Week 2:
Life Outside the Lab

June 4, 2022

This week has been quite a bit different compared to last week. Because of some complications with Covid-19 amongst the lab, I ended up having to work remotely for the majority of the week. On occasion, Willa (an intern from Vermont who I’ll be working with quite a bit) and I went to the lab in the mornings briefly to check up on some ongoing shrimp experiments we were doing, but besides that, I worked primarily from home. Although it was a bit of a bummer to have to work from home, this week gave me the opportunity to really explore what Georgetown and Pawley’s Island have to offer.

If I’m not working, there’s a real good chance you can find me at the beach! Even after my two weeks of being here, the water has gotten so much warmer that it’s almost a no-brainer on what to do during my free time. There are a few beaches nearby that are pretty good, but Pawley’s Island seems to be the best. With it being less than a ten-minute drive, it’s easy to get a group of people together to play some sand volleyball or just go and hang out. Pawley’s is also usually pretty quiet compared to other beaches. Once you get up near Myrtle Beach though, it starts to get crammed from all of the tourists, so Pawley’s has been the place to go so far. Also, being from Iowa, I have to take advantage of the beach as much as possible before the summer ends!

One thing about this area that I particularly enjoy is the number of soccer leagues and pickup games around Georgetown. There’s a really nice sports complex (Stables Park) about 15 minutes from my dorm that hosts a few adult leagues every weekend and games on weeknights, which is really convenient. Over this past weekend, I met a few locals at a pick-up game and heard about a pretty competitive adult league that’s starting soon, so that’ll be an awesome way to keep me busy on the weekends. It sounds like most of the games are played at Stables Park, but a few of them might be up in Myrtle Beach or potentially down in Charleston (a little over an hour away), which would be fun as well.

Another cool part of the area is that because Georgetown is such a popular place to retire, there are golf courses everywhere. And when I say everywhere, trust me I mean everywhere! There’s gotta be at least 10 courses on Pawley’s Island alone, and a good portion of them are open to the public as well. I met a group of guys around my age at that same pick-up game last weekend who like to golf as well, so it seems like I’ll definitely be trying out a few of the courses nearby over the rest of the summer. Most of them also have some pretty good student discounts as well, so that’s always a plus.

As a whole, this week has definitely given me some time to explore what sort of things there are to do around here in the evenings and on the weekends. I’ve met some pretty cool people outside of the lab as well, which has been awesome. A lot of interns working at the lab haven’t been here super long, so knowing people who have lived here and can point out some cool spots to visit is exciting.