August 2007
Color Your World Happy at "Jamaican Me Crazy"
A sea of sunny color swirls around you—red, orange, yellow, green, turquoise, purple, fuchsia… Thoughts become multi-colored fragments as patterns seem to pulsate from the walls: brilliant flowers, bold geometrics and cheery beach motifs. Time is a spiral. Worries melt away in a cloud of…
Jazz Lovers Unite!
Jazz Lovers of the Lowcountry are singing a happy tune in a major key since their first attempt at a Summer Jazz Fest proved a huge success. According to marketing director, Carole Galli, when the idea was proposed, it was noted that an audience might…
Family Friendly Dining on Hilton Head
Just what is it that makes a restaurant family-friendly? Is it themes and life-sized mascots, kids’ promotions, or chains with standard menus? Maybe it’s none of the above. While such gimmicks often appeal to children, they usually don’t appeal to the adults in the family…
To Gas or Charcoal?
Historical Perspective: Lawton Plantation
In 1863, the United States government confiscated Lawton Plantation’s 1800 acres for non-payment of taxes and paid the purchase price of $3,000. The problem: Who would be responsible for the welfare of thousands of freed slaves? The solution: The Port Royal Experiment, which provided a…
Wine Talk: New Zealand Wines
New Zealand is home to some of the world’s most beautiful and unspoiled landscapes, ranging from large, dense forests to snowy mountain tops, beautiful coastline and magnificent views of the Pacific Ocean. New Zealand is the most southern point in the world where grapes can…
A Wild Ride: Nature's Best Thrills on the Water
It’s no secret that Blair Willis and Scott Mooneyhan want to take you for a ride. Teaming up to create Live Oac (pronounced līve ōak) “The Lowcountry’s Outdoor Adventure Company,” the two seasoned outdoorsmen are making a career of sharing area waters, offering customized boating…
Vignettes from OWLTOWN - The Final Excerpt
Owltown School. Standing alone. One room. Eight grades. Irish Valley. Paxinos, PA. The mid ’40s. Owltown School is a cracked school bell, a pot-bellied stove, lockout day, being chased home from school because I reminded the teacher she forgot to assign homework… Owltown School was pretty much…
A Pariplaneta American Rant
The following are excerpts from an interview conducted by the author early (2:07 a.m.) one morning a few days ago. The interview was inspired by the reaction of the good folks at Lowe’s, who were removing a doddering 1976 dishwasher the previous day from the…
Making Time at Old Carolina: Time for the Family, Time for the Beach, Time for Fun!
The “new” Old Carolina Golf Club is celebrating its first year as a nine-hole course this August and, according to general manager Paul Schell, people really like it. Andy and Brenda Gordon, from Ann Arbor, Michigan, enthusiastically agree. “This is really ideal for us,” Andy…
Experience the Old Fort Pub
You haven’t lived until you’ve experienced the Old Fort Pub. Experience is the word, because it’s much more than eating dinner or even what might be defined as “fine dining.” It’s more like a sensory thrill ride that you beg to repeat again and again. As…
Rock On at Riders Lounge
On the corner of Palmetto Bay Road and Target Road, across from the Publix shopping plaza on the south end of Hilton Head, sits a behemoth of a building that more than likely passes unnoticed during the day. It sits there, napping in the shade…
Over Easy at the Hilton Head Diner
The “soup jockey” (waitress) brought me my “birdseed” (breakfast); “dough well done with cow to cover” (buttered toast) and Zeppelin (sausage) “in the ally” (on the side). Everything was right out of the “radar range” (oven), prepared to perfection and not in need of any…
Pet Peeves
I never thought I was the type of person who had “pet peeves,” so to speak. Admittedly, I do tend to rant and rave about stupid people, but who could blame me for that? But then I had a week—a really bad week—the kind of…
Labor of Love: Hilton Head Celebrity Golf Tournament
Labor Day weekend has been a labor of love for the organizers of the Hilton Head Island Celebrity Golf Tournament for over 26 years. And this year is expected to be on par. The tournament will be held August 31-September 2 at three different locations:…
Meet Your Match: Speed Dating comes to Murphy's Pub
Being single on Hilton Head Island is not easy, especially when your new prospect could be returning his or her fabulous rented yacht after just one week and heading back to Ohio. Don’t get it wrong. High-traffic tourism has its benefits, but finding the local…
It's About Time! Lakeside Living Comes to the Lowcountry
What brought you to the Lowcountry? Was it warm sunshine? Lush natural landscapes? Beautiful beaches? World-class golf courses? Or all of the above? Now there is one more reason to come here to play… or to stay. Check your worries at the gate and leave…
It Could Be Worse: You Could've Had This Job!
