Hey Mary & Bob,
My ol'man was a yankee from upstate New York, in the mountains. He was stationed in the South when he was in the Navy and he never went back up north.
He told a story about getting off the bus, stopping at a diner and trying grits for the first time. He put sugar and milk in them, like cream of wheat, and the waitress said, "you must be a yankee, because you just ruined them grits". Anyone southern knows the way to eat grits is with butter and salt, maybe a little pepper.
My Mama was from Alabama. I was raised in Tampa area of Florida, which is about as far South as you can go, and still be considered a yankee, by some. So I'm Southern by the grace of God, but with enough yankee in me to be held questionable, probably.
As far as kiddin' ya - I figure y'all have it bad enough already, being from somewhere you can never find any decent grits to go with your eggs, or southern fried chicken with white flour gravy, macaroni and cheese, or fried okra for dinner, or boiled peanuts for a snack, or banana pudding or sweet potato pie for dessert. Plus, the tea don't come sweet, unless you ask for it that way, even then they're likely to give you sugar packets! So far be it from me to tell any yankee jokes! Y'all got it bad enough as it is! LOL!
Myrtle Beach State Park and Huntington Beach State Park are on the same road, about 30 miles apart, and you will come to Myrtle Beach first, so you could check them both out.
I think if you want something a little quieter, Huntington Beach would be the way to go. Part of Huntington is sort of a marshland/estuary, too. I bet it would be nice for biking. But really, they're both great parks, you can't go wrong either way.
AL