The Awendaw Creek Canoe and Kayak Launch

From Christine Awendaw Landing 8 30 09

If you take US 17 about 18 miles North of SC Highway 41, past the turnoff for Garris landing, past the SeeWee Restaurant, past the SeWee Nature Center, over the Awendaw Creek bridge, but not quite to Buck Hall Campground, you will find a little known and even less used canoe and kayak landing, the Awendaw Creek Canoe and Kayak Launch.
Christine and I like to paddle our kayaks around and do a little fishing. So, we though we would give this landing a try. We took US 17 North and made a right on Rosa Green Road. The landing was a half mile down on the left. It is an easy ride. There is pretty much no traffic once you get North of Highway 41.
The landing is not as easy to use as a boat ramp and those with canoes or yaks greater than 13 feet in length will need to lift the boat over the rails on the switchbacks. It is clean and in good repair. Parking is easy and I had no trouble fitting my car and trailer in a spot.

From Christine Awendaw Landing 8 30 09

We got to the landing on the early part of incoming tide, so we paddled north, against the tide. This would make our return easier. We fished and paddled for about three hours. Because we do more fishing than paddling, I am guessing that we only went a half mile or so from the dock. It is still nice to have the current at my back as I return. We drifted back much of the way, with a Gulp shrimp under a float drifting along with us.

The fishing was not good. This was the first time I have fished in brackish water. I am surprised, due to the proximity to the Intracoastal Waterway, that the water in this creek wasn’t saltwater. This water was almost fresh. We each caught about a half dozen small sailcats, a saltwater catfish that is rare in this area.

From Christine Awendaw Landing 8 30 09

I would certainly recommend this landing for a nice paddle. Due to the fact that there aren’t any boat ramps around, there isn’t any boat traffic. We saw a lot of birds and it was very peaceful. The current was not too swift to run against; yet swift enough to give us a nice drift back to the put in. There may be some freshwater fish in the area. If so, they didn’t want to bite on shrimp.

There aren't any outfitters to rent kayaks or canoes at the landing. You can try these:
Time Out Sports

Coastal Expeditions

Nature Adventure Outfitters - may run tours, contact them for more info

From Christine Awendaw Landing 8 30 09

Lunch at Fiery Ron's in Sullivan's

Sorry, no pictures this time. I didn't have my camera with me today.
One of the things I like about living in the East Cooper area is the amazing number of restaurants in the area. After our tennis social this morning, Christine and I decided we would run some errands and get some lunch on Sullivan’s Island. Actually it was only one errand; we had to drop some DVDs off at the library and some others we had on reserve were ready. We dropped off Faith Like Potatoes and 27 Dresses. We picked up two other DVDs and a couple of books. Our library system is awesome. The Mount Pleasant Branch is the most used of all of them - including the huge main branch in downtown Charleston.

After our library stop, we headed over to Fiery Ron’s Home Team BBQ on Sullivan’s. Before I discuss the restaurant, I need to let you know that the Sullivan’s Island restaurant and bar area can be crazy for parking on weekends, even in the off-season. During the summer, it can be crazy finding parking even on weekdays. I imagine it is worse at night when the bars are hopping. I suggest you be very careful there when you are walking or driving. There are a lot of folks who are not from here who are looking for their restaurant or trying to find a parking spot and not paying attention to traffic or pedestrians.

Fiery Ron’s was pretty good. We had to wait for a while to get recognized. I think it is because we took a seat outside and the waitress had just cleaned the tables and gone in to drop off orders. It was exacerbated by the fact that we were very hungry. We had breakfast at 8, played tennis from 10-12, showered, got out to the library, and now it was 2. The Mary B's Biscuits and eggs I had for breakfast was burned up. The five minutes or so that we waited for service felt like a long time.

Christine ordered the Pulled Pork Quesadillas. It was a large helping; too large for her. I had to help. They came with three types of salsa, guac, and sour cream. I liked them. The BBQ had good smoked flavor that wasn’t covered up by any sauce. They were also filled with cheese; cheddar I think. Christine thought they were a bit greasy. I agreed. But, I still liked them.

I had the Pulled Pork Sandwich with Slaw on top and Fries on the side. It was a good sandwich. I like the Lexington, NC style BBQ and Ron’s had the hot vinegar sauce to make it happen. It was a good sandwich and the fries were just right and not greasy at all. If I ordered it again, I would ask for them to add the cheese from the quesadilla.

All in all it was a pretty good trip. We’ll go pack, but we won’t hurry. Next time we want to get to Acme Cantina on IOP.

Tennis Anyone?

From Blog

When Christine and I moved to the East Cooper area, we knew we wanted to take up tennis or golf. We explored both and decided that tennis is a much better fit for our lifestyle and budget. We can play tennis if we only have an hour or so; we have courts in the neighborhood; and the tennis doesn’t break the bank budget wise.

