We chose the Marriott Myrtle Beach Resort & Spa at Grande Dunes for our home away from home during the Baseball Youth Nationals! It was a lovely resort, located directly on the beach in the quieter North Myrtle Beach area.
The pool and beach areas were just lovely and had a wonderful resort feel. We spent almost all of our time off the field here, not having much desire to leave outside of team events!
There was a great waterslide, ping pong, all the beach things and two large pools with plenty of seating. The boys and adults alike had plenty to do (or not do, for the adults).
I think I heard “meet me in the game room” approximately 497 times during the week. The boys would literally finish a game, wave their hats to the other team and say “meet me in the game room”! They never got tired. It was located steps from the pool, which was steps from the beach, and the kids easily moved from one thing to the next.
As for me, I couldn’t go down to the beach (no sand in the wound!) and couldn’t swim. But, I managed to eek out a good relaxing time in spite of that. I found shady chairs on the pool deck and tore through some books.
The other parents graciously took Whit to the beach when his teammates headed down. I did take a few peeks from the safety of the ramp. :-)
We ended up getting an ocean view room (booked resort view despite my own best advise to every client – if you’re going to the beach you’re going to want to see and hear the ocean), so this was a welcome sight day in and day out.
Aside from the resort life, we headed out for a few Myrtle Beach-y things with the team. Go Karts are not on my usual vacation agenda, but he LOVED them! :-)
Unlimited putt putt? Yes please, said every 12 year old boy ever!
As for food, well, Whit and I love a good meal. We found a few gems during our stay, mostly in the North Myrtle Beach area. We enjoyed a delicious brunch at Blueberry’s Grill. His Dublin omelet was AMAZING! Oh, and we both loved the unique blueberry hush puppies.
Croissants was right at the entrance to our resort and was a lovely pit stop for an afternoon coffee and lemon cookie! Both were excellent.
Cafe Gelato was one of our favorites! Their chicken salad was divine. I honed my order to the half and half – salad with scoop of chicken salad and the balsamic fig dressing. YUM! They also have gelato, which was delicious. We enjoyed dining in, but on one rainy day just grabbed our lunch in the drive through to enjoy on our balcony.
Whit loves sushi and pho, and “googled up” CO Sushi in Market Common, which was steps from the baseball fields. This was a really cute area that we dined in a couple of times. The food here was fine and it made for a yummy lunch after playing ball.
Our team dined at Nacho Hippo, also in Market Common, one evening. They have a back room great for a large party. The food here was delicious, as were the margs.
Whit and I did a couple dinners off on our own as well. One favorite was Sea Captain’s Quarters. We had a reservation for inside, but when we arrived and saw the outdoor seating and live country music we asked to change. We both LOVED our meal here. The hush puppies with honey butter reminded me of Pearl’s growing up in Savannah. I had the shrimp and grits, which photographed as well as slop but were some of the best I’ve tasted. Whit had the bbq fried chicken and a side of grits and said his chicken was excellent and agreed that the grits were the “best ever”.
Our other favorite “date night” was Hook & Barrel in North Myrtle just outside of our resort. We dined on the porch under palms and beside hydrangeas. It was lovely! The food was excellent and I fully appreciated little details like the South Carolina shaped board the starter of pimento cheese and lavash crackers was served on. I enjoyed the scallops and Whit had the shrimp alfredo. For dessert we splurged on this INCREDIBLE dish of a chocolate bowl filled with salted caramel ice cream, drizzled with chocolate and caramel, and topped the crumbles of their chocolate chip skillet cookie. It was memorable!
There were many parts of Myrtle Beach we didn’t see and there were tons of touristy things we didn’t do. The things we did do, see and eat were perfect for the two of us and we had a fun, enjoyable week together. I treasure time with that baby of mine.
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Looks like the boys had a great time at the Baseball Nationals and what better place to be at than the beach. Sorry you didn’t get to enjoy the amazing pools and beach at the resort. I know you will be beyond excited to finally be able to get back to water activities. We haven’t been to Myrtle Beach in a while since we typically prefer Hilton Head but when we go we always choose the North Myrtle Beach area as well as its a little less crowded and the Sea Captains House is one of our favorite restaurants.
Long-time follower..and I was shocked at how grown-up Whit looks in these pics!! Enjoy all of your posts..and enjoy all of your posts. I travel through MB for work and will make stops at some of those lunch places you suggested. Have a happy summer!
He has grown up SO much in the past year!
Oh my, the resort looks amazing and your culinary adventures sound so fun! I spent many happy summers in the MB area, some February school vacations as well. There sure are loads of dining options and plenty to do. And, let us not forget the golfers for whom Myrtle Beach is a mecca. So glad that you and Whit had such a memorable time to kick off the summer. (Hope the wound is healing well and that you will be in the pool and at the beach very soon.)
Your doc is lucky you’re such a good rule follower. I would have been bandaging up that wound with some sort of plastic barrier and hanging out on the beach FOR SURE, haha.
Glad this post didn’t happen before my husband worked in Myrtle Beach without me, I would have had even more FOMO.
I want to get past this so badly that I literally do NOTHING but will my body to heal. :-)
What fun…..my gosh Whit is growing up so fast. I’ve been following you since you posted his darling baby pictures. He’s an amazing young man….but you already knew that! Praying for continued healing for you and hopeful you can make a big splash in your pool soon. God bless…