SC: Myrtle Beach,: Marriott Grand Dunes

My second trip to Myrtle Beach in 2009 was a brief, luxurious visit to the Marriott Grand Dunes Resort up the beach a little, almost in North Myrtle.

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Like most of my trips, this was an offer I couldn't refuse. Two days of this? Perfect. The resort is right on the beach, offers a deck with plenty of great adirondack seating, restaurant with the same, a full service spa, gameroom. . .

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. . . whirlpools, waterslide, swimming pools with full waitstaff . . .
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. . . and hammocks, plenty of hammocks.

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The first thing we did upon check-in was lay on the hammocks and walk on the beach. The girls collected sharks teeth as if they were only 5 years old. We sat by the pool after our walk as twilight settled in. A wedding was taking place on the deck just behind us and we got all kind of mushy feeling.
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Both evenings found us at Broadway at the Beach while Tom was schmoozing and working the conference parties. Two "must do's" at Broadway: Tiki Jims (seen here) and Tripp's for dessert. Gotta get the NY cheesecake at Tripps, so thick and creamy and, surprisingly, warm.

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Broadway's crowded. Our visits were limited by our capacity to endure the crowds. You have to get in the "tourist trap" mindset and just go with the flow.-

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Something fairly new that we didn't actually try: The Bubble. You can ride a (tethered) bubble on the lake. (IF you are under 150 lbs) We skipped it - I had nightmarish visions of flooded bubbles and Brielle had a limiting back brace and Marj.. well... not sure why Marj skipped it. It's something like $10 for 3 minutes and it seemed very clear that 3 minutes is sufficient.

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Next time I might just stay at the resort the entire trip. R.E.L.A.X.I.N.G.