Golf has its advantages too. The East Cooper area is home to the Rivertowne Country Club, Dunes West, Charleston National, Patriot’s Point, and Dunes West. From what I understand, these are some of the best courses in the country. Also, the Kiawah Ocean Course is not far at from us. I have a lot of friends who play the game. It just isn’t for me.

We started in tennis by purchasing some used tennis racquets at a yard sale and practicing on our neighborhood courts. We went to an introduction to tennis that was held at the Mount Pleasant Recreation Department Tennis Center, on Whipple Road. After that introduction, we signed up for and attended an evening clinic for a couple of months. Tom and Clay Maynor, the pros there, were great and gave us a foundation we could work from.

Christine immediately found a 2.5 team to play on. The team had a great coach, Kin Roseborough, who was the pro at Creekside at the time and is currently the tennis pro at Park West. Kin is also involved with The Player’s Club and Charleston Golf and Tennis (the old Las Vegas Golf and Tennis). I have also taken a couple lessons from Kin and he has helped my game.

The tennis community in the East Cooper area is vibrant and exciting. We have met a lot of people and had some great times participating in and watching tournaments. Christine participates in the Ace Breast Cancer Tournament at Ion every year and it is always fun. She and her doubles partner won the loser’s bracket a couple of years ago. We also usually participate in the Dunes West Free for All tournaments.

I recently learned that Chuck Lee at the Players Club offers tournaments the weekend after every major. We may start entering those as well. Players Club is a great facility and entering a tournament is a nice way to enjoy it without having to join. We have had opportunity to play there with some friends and it is very well kept.

There are also several tennis events for spectators in the area. Daniel Island is home of the Family Circle Cup, one of the tournaments on the WTA Tennis circuit. Fall is the time of year for the Charleston Professional Tennis League (CPTL) tournaments. Local pros play on Friday nights at different venues each week. It is a great tennis/social event.

From Blog

There are loads of other outdoor activities in the area. Some are through Mount Pleasant Rec or IOP Rec departments. Others are through various church and community organizations. There is no reason to be bored in the East Cooper area.

From Blog

Sailing the Charleston Harbor

The East Cooper area is full of outdoor recreation opportunities. Many of them are on the water. When the weather is right, which is most of the time, it is great to get out on the water and enjoy it. Living on the coast offers boating, sailing, kayaking, fishing, or just walking along the beach. Most of us can't afford to have all of the recreation equipment to do everything; at least I can't. For large boating adventures I am fortunate to have good friends.

This past weekend, I went sailing in the Charleston Harbor with some friends. Throughout the trip, we stayed East of the Cooper. So, this post will be totally on topic.



My friend Burton keeps his sailboat in Shem Creek. The boat has a 4 foot keel. So even though it was still a fairly high tide, we followed the channel into the harbor. In doing so, we passed by the Pitt Street Bridge, the subject of a recent blog post. We also sailed around Crab Bank and /Shutes Folly/Castle Pickney* (our dog Cassie's namesake) then sailed up the Wando side of the harbor, past the Yorktown and under the Ravenel Bridge. We turned and went back past all of the above. At one point we sailed past Fort Sumter. In all, it was about two or three hours of sailing and a beautiful day to be on the water.



The Coast Guard was out patrolling. I think I have seen them every time we have gone out. They must have a permanent post patrolling our harbor. I like that.






Sailing is a peaceful way to enjoy an afternoon. There is just enough work involved to let one know he is doing something; but not so much that it wears one out. That said, I have been know to hurt in new places the day after an all day adventure.


*On a previous trip we anchored in the harbor, swam to, and briefly explored Castle Pickney. It is a bird sanctuary and stinks worse than almost anything I have ever experienced. It is very overgrown and getting to the Castle is difficult in swimming attire. I don't recommend it. I also don't recommend it because it is illegal. As we were leaving, we saw a sign back in the weeds saying that it is a bird sanctuary and not to trespass. Had we seen the sign earlier we would not have entered and would have saved ourselves some aggravation.

Sunset Stroll on the Pitt Street Bridge

Last night, after a great dinner of homemade bar-b-que and slaw, Christine and I took our new dog Cassie to the Pitt Street Bridge. Cassie is new to us; but, not brand new. She needs some socialization skills and thought the Pitt Street Bridge would be a good place for her to acquire some.

We met our friends Burt and Jenny in the parking area and took a walk to the end of the pier/bridge, watched the sunset and had a good time catching up. There were a few families crabbing and fishing all the way up the walkway to the bridge; as well as a few people fishing on the bridge. Several other couples were walking, with and without dogs. We also saw a runner run to the end of the bridge, touch it, and head back toward Pitt Street. On a weekend, it is not uncommon to see several families having portraits taken with the Ravenel Bridge or many of the other lowcountry sights in the background.

