I can't wait to see what they build at Gateway Village.

We all know how good the life is here in the Grand Oaks Plantation area. The neighborhood is beautifully wooded, quiet and friendly, but it’s still very convenient to the rest of Charleston. But here’s news that life may be even easier soon for residents of the Haddon Hall Apartment community and the rest of Grand Oaks Plantation.

Construction work should be getting under way soon on a plot of commercial land on Savannah Hwy. near where it meets Bees Ferry Rd., according to the Charleston Regional Business Journal. The site, called Gateway Village, is next to the Publix supermarket at West Ashley Place, about a ten minute drive from the Haddon Hall Apartments.

It’s not clear yet what who will move into the site, but it seems likely we soon will have some new retail and restaurant options just minutes from our Haddon Hall apartment community.

It’s not that folks west of the Ashley River are hurting for great shopping and dining choices, but a few more certainly won’t hurt. How could life at Haddon Hall get any better?

The Footlight Theater is on Charleston's historic Queen Street.

Sometimes life gets complicated, and it feels good just to cocoon in your comfortable Haddon Hall apartment home. But there’s so much great arts activity in Charleston, you really should venture out of the Grand Oaks Plantation neighborhood at least occasionally.

The Footlight Theater is an excellent enticement. The upcoming production of The Lion in Winter promises to be another fine theater experience. The Footlight Theater’s website says, “This ingenious drama pits King Henry II against his strong-willed wife Eleanor of Aquitaine and their three heirs in the 12th-century struggle for love and power.” The original Broadway production won three Tony Awards.

The Lion in Winter is on stage at the Footlight Theater October 1 through 17. The theater is located at 20 Queen Street in Charleston’s historic downtown. For more information go to the Footlight Theater’s website.

Photo used under Creative Commons from Adam Mizrahi.

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In Grand Oaks Plantation, this means there's stuff for sale.

The Haddon Hall Apartments are sort of a tightly knit community within the tightly knit Grand Oaks Plantation neighborhood. It takes good neighbors to come up with a great idea that helps us all declutter our apartments (or pick up some great stuff, depending on which way you look at it) and help a good cause.

This weekend will be the Grand Oaks Plantation Community Wide Yard Sale.

Rummage through your closets and if you come across an item you haven’t touched in over a year, then you probably don’t need it. Toss it into the stuff to sell pile. Neighborhood residents who have items to sell will tie yellow balloons to their mailboxes to let buyers know. Here at the Haddon Hall apartment community, we’ll make sure there are yellow balloons at the entrance to the apartments to attract buyers into our community. We encourage you to display your awesome stuff in the parking lot.

The Grand Oaks Plantation Community Wide Yard Sale officially happens Saturday (September 25) from 7am to noon. After 12:00, gather up anything that didn’t sell and take it to the Bees Landing Recreation Center by 3pm. A truck will take the items to Habitat for Humanity.

You might make a few bucks. You might pick up some good stuff. You might meet some neighbors. And we’ll all be helping Habitat for Humanity.

We’ll see you Saturday morning, Haddon Hall.

Photo used under Creative Commons from Philippa Willitts.

Visit historic Charleston homes on the Fall Home and Garden Tour.

Charleston is a city of beautiful, historic neighborhoods, not just in town, but in the surrounding areas as well. That’s certainly the case for the Haddon Hall Apartments in the heavily wooded Grand Oaks Plantation neighborhood. A reminder of the long heritage of our location is the the historic Drayton Hall site, a colonial plantation on the banks of the Ashley River, just a few miles from our apartment community.

Coming up in September and October will be your chance to see up close some of the distinctive architecture and history of Charleston’s old city streets with the annual Fall Tour of Gardens and Homes. It’s organized by the Charleston Historical Society.

The tour is actually a series of weekend tours held September 23 through October 24. The tours open the doors to select private homes and gardens, as well as historic churches and public buildings representing a variety of architectural styles. Volunteer guides will be on site to point out interesting architectural details and explain the history of each location.

The Fall Tour of Gardens and Homes is a major fund raising event for the Charleston Historical Society. Tickets are $45 for each tour, or $150 for a weekend pass that covers all the tours available that particular week. For online tickets and more information, go to the Charleston Historical Society’s website.

Of course the Haddon Hall Apartments don’t have quite the history of these older, magnificent homes, but after the tour, we think you’ll agree our apartment community, with its screened in porches and abundant trees,  continues the Charleston tradition of gracious living in beautiful surroundings.

Photo used under Creative Commons from Frank Kehren.

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Zumba is perfect when motivation is low.

We all know the importance staying active to maintain good health and good looks. The Haddon Hall Apartments certainly have everything you might need to stay fit. We have the well equipped fitness center for year-round exercise. The swimming pool is a great place to get your heart rate up. And Grand Oaks Plantation is a terrific neighborhood for bicycling, jogging or taking a brisk walk.

