Summerville's "Crime Of The Century" Needs Solving--Get Your Sherlock Holmes On And Join The DREAM Team Downtown March 20th

The beloved Mayor of Summerville, Bill Collins, has been ruthlessly liquidated. Preliminary reading of the sweet tea leaves are pointing accusatively towards local business owners as likely suspects.

The Summerville DREAM Team has been assigned the difficult task of investigating the case and are imploringly requesting the assistance of all residents and visitors to solve the mysteriously shocking and perplexing incident. "Who did it", "what did they do it with", and "where did they do it" are the three parts of the case needing a resolution.

March 20th, Third Thursday, Summerville will be transformed into a game board patterned after the murder-mystery game sold by Parker Brothers called Clue--invented by Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Pratt of Bournemouth, England and originally published by Waddingtons in Leeds, England in 1949 called Cluedo. No description of the games components is presumably necessary--Clue has a wide distribution and is considered one of America's favorite classic board games.

As a young child I, like many of my contemporaries, spent countless hours playing this addictive game. As a result, I became quite skillful at going from room to room collecting clues, employing cutthroat strategies such as misdirection, and ultimately arriving at the correct assumptions--with the assistance of a high role of the dice, which is key to quickly moving around the board in collecting the necessary clues. In the Summerville version, how quickly you move from clue to clue will be totally dependent on your fleetness of foot or as Sherlock Holmes would say, "The game's a-foot."

The fun begins at 5:00 pm. Clues will be spread throughout the various stores and restaurants in the downtown district of Summerville. You will have just three hours to collect and solve the case. Your due diligence will pay off--prizes will be handed out.

For background music, the Vistas will be performing on Hutchinson Square and at the end of the Square near the railroad tracks the 'Wounded Warriors' will be visiting to take pictures with you and share their stories. Expect to see 25-40 bicycles.

Also, make it a point to stop by the Summerville Dorchester Museum for "Tales of Summerville" history talks presented by Dr. Ed West.

Three more birds will be released as part of the ongoing B.I.R.D.S. Project and maps for the Summerville ROCKS will be distributed.

So, join the fun. Get your Sherlock Holmes on and solve the murder-mystery. Your favorite, local business just might be implicated in perpetrating Summerville's crime of the century in Lookin' Local.

Other notable events to consider in March are the Summerville Trolley Tours: March 14, 10:30 am, Historic City Tour with tour of Timrod Library and 1:00 pm, Historic City Tour with Tea at the Museum. March 21, 10:30 am, Good Eat on the Sweet Tea Trail Tour with storyteller Tim Lowry and 1:00 pm, Historic City Tour with Tea at the Museum. Visit lowcountrylooptrolley to reserve your spot on the trolley.

A Fast Growing Watersport For The Whole Family-Another Way to Enjoy Charleston's Beautiful Coastal Waters

I know of only one person, and his name is not Bruce Almighty, who history recorded as having actually walked on water. But there is a water sport gaining in popularity in which the participants say doing it is "like walking on water". The difference between actually walking on water and experiencing the sensation of walking on water is ginormous, and despite our restrictive human abilities, just experiencing the sensation would be exilerating, like the idea of flying. This fast-growing-in-popularity watersport first made its appearance over 50 years ago, but only arrived in the U.S. via the West Coast 12 years ago, and is currently taking the Southeast by storm. I only recently became aware of this amazing activity. So, what's SUP with that?

The athletic water activity that is being enthusiasticly embraced by the masses is called Stand Up Paddleboard or SUP for short. All you need is a long surfboard with a leash, a long paddle, and to be safety concious, a life jacket, and you are set to go. The idea originated in Hawaii, the birthplace of surfing. Early in the 1960's the Beach Boys of Waikiki, while standing on their long boards would paddle around the surf with outrigger paddles to take pictures of the tourists learning to surf. Back then it was called "Beach Boy Surfing", another name for SUPing. SUPing then beacame a way for Hawaiian surfers to stay in shape when the surf was flat. Beach Boy, Rick Thomas, is credited with introducing SUP to the beaches of California in the year 2000 and since has found its way to the coastal waterways and beaches of Charleston. It is a fun alternative to kayaking with a one distintive advantage.

The advantage of SUPing verses kayaking is your vantage point. You have the ability to see more things below you when in a standing position as opposed to a sitting position, plus you can see farther out over the surface of the water as well. Everything from horseshoe crabs, stingrays, jellyfish, and dolphins become more visible as you cruise along the rivers, creeks, and backwaters of Charleston's beautiful estuaries. I have kayaked the inner coastal waters and salt marshes of the IOP. At low tide, it is hard to see over the thick marsh grass, thus losing your way or getting lost becomes a possibility. This aspect is minimized if you are on a SUP board. Feeling bodacious and want to take it beyond the flat waters? You can even use your board to catch a wave on one of the three main beaches along Charleston's coastline, the IOP, Sullivan's Island, and Folly Beach. Other activities you can combine with your SUPing are fishing and yoga style excercises.