The young dad and his three boys fishing at the end of the pier were having a great time. At one point, one of the young boys mentioned that he didn’t care if he even caught any fish, it was just nice to be out at the water with his family. That is often my sentiment when I am out kayak fishing with Christine.

If you have not been to the Pitt Street Bridge, you are missing out. The area has been recently converted into a park includes beautiful palm trees, a grassy area for picnics, and benches to sit and watch the boats, ships, tugs, fishermen, sunset, or any of the other wonderful and relaxing sights of the harbor and marsh area.

It was a beautiful evening with a light breeze. The sunset over the Charleston Peninsula was gorgeous. The clouds were breaking just around the sun so that we could see the orb behind the skyline of downtown Charleston. Just above the clouds, there was a slit of pink cotton candy, some more clouds and an expanse of light. I thought it was very cool.

As the five of us, including Cassie, stood at the end of the dock we were able to see a few fishing boats, what might have been a Coast Guard boat, a tug pushing a barge, and cargo ships go by.

Another sight we were able to see was the Ben Sawyer Bridge swung to allow a tugboat through. There are not many swing bridges around and I am glad this one is being replaced with another of the same type. One of the memories I have of my younger days was waiting in traffic as the drawbridges were raised and lowered as our family went to the beach. We watched the boats go by and it was always special because if we were in drawbridge traffic, that meant we were going to the beach. Bridge traffic is another thing to love about living in the East Cooper area. If you are in too much of a hurry to enjoy waiting for a bridge, you are in too much of a hurry to live in a coastal area.

Birthday Dinner in East Cooper

Last night, Christine and I celebrated my Birthday Dinner. In our house, the birthday person selects the restaurant for their birthday dinner; no holds barred. The past two years, I selected Robert’s and S.N.O.B. They were good choices. We had great meals and the service was extraordinary at both places. This year, I really did not want to deal with parking and traffic issues of downtown Charleston. As cities go, Chucktown is the best; however, we have great restaurants here in Mount Pleasant, Isle of Palms, and Sullivan's Island that we have yet to try.

I had been wanting to try Uno Mas since it opened, two years ago. Uno Mas is one of Sal Parco’s restaurants. The rest of them are: three Mustard Seed locations, two Boulevard Diners, Sette, Long Point Grill, and Village Bakery. Of the nine, six of them are in Mount Pleasant. Lest one think this is a commercial for Sal’s places, I will let you know that Christine and I tried the Village Bakery for a couple of pastries last Saturday and we were very disappointed. The cinnamon bun was more like a biscuit and the Morning Glory Muffin was so disappointing that my wife ate less than half of it. That said, we are a bit pickier than most. My wife is an aspiring pastry chef and makes excellent cinnamon rolls and cakes at home. She made my ice cream cake for my birthday last night.

Ice Cream Cake Christine made for Bill. Vanilla, chocolate,
and chocolate chip mint ice cream, on a Grasshopper crust;
surrounded by ice cream sandwich sections and topped
with whipped cream and Grasshoppers.

Christine had the Chicken and Spinach Quesadilla. It is not on the online menu; but is on the menu in the restaurant. She really liked it and looks forward to having the second half for lunch today. The quesadilla was large and included pico de gallo and a small salad.

I had Shrimp Fajitas, also not on the online menu. Fajitas are always fun for me. They are tasty and the fact that I have to make them up slows me down a little. The shrimp (about 9 – 12) came on a sizzling bed of peppers, onions, and tomato slices that were all sauteed. The sounds and smell of a fajita plate are great and really add to the dining experience. The fajitas were served with pico de gallo (chopped tomatoes, onions, peppers, and cilantro), beans with queso fresco (cheese), Mexican rice, guacamole, and sour cream. The meal included three tortillas. I also enjoyed my meal.

We received excellent service from our waitress, Ally. She was not the only one who served us. It seems like it is a team affair as everyone who passed the table checked on our beverages (water with lime in our case) and the manager and host each stopped by to make sure that all was OK, which it was.

The menu and décor is a little more upscale than Yo Burrito (also a great place, just not for my Birthday Dinner) or La Hacienda. Pricing is in the $8 - $12 per person range for most entrees. The Shrimp Fajitas are a little more and some of the steak and seafood dishes are closer to $20. We got out for just under $30 including tax and tip. It seems like lunch pricing is about the same and we were offered the lunch specials for dinner as well. If you like Mexican food and want a nice experience East of the Cooper, I suggest you try Uno Mas. This is one we will add to the Restaurant Bowl.