A Night Of Tennis And Music-Family Circle Cup Week April 2-10

He was known for his tantrums and recently did a commercial that tried to capitalize on that deserved reputation. Most everyone thought he lacked sportsmanship and was super obnoxious. If you had the chance to watch him play, you would have seen him on several occassions slamming his racket to the ground and hurling four letter words at the official while his opponents dreaded the break in the action. Sometimes you wondered if it was a deliberate act to throw his opponents out of sync. One of his more well known quotes stated he let his racket do the talking and in most cases it did. He won 17 Grand Slam titles - seven in singles (3 Wimbledon, 4 U.S. Open) and 10 in doubles (5 Wimbledon, 4 U.S. Open, 1 French Open). He finished the year as No. 1 player in the world 1981-84. His name is John McEnroe and he is returning to the Family Circle Cup, which is scheduled April 2-10, 2011.

The Family Circle Cup is a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, held every year since 1973. The tennis event has been played on the green clay courts at the Daniel Island Tennis Center Facility since 2001. Other previous notable venues include the Sea Pines Plantation on Hilton Head Island and Amelia Island off the coast of Florida. Last year Samantha Stosur was the Singles Champion. Liezel Huber and Nadia Petrova were the Doubles Champions. Top prize money this year is set at $721,000. Over ninety players will be competing for a piece of that purse. Samantha Stosur, Jelena Jankovic, Maria Sharapova and American Melanie Oudin are among the top players scheduled to appear along with No. 1 ranked Caroline Wozniacki.

John McEnroe will defend his Game, Set, Rock! singles title on a special night of entertainment Saturday, April 9, 2011. Festivities for Game, Set, Rock! Tennis. Amplified begin at 7:30pm. It will be an evening of music and tennis entertainment. McEnroe will be playing Todd Martin, who was ranked No. 4 at one time. Joining them will be tennis greats Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova. Tickets for this one night event can now be purchased. Box Level seating will be available for $50, Terrace Level for $35, and Grandstand for $20.

A Family Circle Tennis Center highlight: Hootie & the Blowfish on August 8, 2006 released an album featuring such hits as "Hold My Hand", "Only Wanna Be with You", "Old Man & Me", and "One Love" filmed in Charleston, South Carolina's Family Circle Magazine Stadium on August 12, 2005.-Vacation Rick Travel

The Wild Dunes On Isle of Palms Has It All Covered

The Isle of Palms has always been one of my favorite spots in the Charleston area for beachcombing, kayaking, and just hanging out for a day. Its beach was the first I checked out while vacationing here. One spring I stayed at a beach house off of Palm Blvd. It was a memorable time. That was before all the improvements were made around the pier and Ocean Blvd between County Park and 10th St. I still like to stop for a beer on the upper deck of Coconut Joe's around sunset or an ice cream cone at one of its shops after sunning or throwing the football around on the beach. Just up the road on Sullivan's Island is Poe's Tavern, a nostalgic place to eat.

The Isle of Palm is also home to the Wild Dunes, an oceanfront resort nestled on the northern end of the island. Here are some interesting facts for the history buffs before it became a resort. It was a staging point where Lord Cornwallis commanded 2,000 British troops in an attempt to take Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's Island. The Confederate submarine, H.L. Hunley, rammed and sank the Union warship, USS Housatonic around the island's waterways. The Isle of Palms Beach and Racquet Club was established in 1972, a tennis resort on 1,600 acres. In 1980 came the first of its two golf courses. In early 1990, Wild Dunes Resort became part of Destination Hotels & Resorts. The 1998 opening of the Boardwalk Inn provided guests a hotel stay in AAA Four Diamond style. Early 2008 large-scale beach erosion led to the depletion of the beachfront area of Wild Dunes wiping out the 18th hole of the Links Golf Course. Not to worry, it has since been repaired by pumping approximately 900,000 cubic feet of sand from offshore.

The resort now caters to everyone and every occassion. Couples who are looking for romance, families looking for together time, tennis players and golfers, meetings, weddings and celebrations. Specials and packages are available throughout the year for your convenience and affordability. Wild Dunes offers many accommodation styles, including condo rentals and vacation homes. Choose from six different dining spots from the simple to the elegant. The Grand Pavilion Café & Bar serves sandwiches, snacks, drinks and cocktails with a panoramic view of the ocean. For a suggestion of activities ranked among the best family recreation programs in the country check out Island Adventures.