The one thing that might be missing is the most important–  motivation.

But that missing piece can be found right here in Grand Oaks Plantation, just a mile from the Haddon Hall apartment community.  Sign up for a Zumba class at the Bees Landing Recreation Center.

Zumba uses Salsa, Merengue, Tango and other Latin styles of music to get you on your feet and moving your… well, moving just about everything you have. Zumba is recognized by the Aerobic Fitness Association of America and other organizations as being the real deal, too.

Aside from the Latin music, another difference between Zumba and a generic aerobics class is that Zumba keeps the moves fairly simple. This is particularly good for men, who, let’s face it, often aren’t so quick as the women at picking up dance moves. Some experts say this makes Zumba a lot of fun, and fun takes care of the motivation factor.

The Recreation Center is beginning Zumba classes in mid-September, Mondays from 6:30pm to 7:30pm and Thursdays 6:00pm to 7:00pm. Classes are $5, pay as you go.

The Bees Landing Recreation Center is only a mile from the Haddon Hall Apartments, at 1580 Ashley Gardens Blvd. You could easily walk to the class, dance yourself into a state of ecstasy, and then skip back home in the pretty surroundings of the Grand Oaks Plantation neighborhood.

How’s that for a great way to get the heart pumping? It’s just one of the many things that make the Haddon Hall Apartments a great place to live.

The City of Charleston has a webpage with information on Bees Landing Recreation Center, including schedules for all classes there.

Photo used under Creative Commons from Gauri Ma.

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Why haven't we been to the Bees Landing dog park?

We wrote recently here about Charleston’s dog parks. The Haddon Hall Apartments, being a pet-friendly community, is pleased to say we now have a brand new dog park right here in the neighborhood.

Of course, there’s plenty of room right here at the Haddon Hall apartment community to take your furry friend for a walk. But now, when Rover wants to get off the leash and really stretch his four legs, you just have to walk less than a mile to the Bees Landing Recreation Center.

Work has been underway for quite some time on the dog park there, and there’s still work to be done, but word is that it’s ready for business. It’s now fenced in, and the special escape-proof double gate is set up. As of this writing, the park is still waiting to install a water source and a poop bag dispenser. So, please make your own provisions for water and cleaning up.

But by all means, you and Rover should go down and give it a spin. There’s plenty of room to run free, and lots of stuff to sniff, and maybe even some new canine friends to meet. (We’re talking about your dog here of course, but if you’d like to sniff stuff, too, be our guest.)

We’re please to see Bees Landing continue to improve, making our Grand Oaks neighborhood even better than ever.

For information on Bees Landing Recreation Center, including a schedule of classes and other activities, go to the City of Charleston’s website.

Photo used under Creative Commons from ~dgies.

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Why haven't we been to the Bees Landing dog park?

We wrote recently here about Charleston’s dog parks. The Haddon Hall Apartments, being a pet-friendly community, is pleased to say we now have a brand new dog park right here in the neighborhood.

Of course, there’s plenty of room right here at the Haddon Hall apartment community to take your furry friend for a walk. But now, when Rover wants to get off the leash and really stretch his four legs, you just have to walk less than a mile to the Bees Landing Recreation Center.

Work has been underway for quite some time on the dog park there, and there’s still work to be done, but word is that it’s ready for business. It’s now fenced in, and the special escape-proof double gate is set up. As of this writing, the park is still waiting to install a water source and a poop bag dispenser. So, please make your own provisions for water and cleaning up.

But by all means, you and Rover should go down and give it a spin. There’s plenty of room to run free, and lots of stuff to sniff, and maybe even some new canine friends to meet. (We’re talking about your dog here of course, but if you’d like to sniff stuff, too, be our guest.)

We’re please to see Bees Landing continue to improve, making our Grand Oaks neighborhood even better than ever.

For information on Bees Landing Recreation Center, including a schedule of classes and other activities, go to the City of Charleston’s website.

Photo used under Creative Commons from ~dgies.

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15 places available to compete in the “Battle of the Burgers”.  Chance to win $500 in cash and prizes.  Complete entry form on-line. 

$5 per car / Irving-House Vineyards, 6775 Bears Bluff Road, Wadmalaw Island

FREE / Reservations required.  The tour leaves from Market Street Hall at 188 Meeting Street.

More information online.

The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort

Tickets are $45 per person for each individual tour or $120 for a special weekend rate / More information online or phone (843) 722-4630.

While the spirit of neighborliness was important on the frontier because neighbors were so few, it is even more important now because our neighbors are so many.

~Lady Bird Johnson

The spirit of community around Haddon Hall, and across Charleston is impressive. Maybe it has something to do with being in the neighborly south.

