There are over 100 shops at Barefoot Landing (4898 Hwy. 17 S., 843/272-8349, www.bflanding.com, hours vary) in North Myrtle Beach—as well as one cool, old-fashioned carousel—but perhaps the most unique spot is T.I.G.E.R.S. Preservation Station (843/361-4552, www.tigerfriends.com, hours vary), where you get the opportunity to have your picture taken with a live tiger or lion cub.

This is the fundraising arm of a local conservation organization for the big cats (and for gorillas and monkeys as well), so the service isn’t cheap. Portraits begin at about $60 to pose with a single critter, and go up from there depending on the number of animals you want to pose with. However, you don’t pay per person, so the whole family can get in the shot for the same price as a child.

It may sound like a lot of money, but this is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. An attendant takes the animal of your choice out of a spacious holding area, places it on your lap, and a photographer takes the shot. Sometimes you can hold a milk bottle to the cub’s mouth.

If you don’t want to spring for a photo, you can just watch the frolicking (or more often, slumbering) cubs up close from behind a transparent wall. They’re unbelievably cute, as you can imagine.

Just relocated to the Strand from their grape yards in Chester, South Carolina, is Carolina Vineyards Winery (843/361-9181, www.carolinavineyards.com). Buy wine as a gift, or taste any seven of their labels for only $2.

Animal lovers—and especially their pets—will enjoy Bone Appetit Pet Bakery (843/361-4477, http://mbboneappetit.com), who bake these often ridiculously elaborate pet treats from scratch on the premises, with all-natural ingredients. You’ll want to chow down on these treats yourself, but down, boy—they’re just for Fido or Fluffy.

There are magic shops, and then there are magic shops. Conley’s House of Magic (843/272-4227, http://conleyshouseofmagic.com) is definitely the latter. Packed in this relatively small space is just about every legendary trick (and trick deck) known to the magician’s art, along with a cool variety of magic books teaching you, in a deadly serious fashion, the innermost secrets of the trade.

Toys & Co. (843/663-0748, www.toysandco.com) carries a wide range of toys and games, with an emphasis on way-cool European-style brands you won’t see at the local Wal-Mart.

My favorite place at Barefoot Landing is Dr. Root Beer’s House of Foam (843/663-5628, www.drrootbeer.com), the labor of love of Jerome Gundrum and his wife Linda. Together they craft an amazingly tangy and refreshing home-brewed root beer on the premises. They have sandwiches and treats as well, but the attraction here is that unbelievably delicious sassafras concoction, especially delightful on a blazing hot South Carolina day. Particularly fun is the Gundrums’ collection of vintage root beer advertising signs, a fun look at a slice of old Americana sadly gone by.