Spring Is In The Air-Summerville's Flowertown Festival

It's spring in Charleston and it's surrounding areas. Winter has come to an abrupt end. The warmer weather has brought residents out of hibernation and energized the flower buds in a big way. Not even the higher gas prices can put a damper on the festivities. Stiff upper lip and all that there such stuff. Oh well, can't do anything about it, so you might as well just go out and enjoy the activities.

Spring in Summerville brings something else in an abundance. Has all the green haze coating your cars and lawn furniture got you sneezing and wheezing? If it hasn't, you are one of the fortunate. Still, you are faced with the daunting task of combating the green wave and washing your car has become a daily ritual. The culprit is the numerous pine trees. It was all those pine trees growing in Summerville that made it world famous at the beginning to the 20th century. The International Congress of Physicians in 1899 proclaimed Summerville one of the two best places in the world for people suffering from lung disorders. The turpentine scent emitted by the pine trees was considered to be the cure for a variety of respiratory ailments.

Since, Summerville's popularity has grown and is now host to a nationally acclaimed festival called South Carolina's largest Arts & Crafts festival and named one of the Top 20 Events in the Southeast by the Southeast Tourism Society. The event has become known as the Flowertown Festival and is scheduled for April 1-3. The family-oriented 3-day event is staged in Azalea Park. More than 200 craft artisans and vendors will display their creative wares throughout Azalea Park. Food vendors, live entertainment, a children's carnival, a tennis classic, and a tour of historic homes and gardens will ensure that everyone has something to do, see, or eat. Bring your cameras to record the fun. The azalea bloom should make for some colorful pictures.-Vacation Rick Travel

Other events in the area include:
Rockfest 2011-Apr 3, 1:00 pm, Exchange Park Fairground. Tickets
Cooper River Bridge Run-04/02/2011. To register for the Bridge Run, go to bridgerun.com.
Family Circle Cup-April 2-10, 2011
Festival of Houses and Gardens-March 17 - April 16

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

Renaissance Charleston Historic District Hotel-Charm And Sophistication

Charleston is renowned as a walking city. After spending the day passing through the iron gates of its most famous estates you will be looking to cool your heels and just plain chill out for the rest of the day. There is no shortage of hotels and inns to choose from when it comes to accommodations in The Holy City's Historic District. Some are former residences of Charleston's elite of yesteryear and others are renovations of old structures that once graced its cobbled streets, some with not so graceful of a past. Each establishment is ready and willing to pamper your self indulgent side and cater to your most basic traveling needs. The Renaissance Charleston Historic District Hotel provides the ultimate experience in comfort and hospitality combining traditional southern charm with modern sophistication.

This AAA Four-Diamond award winning hotel was built in 2001 and went through a massive renovation that was completed in 2008. The Renaissance Charleston has marked themselves as the hotel known for "Unlocking the Gates of History." The beautiful iron gates found throughout the city was incorporated into the decor from the carpets to small details found throughout the building. Every room has new furnishings and fully equipped with a new 32-inch, flat screen HD Television, as well as a connectivity panel, allowing users to charge and integrate all their electronic devices.

The lobby area has also been redesigned and furnished to create a central meeting place in the heart of the hotel where you can relax with a drink while making plans or talk over the days activities. The Wentworth Grill serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The Lounge at Wentworth Grill offers both local and specialty cocktails with patio seating. The Hotel also has a roof top swimming pool.

It is ideally located right next to the King Street Shopping District. Three blocks away is the Old City Market. South Carolina Aquarium, Charleston City Marina, and Fort Sumter Tours are also nearby. From the Old City Market you can catch a historic carriage ride to get a quick overall exposure to the city and its history, picking out sights to come back to for a more intimate look-see. The hotel staff will be glad to help you with information pertaining to tours and places of special interest. Rates start at $238 per night on hotels.com, $219 on priceline.-Vacation Rick Travel

Ocean Lodge, St. Simons Island-A Taste Of Old World Italy.

