City Slickers in the Park

If you plan to be in the Charleston area this weekend (August 14, 2010) you may want to head over to the Memorial Waterfront Park in Mount Pleasant for Movies at the Park. This week's movie is City Slickers. The show starts at 9:00 PM. Bring a chair or blanket. There is no charge for the movie (if you are local, you already paid for it). Parking in the lot is normally 50 cents per hour. The fee was waived last couple of times. I am not sure about this time. Food and beverages will be available for purchase.
Memorial Waterfront Park is located near Patriots Point and the Ravenel Bridge.

We went a few weeks ago and saw E.T. In June, we saw Blind Side with some friends. The movies at the park have been a great time. There are a lot of families who head out there with blankets and snacks. Click on the links for more information.


Future Movie nights are:

September 18 - Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

October 2 - Rudy

All-American City Party and Movies at the Park

If you plan to be in the Charleston area this weekend (July 24, 2010) you may want to head over to the Memorial Waterfront Park in Mount Pleasant for the All-American City Celebration and Movies at the Park. This week's movie is E.T. The show starts at 9:00 PM. Bring a chair or blanket. I think the party starts at 8:30. There is no charge for the movie (if you are local, you already paid for it). Parking in the lot is normally 50 cents per hour. The fee was waived last time. I am not sure about this time. Food and beverages will be available for purchase.
Memorial Waterfront Park is located near Patriots Point and the Ravenel Bridge.

We went a few weeks ago and saw Blind Side with some friends. It was a great time. Click on the links for more information.


Future Movie nights are:
August 14 - City Slickers

September 18 - Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

October 2 - Rudy

Fourth of July East of the Cooper

If you are going to be in the Charleston area over the Fourth of July weekend, you may want to head over to the East Cooper area for the fireworks. There are several shows within viewing distance from each other. If you live here and want to try something different than what you have been doing, you might want to look at this too.
There's a bunch of stuff going on this weekend to celebrate our nation's independence. Perhaps the most popular, and for good reason, is the celebration at Patriot's Point. This celebration starts in the afternoon and goes on until 10 PM or so. You can count on getting out of there much later, due to traffic. The Fireworks start shortly after 9 and will go for about 20 minutes. You really want to get there early though. The festivities start at 4 and, beginning at 5, the museum is offering $5 admission to the Yorktown (a huge aircraft carrier for those who don't know) and the other boats. The admission special runs until 7 PM.
Parking, which is usually $3, is free for this event.

Sullivan's Island's fireworks take place in the town's park (2520 Middle Street). You can see them from the beach. In the past, we have gotten a place on the beach between Sullivan's and Isle of Palms and watched them both from there. We were also able to se the Patriot's Point, some from the Joe, and Folly Beach's as well. We also watched them from the berm at Breech Inlet, near Sunrise Presbyterian Church. I didn't like the view from there as much.
Don't bring your own fireworks to Sullivan's or IOP. They are illegal there.

Isle of Palms fireworks start immediately after the Sullivan's Island fireworks end. They are usually shot near 14th Avenue. You can see them from just about anywhere on the beach. Here is a link to pictures of some of last year's fireworks at IOP. Don't bring your own fireworks to Sullivan's or IOP. They are illegal there.

I'ON - If fireworks aren't your thing, the I'On neighborhood is hosting Band Blast 2010 from 6 - 9 PM. There are other events throughout the day, starting with a parade at 9:30 AM.

I found this on the Facebook page for "I Love Mount Pleasant":
Mount Pleasant Pier
Live beach music under the stars. The music starts at 8 p.m. The East Coast Party Band is performing. The pier at the foot of the Ravenel Bridge on Charleston Harbor. Great spot to view the area’s fireworks displays! Gates open at 7 p.m. and music begins at 8 p.m.
Tickets will be limited. On-site tickets $10. Beverages will be available for purchase on site. l 843-795-4FUN

Family Fun East of the Cooper

Tomorrow night (at the time of this writing), June 26th, Charleston County Parks is showing "The Blind Side" at Memorial Waterfront Park in Mount Pleasant.
In my opinion, this is a good movie for teens and up and should be a nice evening. The show starts at 9:00 PM. Bring a chair or blanket. There is no charge for the movie (if you are local, you already paid for it). Parking in the lot is 50 cents per hour. Food and beverages will be available for purchase.
Memorial Waterfront Park is located near Patriots Point and the Ravenel Bridge.

