Reunion in the Keys

Even though we now live in the fairly temperate Charleston area, how could we say no to a weeks stay in Key Largo, FL? Through the grace of God and luck we managed to escape the horrible winter New England is experiencing, but that doesn't mean we still can't enjoy an even more tropical location! Clayton's family rented a lovely little beach bungalow with all the amenities and so a family reunion was in order. Clayton and I spent a good portion of our honeymoon in the keys 8 years ago so it brings back good memories.

The Keys are such a unique part of the U.S., everyone should put it on their travel list. Key Largo is one of the largest islands and closest to the main land so it's often a little more affordable than the more southerly keys. As you would expect of a beach community, life is pretty laid back. Activities range from fishing, snorkeling, diving, kayaking and of course soaking in the sun.

While the Keys are a tropical experience, the Keys are not well known for their beaches. Most of them are small and man-made. Also because of all the reefs, there are almost no waves even on the ocean side and you can often walk out in the water for a mile or more. If you're dying for the sand though there are a couple good spots. Bahia Honda Key State Recreation Area takes the cake. Sandspur beach is the largest and also offers deep waters and all the amenities.
There are also hiking trails and
a 3.5 mile beach road for biking.

We didn't feel like driving that far so we just chilled locally at the Harry Harris Park Beach for a couple hours. It is very family friendly, with a playground for kids, a small beach area and a closed off lagoon area for swimming. There are also barbeques available and a boat ramp.

Most nights we cooked at the house, but we did go out the first night we arrived. We went to Hobo's Cafe which seemed to be a local favorite. Some great basics on the menu with several fun specials. I had stuffed shrimp with capers and rice. Portions were huge and prices affordable. No liquor here though just beer and wine. Couldn't have the Margarita I was craving, but that's alright I made up for it the rest of the week!

Oh just a warning though to any of you traveling to Florida soon...beware traveling on the Florida Turnpike. Apparently, FL recently passed a law that all those traveling on the Florida Turnpike must have a SunPass for the tolls – no cash accepted! They will take a picture of your license plate and send you a bill with lots of extra fees on it later. What a scam. So you have to find a CVS or Publix grocery store and purchase a pass, but you can't use it the day you buy it, it takes a day to activate!! As my mother in law would say, “Jesus, Mary and Joseph!”

Don't let that inconvenience stop you though. Pack your bathing suit, a few tank tops and shorts and we'll see you in Margaritaville!

De-Crapifying

December was a blur of Christmas shopping and packing, again! We finally found a house we liked and closed on it the day before New Year's. Being in a cramped one bedroom apartment with a small fraction of our belongings had got old fast.

I have to say that I learned a great lesson from all this uprooting though. When we first learned that we were moving, I thought “oh Lord, help me pack”. Now understand we had a very modest two bedroom home. There wasn't room for huge collections of antiques or bobble head figures. Yet somehow we accumulated quite a lot of crap. I held two moving sales in the effort to declutter, and the leftovers went to GoodWill. I had also given away many bags of clothes and other household items. We had two big weaknesses, Halloween and books. We hosted major Halloween parties every year with a different theme each time and consequently I have about 10 extra large bins full of décor and costumes. We are also voracious readers and had bought probably a hundred books or more during our 7 years there. We sold all but our most favorites.

Towards the end of packing up the house in CT though, there was just no more time to make trips to Goodwill or have another sale. So what to do with a pair of decorative chopsticks hidden in the back of a drawer? Toss it in a box. Clayton's can of Romulan Ale soda souvenir from Las Vegas? Box!

When I got down here, 95% of it all went in storage. For six months we lived with the barest of essentials. It was the hardest part of the move. On the other hand, it really made you examine and realize what you really treasured. I found out that I missed my favorite books most, the ones I pick up when I can't find anything interesting at the library or bookstore. I also missed having a real kitchen, large enough to execute a decent meal and baked goods. Clayton missed his large office desk, our books and personal space in general. I can be the voice of Katey and say she missed having her own yard to chase squirrels.

How long could you go without? I think everyone should put away most of their “stuff” for a year and see what it is that really matters to them. I'm already planning another tag sale for the spring as I unpack and see what else I can live without. I want to enjoy the new space we have and not clutter it up. I spent good money on that Halloween stuff though....I'm betting the kids here will appreciate it come October.

