I have a confession to make. Sometimes I'll get into my car and crank it up, only to become horrified at the decibel of rock 'n' roll that blares from the speakers. But until my conversation with Dr. Mary Anne Larkin of Advanced Hearing Care, I never contemplated the impact of some loud Led Zeppelin on my own 30-something ears. Dr. Larkin, who has been practicing … [Read more...]
Supporting Local Communities: Charleston Home Builders Association
The Charleston Home Builders Association, an integral part of the local residential building community since 1959, serves nearly 400 members in Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties. The elected leaders of the CHBA are dedicated to helping their members through government affairs advocacy, continuing education and social activities. Leaders also provide opportunities … [Read more...]
Calling Them Home to Mount Pleasant: Tributary at Rivertowne
Though it certainly might seem like it at times, warm weather for nine months out of the year is not the sole reason people move to the town of Mount Pleasant. There are many other qualities to the Lowcountry way of life that entice people to pack up entire houses and relocate – and the abundance of gorgeous new neighborhoods in the area certainly doesn’t hurt, either. Take … [Read more...]
Oyster Point: Melding Mount Pleasant’s Past and Future
Oyster Point, one of mount Pleasant’s newest communities, will provide a unique opportunity to live near the last remaining Civil War fortification in Mount Pleasant. D.R. Horton Homes, America’s largest home builder, was set to break ground on a spectacular 600-acre land conservation community in April. Carefully planned around acres of lakes, walking trails, beautiful live … [Read more...]
There’s Nothing Ordinary About Sesame Burgers and Beer
A hamburger is sometimes nothing more than a slab of previously frozen meat, topped with a few onions, maybe a skinny slice of something that passes as cheese and slapped unceremoniously between two halves of a tasteless bun. A mediocre burger might do to extinguish your hunger, possibly between innings of a baseball game or while you’re driving to the beach, but … [Read more...]
It Floats Their Boats – East Cooper Liveaboards
I’m having a hard time concentrating on what Jennifer and Tripp Adams are saying. I can hear the dolphins break the surface at the bow and stern as the rocking motion of their home lulls me into a trance-like state. I’m imagining myself being soothed to sleep as the waves lap the sides, salt air wafts through the cabin and I am rocked like a swaddled infant under a blanket of … [Read more...]
Summers on Shem Creek – Vickery’s Gears Up for Season
I had lunch before my 2 p.m. meeting with Geoff Wisdom, general manager of Vickery's on Shem Creek. I sat at the bar since I was alone but quickly realized that Vickery's actually has one of the friendliest bars in town, particularly for it to be the middle of the day. During the course of my delicious salmon BLT, I struck up conversations with the girls sitting beside me, who … [Read more...]
Small Movements, Big Ideas – Clay Rice’s Many Art Forms
Clay Rice, a popular artist who resides on the Isle of Palms, travels all over the United States to create silhouettes – and he can snip a profile in as little as one minute. “I began cutting silhouettes and traveling to share them with others in 1982,” he told me over lunch at Triangle in Mount Pleasant. “From there, I began working with department stores, boutiques and toy … [Read more...]
Go Fly a Kite …Board
The sun was shining for the first time all week during this year’s Cooper River Bridge Run. It was high noon and I, unlike the rest of Charleston, was not enjoying the post-race festivities of beer drinking, bacon eating and band listening. Instead, I was sitting on the beach at Third Avenue on the Isle of Palms, waiting for Dr. Joe Gillespie to give me a … [Read more...]
At Home on the Island – Dorothea Benton Frank
The characters in her books embrace their connection to the South, and so does Dorothea Benton Frank, a prolific and successful writer who was born and raised on Sullivan’s Island and still spends much of her time in the South Carolina Lowcountry. On an unseasonably chilly afternoon in March, Frank, affectionately known as “Dottie,” revealed that she loves to meet people who … [Read more...]