For this article, I am going to head down along the coast to our southern neighbor. I first heard of this cultured place while watching a fishing program. The place is St. Simons Island.

St. Simons Island is one of four barrier islands along the 100 mile-long coast of Georgia on the Atlantic Ocean. Travelers are drawn to the islands for their beaches, wetlands, sub-tropical forests, and water recreation every year. Its elite resorts are frequented by some of the nations wealthiest families.

The first inhabitants of St. Simons lived there during fishing season about 2,000 BCE. Later, the island was inhabited by a coastal tribe of Indians who became known as the Timucuan and related groups called Mocama and Guale. They were present when the island saw its first Europeans, likely the Spanish, who founded missions there. With the establishment of Charles Towne, the Spanish influence on the island became threatened and English pirates terrorized the settlements along its coast. Eventually the Timucuans abandoned the island and were absorbed by the Yamassees in Florida. English colonists cultivated the island for rice and cotton that was worked by large populations of African slaves, who created the unique Gullah culture. The island since the early 20th century has been developed as a resort community.

Ocean Lodge, just a few short steps from the ocean, is detailed to give your stay the look and feel of being immersed in the traditions of Old World Italy. It has fifteen spacious and well-appointed ocean view guest rooms. Each room is detailed with the romance and mystique of European villas with a full kitchen, separate bedroom area, and beautifully furnished sitting space all open onto your own private veranda hall. All are equipped with large-screen televisions and WiFi. Ocean Lodge also features a rooftop terrace and lounge.

Enjoy a massage from their certified massage therapist, take a bike ride on the beach, enjoy a workout, play a round of golf, or go boating. To top it all off, it is ideally located close to St. Simon’s finest restaurants, and the historic lighthouse. If you decide to venture away from all the luxurious amenities of Ocean Lodge, you can stroll about the shops in the quaint village of St. Simons. Read the reviews from Tripadvisor. 

A February Day At Charleston National-One of Many Charleston Gems

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to golf Charleston National in Mt. Pleasant with my regular golfing buddies. The weather was perfect, in the high seventies. The wind was somewhat brisk, adding an ingredient of challenge. It was Charleston sunshine throughout the whole day. While the weather was perfect, my game was far less than perfect or to put it aptly, not up to par. I had a good day driving off the tee, but my second and third shots were contributing factors to my downfall.

The course was crowded. Everyone obviously had the same idea. It was a Friday and a game of golf looked more appealing than a day in the office. Alot of out-of-state plates lined the parking lot as well. The picturesque fairways were pleasant and the greens were well groomed. At first glance, the fairways at Charleston National are more forgiving than other golf courses, until you get to the back nine, especially from fifteen to eighteen.

There you cross the weedy marshes over bridges to arrive at the next tee box. An ominous warning sign posted along the edge stated, "Spiders, snakes, and alligators inhabit the marshes, do not enter." I think its real intent was to discourage golfers from retrieving their badly placed balls because if you didn't hit a good tee shot, your ball would be swallowed up by the natural wetlands the course is carved out of. You can look at it two ways, either the course designer wanted to save the worst for last or the best for last. It would depend on your point of view.

Adjacent to the tee box on seventeen, overlooking the waterway, was a beautiful mansion-like home. The owner was out manicuring what appeared to be a man-made beach that ran along the side and back of his beautifully landscaped property. The hole itself was a sharp dog-leg to the left with the marsh in front and bunkers lining the fairway beyond. Too short, you were in the weeds, too long, your were in the sand. The eighteenth hole was a complete surprise. I have never golfed a course that ended with a par three. Overlooking the intra-coastal waters, the eighteenth green was about 140 yards on the otherside of a marshy channel of water with the flag placement close to its front edge.

Sulking somewhat over the muffed three wood shots and failed excecution of some easy putts throughout the afternoon, I was anticipating the end to the misery and cracking open a Yuengling for a final farewell. I pulled out my eight iron and watched my fellow golfers pitch their balls into the grassy waters short of the green. I then decided to switch to the five. I set myself, took a final gaze at the flag, and let it rip. The ball sailed high into the air with a slight draw to the right. It was a thing of beauty to watch as it landed and rolled about 14 feet passed the flag. Finishing the day with a par on a tough hole helped in recovering some of my battered pride. The final analysis proved once again a bad day of golf is better than a good day at work.

