When the Myrtle Beach Fire Department paid a recent visit to Ocean Bay Elementary School, it gave my son, Nicholas, a chance to see a little of what it was like for his grandfather back in the day.
That's Grandpa, standing, in his heyday as a New York City Firefighter, circa 1970.
The rebirth of a spring rally mainstay, a concert by a 22-million-album-selling A-lister, and Harley at the Hard Rock highlight a jam-packed agenda for the 2008 Myrtle Beach Spring Bike Week.
You can find the full schedule of events right here. Among the highlights:
Get your motor runnin’, folks, ‘cause it’s almost here!
So this week’s Players Championship is placing an undue hardship on the field, subjecting its competitors to the indignity of playing the “fifth” major on (gasp) Bermuda greens. So says an anonymous PGA Tour pro:
”My only complaint is with the greens. No major championship is held on bermuda greens, so if we want the Players to be the fifth major, why are we playing on bermuda? I don't think the greens will ever be as good as when they were overseeded bermuda. The real reason they made the change wasn't to make the greens better for the Players, it was to make them better year-round …”
Boo-friggin’-hoo.
Gratuitous sarcasm aside, here’s my question to you:
How much of a difference does it make for you, the Myrtle Beach golfer, whether you play on Bermuda or bentgrass greens?
I understand the basic benefits of each, especially after reading this overview from MyrtleBeachGolf.com. But the deeper I dig into the debate, and see how modern agriculture is now producing different forms of each grass that makes them better suited for conditions that previously made it difficult for them to thrive … I get a headache.
It’s not made any easier when I see that popular layouts like Barefoot, King’s North, The Dunes and Tidewater go the bentgrass route, while still other premier courses like Caledonia, Prestwick and The Founders Club prefer Bermuda. Last I knew, none of these golf destinations suffers a shortage of play because of their greens preference.
Here's the painful fact for me: no matter how well-conditioned either type of greens may be, I could putt on loose gravel and get the same result (That’s what happens when your Never Compromises putter might as well be named “Never Met a Two-Putt That I Couldn’t Turn Into a Four-Putt.”).
I’ll leave it to you, my more accomplished flat-stick friends, to tell me which type I should prefer. Fire away!
ReserveAmerica has released its 2008 lists of America’s “Top Outdoor Locations,” resulting in two Myrtle Beach-area landmarks being selected among the country’s elite.
Huntington Beach State Park in Murrells Inlet was included in two rankings – first, among the “Top 25 Park Beaches," drawing these accolades:
"This wide, sandy beach is the best preserved beach on the Grand Strand of South Carolina. The beach includes a well-developed dune system, and provides a habitat for diverse wildlife. There are walkways to provide access to the beach for visitors to crossover the dunes. There are also great restroom facilities for beachgoers."
My view of Led Zeppelin The Ride, from the outside.
I can't wait ...
![Some Lil' Rockers Enjoying the New Hard Rock Cafe Kids Menu. (PRNewsFoto/Hard Rock International) (Newscom TagID: prnphotos071192) [Photo via Newscom]](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2146/2457989259_0930d471e8.jpg)
Since its founding in 1971, Hard Rock International has been committed to its "Save the Planet" motto, with the goal of making the earth a safer, healthier and better place to live. Continuing its mission, Hard Rock has partnered with the Arbor Day Foundation for the launch of its new Lil' Rockers Menu, featuring delicious kid's meals packaged with fun activities that show youngsters how they can help protect the environment.
Beginning this past Arbor Day (April 25th), each kid's meal at the Hard Rock Café in Myrtle Beach, and at Hard Rock restaurant locations throughout North America and Puerto Rico, now includes tree seed packets, encouraging lil' rockers to plant trees and help produce more oxygen and preserve wildlife habitats. Hard Rock International has also teamed up with the Arbor Day Foundation, making the commitment to plant at least 25,000 trees this year. Additionally, with the help of the new Lil' Rockers menu, Hard Rock and the Arbor Day Foundation hope to help plant an additional one million trees in 2008.
Pizza joints come and go, but I feel it’s my civic duty to inform you on the front end – especially when a great Neapolitan-style pie maker looks like it has plenty of staying power.
The restaurant in question is Capriccio, located in the Bi-Lo shopping center at U.S. 17 Bypass & 38th Ave. N. Owner Michael Macchia and his son, Michael Macchia, Jr., bring a New York-style flair to their pizza and pasta dishes that have already had our family back for seconds, thirds …
I’m not a Trekkie; never been, never will be. I was probably the only kid on my block who wasn’t into the Star Wars saga. And it wouldn’t faze me in the least if Time Warner Cable replaced the Sci Fi Channel with, say, 24/7 Armenian folk music.
Maybe it’s that thought process that kept me from getting into the whole laser tag thing all these years. But this new place opened up in Carolina Forest – Surf’s Up Family Fun Center – that features laser tag. And when I took the family to meet up with friends there last Saturday, I thought I’d get away with letting the boys have at it while I did some damage to the pizza and pasta buffet.
No such luck. They all dragged me into the laser tag arena (not quite kicking and screaming, but close), and laughed their heads off as I wandered into the briefing room – complete with an all-white shirt that the blacklighting immediately turned into a 200-pound bull’s-eye.
“Takin’ one for the team,” I thought.
The little snipers had other ideas as they licked their chops: “Fish in a barrel.”
