I'm not sure how we came about deciding to check out this shopping center developed around a man-made lake on the far Northside of Myrtle Beach, almost into North Myrtle Beach. I know we had to have passed it several times on previous visits to Myrtle but didn't really notice it. Probably because from the street (U.S. 17/Kings Highway), there is nothing that screams "stop and check me out."
But Lee Ann was still in need of filling out her Christmas shopping list, and based on what we could determine while perusing out the lineup of stores and eateries while checking out the site online, we figured it was worth a visit. We thought she could score some success stopping there, and at the very worst, we could find at least one agreeable place to grab lunch.
It didn't occur to us that the major reward for going there -- in addition to the very photogenic opportunities beyond the front facade -- would be a small coffee shop, Cafe de Paris, that actually faced the main highway -- so technically, one could argue it should have been hard to have missed when driving by -- but turned out to be our last stop before heading back to the resort. It was a classic case, at least for Lee Ann, of saving the best for last. That's the cafe's exterior in the photo leading off the post.
Lee Ann raved about her coffee from this cafe. She enjoyed it so much that we made a second trip north to grab another one, although she also had shopping to do at the Disney Store at the nearby Tanger Factory Outlet Center.
The first five photos below are from inside the cafe. Below them begins an exploration of the rest of the grounds. For the full gallery of images taken at the shopping center, click on the link in this sentence.
The shopping development calls itself Barefront Landing on the Waterfront, so I wanted to try and represent my photo display with some good images reflecting the water aspect of the landscape. Above is an enclosure that I assume is open during warmer weather seasons; it was not open when we were there. Below, a perspective of the seats along the wooden access.
Above: A look across the lake to the other side of the shopping center, although the foliage on the right does a good job obscuring most of it. Below, a bridge to the other side on the north end of the development.
Anchor establishments Landshark Bar and Grill (above) and Ron Jon Surf Shop (below).
Above and next four below: A review of the wild and sea life I came across while at Barefoot Landing.
Above: If the lake wasn't enough to create atmosphere, there are smaller water areas with fountains at a couple points elsewhere on the grounds.
Above: This was one of the first photos I took after we arrived and parked. I loved the visual of the tree shadow fitting just inside the street confines. Above: The grounds were dressed for the season. This is one example; you'll see others later in the post. Above and below: I'm not planning to present a lot of pictures of shops, because there were scores of them at Barefoot Landing. But because I'd never come across a store devoted exclusively to things in the color purple, I made these photos. Unfortunately, I did not make it inside.
Above: This is one of several open areas sprinkled throughout the grounds. The lake is in the background, and a tall resort is in the far background. Above and below: Christmas Mouse? I don't know. I did step inside, but only briefly while looking for Lee Ann. She told me later she'd been inside but left summarily after seeing a tree bedecked with stuff devoted to a repulsive individual whose name I will not mention here. I didn't blame her.
Above: Another open area that gives you an idea of the shopping center's layout.
Above: I presumed that in warmer weather, the carousel above operates to entertain children accompanying their shopping parents. But it wasn't operating the day we were there, even though the temperatures were in the 60s.
Above and below: One interesting perk (to me, anyway) of Barefoot Landing is the Crooked Hammock brewery, the entrance of which is above and one of the seating areas shown below. Being on a mission to photograph, I did not spend any time there, though.
These two ladies appeared to be contemplating how to set up a large checkers board in a portion of large green space on the other side of the lake near the brewery. Not far from where they were was this large chess set (below). A perspective shot of what it all looked like appears in the second photo below. Above and below: Not far from the green and the brewery and the carousel was this lawn "decoration" on the brewery's property. The trailer in the second photo below also was on brewery propoerty.
Above and below: Two Christmas tree pictures I can describe only as odd. The tree above sat in the middle of the south access to shops on the opposite side of the lake. If that wasn't peculiar to begin with, the fact that this gentleman decided to pose for me as I began to compose my photo of the tree was. I didn't ask him to, and he didn't seem like he was in a hurry to get out of the way. As for the shot of the two different-sized trees in the middle of the lake below ... well, maybe you could understand why I toss that in the "odd" category. Or perhaps there's a story about them I simply didn't come across while I was there.
While there were quite a few shops on the west side of the lake, there wasn't anything in particular that jumped out at me as photogenic. I present the above shop to represent the whole lot, and the market and grill below to represent the nourishment establishments. Above: This massive, oversized chair sat outside the Lankshark Bar and Grill. Note the catch phrase "Let the fin begin" on the lip of the seat.
Next: TicketReturn.com Ballpark, home of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans Class A Minor League Baseball team
No comments:
Post a Comment