 

Charleston National is a Rees Jones designed championship golf course that is open to the public year round. Rated by Golf Digest as the best non-resort course in the Charleston area. Another course close by is Rivertowne Country Club, an Arnold Palmer’s signature design with low country hospitality. It is given high 4.5 Star Rating by Golf Digest’s Places to Play. Still another is Dunes West Golf Club,  an Arthur Hills design located on the site of the historic Lexington Plantation.-Courtesy Vacation Rick Travel

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.

Charleston's Golf Courses Are High On The List For Golf Destinations

Mark Twain once said, "Golf is a good walk spoiled." Now, I don't know if Twain ever golfed, and it appears he had or he wouldn't have said this, he must have set his expectations too high to arrive at this negative conclusion because another quote recalls it this way, "A bad day of golf is better than a good day at work." Twain was a rather cynical man and he knew how to turn a humorous phrase.

Golf can be rather comical. On one hand, you can have a big strappin' guy taking his wacks at that tiny white ball sending it 300 yards in all different directions, and on the other hand, a little old lady methodically hitting the ball a little distance at a time up the fairway. More times than not she will arrive at the green with less strokes and more balls. I'm being somewhat facetious.

Here is another quote you hear me often repeat, "You drive for show, you putt for dough." Finally, this quote is rather Mark Twainish, but not of his making, "Golf is a poor mans simple pleasure and a rich mans aggrevation." You have to think a bit on that one.

Some of the top destinations for golf in North America according to golf.com are right here in the Southeast. Topping off the list are places like Orlando, Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head, Ocean City, and Pinehurst. Golf courses in Myrtle Beach are as numerous as the Northeners who visit the Grand Strand. The area is home to more than 100 courses. If you are looking for a challenge the five toughest courses are Barefoot Golf Resort (Dye Course), Rivers Edge Golf Club, Pawleys Plantation, Dunes Golf and Beach Club, and Grande Dunes (Resort Course).

Orlando has been voted "North American Golf Destination of the Year 2010" by the International Association of Golf Tour Operators. It has over 75 courses to choose from. Ginn Reunion Resort, Florida designed by such legends as Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus is located just minutes away from Walt Disney World Resort and the Orlando International Airport.

Golf Digest readers named Hilton Head Island No. 10 on its list of the world's best golf resorts. If you are looking for a specific category such as most challenging, most scenic, and most player-friendly Hilton Head has it. Other notables near Hilton Head are The Melrose Course at Daufuskie Island Resort and Breathe Spa, a championship Jack Nicklaus “signature” layout and Bloody Point Course at Daufuskie Island Resort and Breathe Spa’s.

One of the top courses in the country is right here in our own backyard. Readers of Golf World Magazine voted Kiawah Island Golf Resort "#1 Resort in the U.S." where Kiawah Island Resort (Ocean Course) is located. Also was ranked No. 4 in the Top 100 list on golf.com and notibly home of the 2007 Senior PGA. Golf enthusiasts of Charleston are happy to know August, 2012 the 94th PGA Championship will be held at the Ocean Course. Another top Charleston area course is Wild Dunes Links Course consistently ranked by Golf Digest and Golf magazine as one of "America’s Top 100." Patriots Point Links right on Charleston Harbor offers spectacular views of the city and Fort Sumter. Coosaw Creek Country Club accolades include a "Must Play" by Golf Magazine, and a "4 Stars" from Golf Digest. These are just a few of what Charleston offers to the golfer.

So, the only thing a golfer needs is more daylight, and money. In closing, maybe you will appreciate this observation- The difference in golf and government is that in golf you can't improve your lie. A travel note of significance- Southwest Airlines will start serving Charleston on March 13th. Now there are seven new direct flights to CHS. Remember golf bags fly free! Get out and golf.