Just Desserts

Warning: If you are ever given a week to plan and execute a home made gingerbread house, think twice before attempting it. That is just what happened the other week with Habitat for Humanity. We found out about a gingerbread contest going on at the Woodlands Inn Resort and the prize was too good to be passed up, worth about $3,000. The challenge was to create a gingerbread house that related to your business or organization. All materials needed to be edible on a 2x2 ft. board. For a prize that good no one was going to get away with a store bought kit and win. An extra challenge for us was that none of us had any experience making gingerbread or assembling a house with it.

We met to brainstorm our design and I did online research for tips and tricks. The easiest thing we could think of was making a replica of a Habitat built home, with little gingerbread people as workers dressing it up for the holidays. One of our volunteers took it upon herself to bake the gingerbread at home, the day after Thanksgiving. God Bless her. So a day to bake, the next day it was assembled with royal icing. It's more tricky than it sounds, the icing consistency takes some trial and error. Also we didn't attempt it because of the time constraint, but if we had wanted to use icing to decorate the sides of the house, that would've had to be done before putting the walls up. On the third day, six of us gathered to help decorate. Since we were on a budget we all emptied our pantries of leftover candy, crackers, even spices and loose tea.

The hardest part was getting started, the vast expanse of brown bread was intimidating. What if we screwed up? Two ladies decided to be in charge of making trees and shrubs for the yard. After some thought, I grabbed a box of WheatThins and began tiling the roof. What we discovered is that a multitude of sins can be corrected with the creative placement of candy. Our most interesting ingrediant by far, was Asian Shrimp Chips, used on the front porch roof.  The red and green colors were perfect.  Five hours later, we had the majority done. My back was killing me from standing and bending over. There was something lacking though, we had to brighten it up another way. We called it a day and decided to finish the next.

It was one of our volunteers young daughter who came up with the idea of making Christmas lights with a strand of Twizzler and small pieces of balled up fruit roll-up attached. Brilliant! It was just what we needed to complete our traditional look. A child's creativity will always trump an adult.

We delivered our entry with fanfare as the Inn's employees oohed and ahhed. The competition was stiff, some houses were professionally done. In the end we came in third, behind two other companies who had pros on their side. That's okay though, the Woodlands is a huge supporter of Habitat and promised to change things up next year. All entries will have to donate to Habitat! How's that for Just Desserts? :-)

Feast of Festivals

'Tis the season... no not Christmas, although retail stores will argue that. It's the season of festivals here in the Charleston area. The ideal weather during October/November encourages a different festival nearly every weekend to keep things interesting. Certainly does not help the waist line since many of them are food focused, but the temptation is too strong. Recently we've attended several major fairs that offered good times and good eats.

First up was the Taste of Charleston that took place at Boone Hall Plantation. A lovely location, and my first opportunity to see a cotton plant up close! This event is very popular and you can taste some really delicious high end food without the high bill. Food tickets are $2 each and generally you need about ten or twelve tickets a person since most restaurants charge three or four tickets a taste. I enjoyed an excellent crab cake from 82 Queen definitely my favorite of the day. I also tried the Shrimp Spring Rolls from the American Culinary Federation, and a Gyro from North Towne Grill & Seafood. Bringing your own seating is advised if you want to chill a while and listen to the live bands.

 

Next up was the Carolina Fair that goes on for two weeks in October. It's the largest fair in the area, well over 200,000 people attend every year. It is quite large, but I have been to bigger. Still we enjoyed the usual naughty fried fair food. Funny Northern/Southern terminology difference...Down here Fried Dough is called Elephant Ears. I had never heard it called that before. It is appropriate, they are definitely the size of an Elephant's ear. Remember when those used to be cheap food? Not anymore, $6.00 each! The profit margin must be insane. A slice of pizza which is less calories and much more nutritious costs less. Oh well, where else are you going to eat fried dough? The highlight of my night was getting up the courage to ride the mechanical bull! That's about the only ride I can handle since I have a roller coaster phobia. It's pretty bad, I've never been down hill skiing simply because there is no way I will get on a lift after reaching the bottom. The bull was fun, and I did pretty well, only fell in the last second.

The highlight of my husband's evening that night was when we were walking through the vendor booths. We looked at a terrific WWII collection display this gentleman had out with several personal items from when his uncle served and died in battle. Clayton is fascinated by WWII and we spent a good half hour chatting with Eugene Lundgrin about his collection and going through his picture album of places he's been. It was refreshing because he wasn't trying to sell anything like everyone else.