Future Movie nights are:
July 24 - ET

August 14 - City Slickers

September 18 - Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

October 2 - Rudy

Blessing of the Fleet

Rescheduled to Sunday May 16

Sunday, May 16, 2010 is the Blessing of the Fleet. The Blessing of the Fleet has been one of my favorite events in the East Cooper area. We can almost always count on decent weather and it is late enough in the year that we can usually wear shorts. Several of the area restaurants show up and sell some great shrimp dishes as well as those deep fried potato curled chips.
The event will take place from 11:30 - 6:00. The shrimp boats will start their procession at about 12:45; with the blessing beginning at about 1.
The location is new this year. In previous years, we have had to drive around the Old Village and look for a parking spot or take the shuttle from the Wild Wings parking lot. This year, the event will take place at the new Mount Pleasant Waterfront Park. There is plenty of parking available (regular .50 per hour fee is waived) at the event and shuttles will run from the Farmer's Market, the park in the Village (Royall and Bank Streets), and the Duffy Complex (Center Street baseball fields) as well.

Oyster Roast this Weekend

Event: 27th Annual Lowcountry Oyster Festival
Date: Sunday, January 31, 2010
Location: Boone Hall Plantation, Mt. Pleasant, SC
Time: 11:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. - Gates Open at 10:30 A.M.
Admission: $10 in advance(at Kickin' Chicken), $12 at the door
Oysters are $8 per bucket
Contest: 1:00 ish
Music: Dave Landeo Band

There are a few big events that occur every year in the East Cooper area. The Lowcountry Oyster Festival is one of those events. There are also a few weekends of nasty weather you can count on. The weekend on which the Lowcountry Oyster Festival is held is one of those weekends. Regardless of the weather, it is always well attended. You can count on 8,000-12,000 people attending this event and eating 50,000-75,000 pounds of oysters. If you decide to attend, get your tickets at Kickin' Chicken, get there early and plan for an hour or so for traffic and parking. I have seen the traffic lined up for a mile or so on Highway 17. I might make it this year.

No pictures for this one. I have not attended yet.

Long Point Grill

It's been quite a while since my last post. I have been out fishing, taking care of Thanksgiving and Christmas chores and shopping, and generally busy with life. One of the things I have been able to do was get out to lunch at Long Point Grill - twice.
Although easy to find, Long Point Grill is kind of hidden and hard to stumble upon without looking for it. It is on the part of Long Point Road near the port, the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, and Possums. I had heard about it several times from friends before I finally decided to try it. I took Christine for lunch one day while we were out running errands and it was great. The following week, we took my Mom there for lunch. It was equally great.
Long Point Grill is one of Sal's restaurants. He also owns or is partners in Uno Mas, Boulevard Diner, Mustard Seed, and several others. I really like some of them, others not so much.
At the Long Point Grill, I have had the Cuban and the Roast Beef; both were excellent. The Cuban was much more flavorful. I would expect that because it has a greater variety of meats. The roast beef was good. It seemed like the beef would benefit from some spice or flavoring. If you are looking for the pure taste of good rare roast beef, this is the sandwich for you. As far as the Cuban goes, one thing that is missing in the Charleston area is a good Cuban restaurant. However, the Long Point Grill has a great Cuban sandwich. I liked the blend of flavors and the mustard had a good amount of spice.
Christine has had the Blackened Chicken Quesadillas and the Charleston Shrimp Po' Boy. She also enjoyed them both. I tried them and liked them as well. I think my Mom had a crab burger, which she really enjoyed.
If there is a negative, I would say it is the sides. The fries are shoestring potatoes and sprinkled with parsley or another green herb. They were hot and not greasy; but otherwise not anything to write home about. On the other hand, I did order them both times. Christine did not enjoy her collard greens and didn't have a side with the quesadillas. On the plus side, the fried green tomatoes that came with my Mom's crab burger were pretty good.
The portions are large and we were able to have lunch the next day with the leftovers. Meals run about $10 per person. It's a bit pricey for lunch. I think the food and service are worth it for a special treat.