles of beach, much of the park is salt marshes, one of the world’s most productive eco-systems.

Freshwater pond with native waterfowl

Much of Huntington Beach’s marsh is now registered under the South Carolina Heritage Trust Program to help preserve its unusually pristine nature.


Here are my pictures
Windows in Anna's winter art studio

Courtyard

Exterior facing the beachfront

Window detail (copper, original)

Window detail in color