One more event I went to was the Cupcake Camp that took place at the Aloft Hotel lobby in North Charleston. This was a really unique idea someone put together and the best part was that it was completely free! The concept is for bakers of all kinds to come together and share their best creations to all and be placed in the running for Best Cupcake in one of three catergories. It could be any at home baker or professional pastry chefs. Since I have a major sweet tooth I could not pass this event up.

Aloft is a cool location, designed to look like an industrial loft, with a sunken bar that had changing LED lights embedded on the top. All that was very cool, however the space was not big enough to accommodate the crowd that showed up. I waited in line for half an hour before reaching the table of cakes. Also because many bakers entered, the table had an ever changing line up of cakes. There was no way anyone could have tried all of them, and who could have the appetite for that? I did not envy the judges. I tried five cupcakes and the only one that I really enjoyed was the Margarita Cupcake. The lime flavored cake was moist and scrumptious. Decorated on top with green and clear sugar to resemble a salt rim, and a candied lime wedge. Unfortunately, I could only eat 3 full cakes and a couple bites of two others. I was stuffed and riding a sugar high and could not imagine trying any others. One entry I saw on the judges table made me want to hurl what I just ate....shrimp on a cupcake?! Barf.

Winners were Amatuer Division: Corinne Citrolo's Vegan Raspberry Tiramisu; Best Decorated (Best in Show); Most Unique Ingredients: Bill Stewart from Spirit Moves Studio with "West Popular Pamplona Passion" Cupcakes; Best Charleston Theme: Nikki Riley with "A Charleston Bloom" Cupcakes. Professional Division: Allison Galentine from Caviar & Bananas, Best Decorated (Best in Show), "Pecan Pie Charleston" Cupcakes; Most Unique Ingredients: Brenda Hill from Peach Tree Bakery with "Chocolate Peanut Butter" Cupcakes; Best Charleston Theme: Cindy F. Baker from Franchesca's Custom Cakes with "Sweet Welcomes" Cupcakes. Hopefully next year's venue is much bigger so we're all not on top of each other.

As if that was not enough for festivals I know of several through the winter. Oyster season is starting and of course Oyster roasts are very popular. I am actually on the planning committee for Dorchester Habitat for Humanity's River Roast. I'm not an oyster fan myself, but there's always chili and other options available. I'll just have to work it off in the gym later!

Making a Difference

Summerville is more than historic places, excellent restaurants and unique shops. Certainly, that helps quite a bit and one of the reasons I moved here. Summerville is more than that though, it's about the people here. Whether they are born and raised lowcountry or transplants like myself, something about this place makes people friendlier, more generous and considerate.

Volunteering is something I had wanted to get involved in up north, but something held me back. It wasn't just that I was working full time either, there was a lack of spirit in the area we lived in. It's hard to put your finger on. The change in atmosphere here was what I needed to fully commit to putting my skills and time to use at Dorchester Habitat for Humanity.

After speaking with Terry Epps the Volunteer Coordinator at DHH about what I could offer, I was welcomed with open arms and immediately asked to join the Special Events and Public Relations Committees. Our objective is to plan, advertise and execute fundraising events to help realize the dream of home ownership for one deserving family at a time.

My first event was the Fall Festival that took place October 16th, at the Flowertown Garden Center. DHH was lucky enough when owner Paul Moore and employee Charlene Sharkey contacted them with the idea for this event. Flowertown Garden Center welcomed families for the day to check out the plants and garden accents but also had a number of activities for kids to enjoy, while the proceeds went to DHH. The big hit was the Batman bounce house, Flowertown provided. Watching kids run and hurriedly take off their shoes to hop in always brings a smile to my face and a little ache for my own childhood.  Children also had fun at the face painting, and pumpkin painting tables in addition to the hot dogs and baked goods DHH provided. In total Flowertown Garden helped us raise $400 which will go towards the current house being built.
 
The Garden Center has a very unique vibe to it's atmosphere.  The plants are set up in meandering paths, with pergolas overhead, lovely garden benches and statuary tucked in, perhaps next to a water feature.  It's more like walking through someone's backyard garden, so different than the utilitarian aisles of the big box stores.  I was definitely tempted and yearned for my own yard to plan and create.  Several DHH members left with beautiful hanging pots of mums and hay bales for fall decor. 

