I’ll be curious to see how quickly these guys book their rentals for the week of May 9.

EagleRider, the world's largest motorcycle rental and touring company, just announced the grand opening of its first location in South Carolina. EagleRider of Myrtle Beach is now located at 1251 Highway 501 near 3rd Ave. N.

William Rock Burch, owner of EagleRider Myrtle Beach, is no stranger to the rental industry. Rock has more than 15 years of experience in car rental and currently is the president and co-owner of U-Save Car & Truck Rental. U-Save has three locations in the Myrtle Beach area and one in Greer, S.C. Rock is also a motorcycle enthusiast. He bought his first Harley-Davidson in 2000 and the rest is history. "With three annual bike rallies and Myrtle Beach being a thriving golf and beach destination, EagleRider is a perfect fit for the Grand Strand and South Carolina,” said Burch in a recent Marketwire release. “Now a visiting golfer will be able to play 18 holes in the morning, rent a Harley at EagleRider and cruise Ocean Boulevard that night. It's an awesome feeling to be able to rent someone a dream.”

EagleRider pioneered the Harley-Davidson rental concept in 1992 and today operates the world's largest motorcycle rental and powersport rental fleet from premier manufacturers such as Harley-Davidson, Honda, BMW, and Polaris. EagleRider's expansion of its franchise rental facilities targets global tourist destinations and currently offers adventure travel enthusiasts the opportunity to experience their dream vacation from rental facilities in the USA, United Kingdom, Austria, Australia, Spain, France, Ireland, Mexico, Costa Rica, and New Zealand.

Source: Marketwire

The Grand Strand offers plenty of holiday shopping options that keep you well removed from the Black Friday-type of rat race.

For starters, check out Palm Shoes & Collections, at the Woodside Village Shopping Center in Murrells Inlet:

If you’re driving to Myrtle Beach for your summer family vacation, chances are you’re coming from a state with a child booster seat requirement. Thirty-eight of the 50 states have them, in fact, including South Carolina and most of its immediate surrounding states that account for a generous portion of the Grand Strand’s 14 million annual visitors.

But the laws vary state to state, and depending on your child’s age, height or weight, what makes you legal in West Virginia can get you ticketed in Tennessee. In fact, each state you pass through from Morgantown, West Virginia en route to Myrtle Beach will have a different requirement – from none in West Virginia to up to age 9 in Tennessee, to up to age 8 in North Carolina to up to age 6 in South Carolina.

[More]

The headline’s not exactly “DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN” – but it got your attention, didn’t it?

Think you’ve got what it takes to lead the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers football team to the BCS National Championship game?

David Bennett need not worry; his head-coaching job is safe. And it really doesn’t matter that, in the real world, the Chants don’t compete in the NCAA Bowl Subdivision. In the video-game worlds of PlayStation and Xbox, anything’s possible.

So with college football season just around the corner, pigskin fanatics and “gamers” can gear up for it with EA Sports’ NCAA Football 08. It puts you in total control of your favorite team’s virtual destiny, from soup to nuts – or really, in this case, from recruiting to game-day play calling.

As Newsday’s Adam Abramson points out in this write-up, you’re the coach. The example he uses is Division I Championship Subdivision’s Hofstra University, but you may as well substitute the Chants, South Carolina Gamecocks, Clemson Tigers or essentially any of your college gridiron favorites, and see how far you can take them.

NCAA Football 08 just hit the store shelves late this week. If you’ve already bought it and given it a shot, let us know how you like it. In your virtual world, does Clemson’s Jad Dean split the uprights with that last-second 39-yarder to tie the Gamecocks?

OK, so maybe you didn’t leap from your computer to grab that credit card and order the Juice Bag.

This time, we’ll highlight a few handy items for your Myrtle Beach summer vacation that don’t hit the triple-digit mark in price. In fact, the cost of these four neat gadgets combined is less than the battery-charging tote which – last we checked – still didn’t say “GUCCI” on the side.

One will make sure you get to the beach in the first place, and the other three will make life much more enjoyable for you once you’re there.

As you prepare to hit the road, you can use CarMD ($89.99) to check the operating health of your vehicle (1996 or newer). Simply hook it up to your car’s Data Link Connector (don’t worry, the Web site shows you where to find it, and how to do it), and you’ve got a full diagnostic work-up right at your fingertips. Won’t you be better off having this beauty tell you exactly what that “CHECK ENGINE” light means before it lets you know the hard way – say, as you’re stranded off the shoulder of I-95 in Virginia on your way here?

[More]

What would you say if the most overlooked but least expensive part of your golf clubs could mean a 20-yard difference in your shots?

How often do you realize that the one part of your clubs that’s typically the biggest afterthought is also the only part of it that ever makes contact with your body?

So, regardless of whether you’re a scratch golfer or a 30 handicapper, why would you allow worn or improper club grips to take away from your performance – and, more importantly, your enjoyment of the game?

We may not be as conscious of this as, say, improving our ball striking off the tee, taking better swings out of the deep rough, or finding the right putting stroke to best suit our game. But as painstaking as perfecting these tasks can be in our perpetual quest to improve our scores, something as simple as ensuring proper grips on our clubs is one of the quickest ways to get us down that road.

[More]

[More]

First came the juice box in 1980. That was a useful innovation that stuck around.

Then came the Juiceman. Don’t know what he’s been doing lately, but at least he inspired the Juice Weasel.

Then came Mattel’s version of the Juice Box, the personal media player for kids. But iPod turned this $70 dandy into a Happy Meal toy faster than you can say “hold the onions.”

So what do we make of the latest “juicy” innovation, the Juice Bag solar beach tote?

For 250 bucks, it ought to be able to charge your car battery.

But hey, at least it lets you charge your cell phone, PDA, iPod or camera from the comfort of your beach towel this summer – “no matter how far you are from a power outlet.”

For that price, you can also walk across Ocean Boulevard and get:

• More than 100 grande iced coffees at the Starbucks across from The Breakers;
• 35 Philly cheesesteak sandwiches at River City Café; or
• 14 rides on The Sling Shot.

Got other ways to blow through a quarter grand on the Grand Strand? Your suggestions are always welcome here!