A Case of Mistaken Identity In a 1998 economic report, the country of Australia was netting $425 million from its abalone and scallop industry. Considered a delicacy throughout much of Asia, abalone—a member of the mollusk family in the vein of scallops—is prized for its taste,…
Editor's Note - August
I have to admit I’m glad summer is almost over. Don’t get me wrong, I love long weekends on the beach, tanning myself within inches of sun poisoning while reading the latest “gossip” about Paris Hilton and Brad Pitt. However, I am of the opinion…
Guarding Hilton Head Island
We tend to take them for granted. Seated on their high perches at Coligny Beach, Sea Pines Beach Club, the Westin, Palmetto Dunes, they keep a watchful eye over Hilton Head Island’s 13.5 miles of beach and everyone on the beach. You’ll see them in…
Latitude Adjustment
The Seas were Alive with the Sound of Music! Russ and I were joined by islanders, Peggy and Hal Ashworth, Anne and Barry Bannister and Jerry and Carolyn Voight. We were all anticipating a week of wonderful music on board the beautiful Regent Seven Seas Voyager…
A sea of sunny color swirls around you—red, orange, yellow, green, turquoise, purple, fuchsia… Thoughts become multi-colored fragments as patterns seem to pulsate from the walls: brilliant flowers, bold geometrics and cheery beach motifs. Time is a spiral. Worries melt away in a cloud of…
Jazz Lovers Unite!
Jazz Lovers of the Lowcountry are singing a happy tune in a major key since their first attempt at a Summer Jazz Fest proved a huge success. According to marketing director, Carole Galli, when the idea was proposed, it was noted that an audience might…
Family Friendly Dining on Hilton Head
Just what is it that makes a restaurant family-friendly? Is it themes and life-sized mascots, kids’ promotions, or chains with standard menus? Maybe it’s none of the above. While such gimmicks often appeal to children, they usually don’t appeal to the adults in the family…
To Gas or Charcoal?
Charcoal requires the touch of an artist—you have to earn your stripes, and there aren’t any shortcuts. Gas? Well, it’s like painting by number. It may look pretty, but is it art?
Historical Perspective: Lawton Plantation
In 1863, the United States government confiscated Lawton Plantation’s 1800 acres for non-payment of taxes and paid the purchase price of $3,000. The problem: Who would be responsible for the welfare of thousands of freed slaves? The solution: The Port Royal Experiment, which provided a…
Wine Talk: New Zealand Wines
New Zealand is home to some of the world’s most beautiful and unspoiled landscapes, ranging from large, dense forests to snowy mountain tops, beautiful coastline and magnificent views of the Pacific Ocean. New Zealand is the most southern point in the world where grapes can…
A Wild Ride: Nature's Best Thrills on the Water
It’s no secret that Blair Willis and Scott Mooneyhan want to take you for a ride. Teaming up to create Live Oac (pronounced līve ōak) “The Lowcountry’s Outdoor Adventure Company,” the two seasoned outdoorsmen are making a career of sharing area waters, offering customized boating…
Vignettes from OWLTOWN - The Final Excerpt
Owltown School. Standing alone. One room. Eight grades. Irish Valley. Paxinos, PA. The mid ’40s. Owltown School is a cracked school bell, a pot-bellied stove, lockout day, being chased home from school because I reminded the teacher she forgot to assign homework… Owltown School was pretty much…
A Pariplaneta American Rant
The following are excerpts from an interview conducted by the author early (2:07 a.m.) one morning a few days ago. The interview was inspired by the reaction of the good folks at Lowe’s, who were removing a doddering 1976 dishwasher the previous day from the…
Making Time at Old Carolina: Time for the Family, Time for the Beach, Time for Fun!