It is so satisfying to see efforts come to fruition with a terrific bunch of warm-hearted people. The spirit of giving is alive and well in Summerville.  I feel it all the time and can now say I'm a part of it.

Friday Night Lights

South Carolina does not have any professional sports teams, which may explain why high school and college teams are so crazy popular here. Last month we were driving through town which was jammed with traffic and people parking in every available area. Crowds of people were walking in one direction, and our curiosity was peaked. We followed the trail of people and cars. Was it a fair I hadn't heard about? A live performance in the park? A zombie outbreak? Nope, the trail ended at a medium sized stadium, people were cramming in for a high school football game! And they were paying $8 to get in!

This is pretty much unheard of in the Northeast. High school games up north are generally only attended by parents of players, some schoolmates, and a few diehard alums. The games are always free. Well, this Friday we had to see what all the hubbub was about and decided to go see the game.

The Summerville High School's The Green Wave team has a long a winning history, as I found out from our ticket booth lady. Coach John McKissick is a vertiable legend throughout the region, and is the nation's most winningest high school coach, a title he has held since 1986. He has been coaching Summerville since 1952, and is still at it, proving age is more than a number. The stadium is named for him, as is another one in North Carolina. Folks here are mighty proud of that and it shows. The players arrived with a police escort! The game we attended was against West Ashley. I struck up conversation with the gentleman behind us, and he filled me in on some of the history. Apparently, every school wants to play the Green Wave, because if you beat us, it's something to put in your scrapbook.

You could tell Summerville was the superior team right from the warm ups. The home team was sharper, quicker on their feet, a testimony to synchronization as one unit. A small chill of awe shivered down my arms. My instinct was true, once the game started Summerville scored on the second play! West Ashley gave up the first quarter 28-0. They only managed one touch down towards the end of the game. Summerville ran away with it. There's room for improvement of course, we fumbled quite a few balls, and there were two interceptions. Thankfully, the defense squashed out the threats.

Even when Coach McKissick fully retires his son will be there to take the reigns, as well as several of his best players from the 80's who are now assistant coaches. Perhaps the north ought to take note of the system here. With spectators paying to attend, the football team, band, cheerleaders and exchange club all are well funded without having to worry about a hand out from the state. They are able to afford a terrific stadium, and excellent coaches to help them succeed. If my high school had such a great team and facilities I'm sure I would have been a better supporter. Although I have to say it, the Green Wave as a mascot, is pretty ridiculous. There's a silly smiley face in the middle of the costume, not exactly striking fear in our challengers hearts. It's a laugh though. Sorry to say my camera is not up to action shots, so I couldn't provide some visual candy this time. I'll have to remember to bring my video camera next time.

Third Thursday's

Another great summertime activity in this area is a once a month mini-festival in Historic downtown Summerville called Third Thursday's. Every third Thursday during the summer/fall months the shops stay open late till 8pm, there are two or three bands playing in different areas, an art show with local artists and crafters, as well as an antique car show. It's a wonderfully relaxing and social experience. The Art Walk takes place on Short Central Ave. a street that oozes charm and grace. The street is set with brick in a herringbone pattern, probably original. Since the street is closed to traffic there are tables outside for the restaurants. Unique and fun shops line each side, two of them had just opened this week. The Candy Bar, a welcomed candy store, and Four Green Fields, a local artisans shop.

We chose a table and had dinner at The Eclectic Chef, while our pooch Katey soaked in the constant attention from passing families. The Eclectic Chef is a great lunch or dinner spot serving, salads, paninis and other sandwiches, but also gourmet-to-go dishes that you can take home if, like me, you sometimes can't come up with the motivation to cook. A little further down the street there is also an Italian restaurant, I haven't yet sampled, as well as an Irish Pub.

My favorite shop is called Marigolds, which is a virtual treasure trove of gorgeous antiques, vintage dishes, accessories, even cabinet pulls. It's the kind of store you take at least a half hour to make sure you haven't missed a corner or sparkly bauble. It makes me itch to buy the house we want, apartment life really cramps my style.

Supporting local businesses is what it's all about, and it's just an excellent opportunity to get the family or just yourself out of the house. Strolling along and striking up conversation with business owners or neighbors is always entertaining as well as a way to glean the community gossip! Get out there!