VEREEN GARDENS (Day 4 - part 2)

We entered into North Carolina and drove through Calabash to the town of Sunset Beach.

We stopped briefly at the Carl Bazemore Bird Walk at Twin Lakes. Unfortunately we spotted neither birds nor gators.

Overlooking East Lake (West Lake was about a mile away) ... A dragonfly

We saw something moving among the reeds ... but it turned out to be a turtle.

Golfers playing right along the shore of a lake known for its alligators.

We took a short stroll at Sunset Beach Park down to the Intracoastal Waterway.

To the right is the Intracoastal Waterway

We returned to South Carolina and decided to do an afternoon wine tasting.

The Duplin Winery first began as a vineyard growing muscadine grapes in the 1970s in Rose Hill, North Carolina. Normally, the fruit was sent to a winery in New York. But when the grape market crashed in 1975, the owners had no real choice other than to start making wine on their own. After much success, Duplin opened a second branch here, in North Myrtle Beach.

The original winery is located in Duplin County, which is not on the coast. So why a lighthouse? The lighthouse is the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse located on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It was first lit in 1803 and is the tallest brick lighthouse in the US, measuring 198.49 feet tall. It first appeared on a custom label for a wine created especially for a chain of Outer Banks grocery stores. The symbol eventually just kinda stuck for the winery as well.

Setting up for our tasting

We got to sample many different wines and ...

... even got a "score sheet" to keep track of the ones we liked best.

Along with having such a cute label, this one numbered among my favorites!

Next came a wine slushie! Delicious!!

This was Berry Bliss but there were many other different flavors!

Afterwards, we sat on the outside deck enjoying more slushies. Perfect for a warm day!

A Peach Bellina and a Raspberry Mango Lemonade

There were numerous shopping and entertainment areas in the Myrtle Beach area. Today, we went to Barefoot Landing.

Barefoot Landing is a large shopping complex surrounding Louis Lake. Originally this was a residential area with its own private marina. In 1972, it added several shops known as Village of Barefoot Traders. In 1988, the area was rebuilt and expanded into Barefoot Landing. Interestingly, several unexploded bombs were discovered during construction. These were remnants from when the land was part of a bombing range for the military.

It was amazingly deserted!

No gators or snakes ... just turtles ...

... and an anhinga

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