The “new” Old Carolina Golf Club is celebrating its first year as a nine-hole course this August and, according to general manager Paul Schell, people really like it. Andy and Brenda Gordon, from Ann Arbor, Michigan, enthusiastically agree. “This is really ideal for us,” Andy…
Experience the Old Fort Pub
You haven’t lived until you’ve experienced the Old Fort Pub. Experience is the word, because it’s much more than eating dinner or even what might be defined as “fine dining.” It’s more like a sensory thrill ride that you beg to repeat again and again. As…
Rock On at Riders Lounge
On the corner of Palmetto Bay Road and Target Road, across from the Publix shopping plaza on the south end of Hilton Head, sits a behemoth of a building that more than likely passes unnoticed during the day. It sits there, napping in the shade…
Over Easy at the Hilton Head Diner
The “soup jockey” (waitress) brought me my “birdseed” (breakfast); “dough well done with cow to cover” (buttered toast) and Zeppelin (sausage) “in the ally” (on the side). Everything was right out of the “radar range” (oven), prepared to perfection and not in need of any…
Pet Peeves
I never thought I was the type of person who had “pet peeves,” so to speak. Admittedly, I do tend to rant and rave about stupid people, but who could blame me for that? But then I had a week—a really bad week—the kind of…
Labor of Love: Hilton Head Celebrity Golf Tournament
Labor Day weekend has been a labor of love for the organizers of the Hilton Head Island Celebrity Golf Tournament for over 26 years. And this year is expected to be on par. The tournament will be held August 31-September 2 at three different locations:…
Meet Your Match: Speed Dating comes to Murphy's Pub
Being single on Hilton Head Island is not easy, especially when your new prospect could be returning his or her fabulous rented yacht after just one week and heading back to Ohio. Don’t get it wrong. High-traffic tourism has its benefits, but finding the local…
It's About Time! Lakeside Living Comes to the Lowcountry
What brought you to the Lowcountry? Was it warm sunshine? Lush natural landscapes? Beautiful beaches? World-class golf courses? Or all of the above? Now there is one more reason to come here to play… or to stay. Check your worries at the gate and leave…
It Could Be Worse: You Could've Had This Job!
A Case of Mistaken Identity In a 1998 economic report, the country of Australia was netting $425 million from its abalone and scallop industry. Considered a delicacy throughout much of Asia, abalone—a member of the mollusk family in the vein of scallops—is prized for its taste,…
Editor's Note - August
I have to admit I’m glad summer is almost over. Don’t get me wrong, I love long weekends on the beach, tanning myself within inches of sun poisoning while reading the latest “gossip” about Paris Hilton and Brad Pitt. However, I am of the opinion…
Guarding Hilton Head Island
We tend to take them for granted. Seated on their high perches at Coligny Beach, Sea Pines Beach Club, the Westin, Palmetto Dunes, they keep a watchful eye over Hilton Head Island’s 13.5 miles of beach and everyone on the beach. You’ll see them in…
Latitude Adjustment
The Seas were Alive with the Sound of Music! Russ and I were joined by islanders, Peggy and Hal Ashworth, Anne and Barry Bannister and Jerry and Carolyn Voight. We were all anticipating a week of wonderful music on board the beautiful Regent Seven Seas Voyager…
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