Mount Pleasant Farmer's Market

Back in the early part of the decade, while we were living in Charlotte, Christine and I took a trip to San Diego. During that trip we toured the town of Coronado. We happened to be in Coronado on the day of their farmer's market from then on, we knew we wanted to live in a town that had one. We really enjoyed looking at the fresh flowers and tasting the fresh fruits and vegetables and honey.

One of the many joys of living in the East Cooper area is the Mount Pleasant Farmer's Market. It is held every Tuesday from 3PM until dark. It started in April and this year it runs until November 24.

We used to go to the market every week to pick up fresh veggies and flowers for the table. This year, work and other responsibilities have kept us from being able to enjoy the weekly afternoon at the market. The fact that the schedule was different (due to school construction) had some play in it as well.

Last Tuesday, we decided to make sure we went. It was our first time at the market since the new pavilion style area was built. It was a little different and some of the vendors were missing. That may be because it is so late in the season; as the Farmer's Market used to close in October.

Most of the vendors were there. Boone Hall had a pretty good selection of vegetables as well as several of the farms from John's Island. The Kettle Corn guy was making kettle corn and giving free samples. Olde Colony Bakery and Rococo Bakery had some local baked goods. The cooperative extension is usually at the market with a master gardener or two. They may have been there on our trip, but we missed them. We were really looking for them either.

We purchased, some nice North Carolina mountain apples, a very interesting purple pepper, a few other miscellaneous vegetables, some local honey, and a pound of Barbecue for dinner. We missed seeing the flowers. It may be late in the season for them.

One of the other joys of going to the Farmer's Market is seeing old friends. We never fail to run into a friend we have not seen in a while. This trip was no exception. My wife ran into one of her tennis friends that she hadn't seen in a couple of years and had a chance to catch up while I got the barbecue. It was good to get back to the market and we will try to make it a couple more times before it closes for the season.

The Trifecta

Until about a two years ago, my work took me out to Georgetown on a weekly basis. From where I live, the trip to Georgetown is about an hour and 90 percent of the trip is in US 17. There is a very interesting area of US 17 that is about 15-20 minutes North of my home that I never really get to, except for those trips. About 15 miles from the Ravenel Bridge there are three places within a mile of each other that worth taking an afternoon and seeing:

The Seewee Restaurant

SeWee Outpost

Hidden Ponds Nursery

The Seewee Restaurant is on my top five list of favorite East Cooper Restaurants. My wife and I have only been for dinner, but they look crowded for lunch as well. We have gone on the weekend and seen live music there as well. I’ll do a separate review for them in a later blog. You could start or finish here.

Sewee Outpost looks like any other gas station with a convenience store attached. That is what I thought it was for years. I had stopped for gas, paid at the pump, and went on my way. Then, one day on my way to the boat ramp, I decided to buy some bait instead of catching my own. I had seen the Outpost sold bait and went in to get some. I was shocked at what I saw. This place has everything. The bait and fishing section is only a couple of aisles. There is a large clothing section, with clothing from Columbia and Carhart and a grocery section with homemade pies and everything from Alligator to Zebra. Well, maybe not zebra; but there was alligator.

Finally, the main event – Hidden Ponds Nursery. I stopped at Hidden Ponds on the way back from Georgetown once. They had pampas grass on sale. I bought one, took it home, cut it in half, and planted it in two places. Now, that grass is huge; it has taken over the areas I planted it and I prune one of them with a wood saw to keep it away from my air conditioning unit. They dwarf the pampas grass plant I purchased from the big box store.

Hidden Ponds is a very interesting place. It takes about an hour or so to walk through it. They have all kinds of plants for the East Cooper area; as well as chemicals, garden accessories and fish. But, the neat part for me is the landscaped pond with the fountains. Just past the animal pen – with goats and roosters, there is a beautiful pond with a wooden bridge and two fountains in it. This place is definitely worth a look, especially if you are considering adding a couple of things to your landscape.