Interested and don't have your own board, no problem. Charleston SUP Safaris on Folly Beach has everything you need to get you going. They have the equipement. They have the know how. They offer 5 day summer camps specifically for your kids with a focus on teaching them effective paddling and timing techniques with the added features of imparting an understanding of our incredible marine ecosystem and instilling a respect for the importance of preserving the barrier islands. All the instructors have educational experience in Marine Science and ecology of the Lowcountry. There are also three different two to four hour tours available costing from $45 to $70 per person. The Dolphin Safari is an introductory paddle on the Folly River flatwaters. The Sunset and Full Moon Safari is exactly what the name implies. The Morris Island Lighthouse Safari takes you to Morris Island and the mouth of Folly River. It is for more experienced paddlers. For more detailed information on rentals and safaris go to Charleston SUP SAfaris.

Charleston Watersport, located on 1255 Ben Sawyer Blvd in Mt. Pleasant, is a another option for your SUP needs with rentals, group SUP classes and private SUP lessons. They have partnered with Island Paddle Adventure offering you the opportunity to paddle around the wildlife-rich marshlands and coastal waters of Isle of Palms, Sullivan's Island and ever popular Shem Creek with one of their packages. For more information on the tour packages go to Island Paddle Adventure tours and for fitness classes go to Island Paddle Adventure fitness. Charleston Watersport is South Carolina's exclusive gallery for Dragon Paddle Boards and gear. Paddle board rental rates are $40 per day, half days $25, equipment included. Multiple day discounts and weekly rates are available. For more infomation go to Charleston Watersport.

Want to put your SUP skills to the test and have a waterfull time? The 3rd Annual Shem Creek SUP Shootout is scheduled for Friday, July 6, 2012 - Saturday, July 7, 2012. The Registration Party will be at Red's Ice House on July 6th starting at 6pm running till 9pm. Racers meeting will be at 9am on race day at Red's Ice House, Elite SUP Race start time is 10am and all other classes with start at 9:10 in 10 minute intervals for each class. There will be a  Post Race Celebration following the race awards. Paid registration includes both the registration and post parties and a limited edition event t-shirt. All food and beverages are included with paid entry. Registration fees are from $30 to $70. For all the info go to Charleston Watersport.


SUPing is easy to learn and fun for everyone of all ages. It is another way to enjoy our beautiful beaches and marine-life rich coastal waters with either a camera or a fishing rod. For the fitness minded individuals, SUPing fitness classes offer the unique opportunity to excercise right on the water. Give it a try. It is just another SUPer way to spend your day in Charleston.

Charleston's Festival Of Houses And Gardens- An Intimate Look-See

One of my favorite movies through the years was "The Time Machine", not the new version, but the old version. Possessing the ability or technology to step back in time is a fascinating concept, impossible, but none-the-less fascinating. We have only bits and pieces in the form of paintings, reliefs, historical writings, books, artifacts, ruins, photos, and homes left to us that have stood the test of time and give us a glimpse of what preceeded us. But most often we have to fill in the missing blanks using our own imaginations to complete the picture of a by-gone era. Imagining is the fun part.

As I rode for the first time one of the many historical carriage rides Charleston had to offer, I listened intently to the tour guide convey the collection of stories associated with each passing landmark. I was fortunate to get the tour that runs along the waterfront. We were at the junction of East Battery and South Battery. I mentally transported myself back to an earlier period of time. It was April 12, 1861. I was on the porch of the old home at the corner where Battery Park now resides witnessing the bombardment of Fort Sumter. It was pre-dawn. I was up early enjoying the spring quiet of the morning. The first burst of mortar came from the direction of Fort Johnson. Then the air over Fort Sumter turned black from subsequent streams of the countless vollies of exploding shells. I wondered what my expectations would've been as I scrutinized the telling event. Would it have been one of awe or one of fear for what was yet to come?

Charleston is an easy place to experience life as it once was, especially during its most popular antebellum era, because you are surrounded by it everywhere you go on its streets. It's in every stone, rock, timber, rail, window, and street post. The 64th Annual Spring Festival of Houses and Gardens makes it even easier to experience the intimate charm and elegance of the Holy City. The Festival offers you the opportunity to step through the iron gates into the private gardens and cross the sacred threshholds of Charleston's most beautiful historic residences. The Festival is set to take place March 17 to April 16. It coincides with the peak of the city's blooming season making it extra special.

There will be period concerts, oyster roasts at Drayton Hall, Harbor Cruise, and plenty of wine and spirits. The main attraction is the award winning tours showcasing the architecture, the history, and the culture going back to the early colonial period. Featured each day will be 7-10 properties in one of 11 neighborhoods. Neighborhoods include Meeting Street, King Street, Church Street, East Battery, and South Battery to name a few. Each Thursday is reserved for the Glorious Garden Tours, which include a wine and lemonade reception at the Nathaniel Russell House. Tickets are now available for purchase.-Courtesy of Vacation Rick Travel.