The Bees Landing Recreation Center– just up the street from Haddon Hall–  is planning a great way to help the community. It wants to organize a blood donation drive in co-operation with the Red Cross.

Organizers need 25 people to sign up to donate. Once they secure 25 or more names, they can set up a date and time and schedule appointments.

Are you willing to donate blood?

Please contact Kate Hinman at HINMANK@charleston-sc.gov.

Thank you!

$20 IN ADVANCE / $25 At The Gate

Maybe this is the solution

In case you hadn’t noticed, construction has begun on McConnell Road. That, of course, is the main route most of us at Haddon Hall use to get into Charleston each morning. A year of construction along that clogged artery is not a cheery prospect.

It wouldn’t be so bad if we knew that the added headaches would be rewarded with a reliably smooth drive into town after the work is done.

But if the comments in the Post and Courier are any indication (and it’s not certain they are representative), McConnell Road commuters have little faith in the project.

The consensus among the comments is that the work will not do much to relieve the traffic. A couple of the online comments say that merely adding turning lanes will not help. They insist overpasses– especially at Magwood– are the solution.

Another comment points out that, as is often the case, widened roads just attract more development. I’m sure there’s a term for that phenomenon among traffic engineers.

You can read the Post and Courier story and reader comments —> here.

And, for your surfing pleasure, a link to the Charleston County government’s web page for the project is —> here.

Drink a toast to progress,  Haddon Hall.

Take a moment to remember

Perhaps you hadn’t heard, but there is quite a lot going on in Charleston this weekend. There’s a rather large arts festival opening up. It’s quite a production we understand.

But that’s not what this dispatch is about.

Instead, we wish to congratulate everyone on making through one of the longer stretches in the American calendar without a three-day weekend. We hope you’ll be able to spend some down time the next few days doing something you like, even if it’s just remaining horizontal on the sofa.

But we invite you to take a moment this weekend to think about the terrible sacrifices made by our servicemen and women– and their families– to protect our country. We are grateful to everyone in the armed services, past and present.

Have a lovely Memorial Day weekend, Haddon Hall.

(Photo: Some rights reserved, Ed Yourdon)

Gallery 80 opens with works by Andrew Dyck

Sometimes the most unexpected and rich art experiences come from small galleries. (And, yes, some of the most underwhelming experiences, too, but that’s part of the adventure.)

Charleston is rich with excellent small galleries, and there’s a new one to check out. But I warn you, this one will indeed have some adventure connected to it.

It’s The Gallery 80, at 80 Columbus Street in the Upper King Street area.

The first show for Gallery 80 is of Charleston artist Andrew Dyck.

Dyck’s works are brightly colored abstracts in mixed media. He’ll have some 30 pieces on view.

The opening is Friday night (May 28), with performances by Raw Bacon, Silly Little Miracles, Ralphy Jim and Mr. Jenkins. It will be the complete hipster, artsy adventure.

Check out Dyck’s website with an short article about the show, and about how Upper King Street is becoming the home of Charleston’s next art scene. That’s here.

Also, Charleston Scene has a good write up of the show, and about the origins of the new Gallery 80. That’s linked here.

Explorere Capsule 3000 by Tugboat Printshop

You have your color scheme all worked out.  You have a matching sofa and chairs.  Throw pillows accent the room. And what’s left? The most fun part– the art for the walls.

Limited editions of original art are always nice, and they don’t have to be expensive.

A friend of mine turned up a terrific online shop that creates and sells hand printed woodcut prints. It’s the Tugboad Print Shop of Pittsburgh artists Valerie Lueth and Paul Roden.

I am particularly taken by the  series The Deep Blue Sea. As you might guess, the prints all have a nautical theme, but they’re not all so traditional. For instance, the one I’d get is an a bird’s eye view of a Gemini space capsule shortly after splash down. It’s an intriguing mix of an old fashioned medium depicting a 1960s event, created in the 21st century.

Even if you’re not planning on purchasing any of their prints, check out the More About section of the website to see photos of how they produce some of their amazing prints.

Here’s a link to the Tugboat Printshop online store —> click.

The Tugboat Printshop also has a virtual shop on Etsy.com.

Might as well be crack

Why is junk food so tempting? Doritos are not gourmet cuisine. In fact, the flavored varieties don’t actually taste like any known human food. But if leave me unattended with a bag of nacho cheese flavored Doritos, they’ll be gone in minutes.

It’s almost like an addiction.

According to an online article published by National Public Radio, it turns out a jonesin’ for junk food actually does have some of the brain chemistry characteristics of an addiction.

A study published in Nature Neuroscience says it has something to do with your dopamine receptors. You eat a Twinkie, your brain gets a big squirt of dopamine– the brain’s “reward” neurotransmitter. You get a get a few too many big boosts in dopamine like that, and suddenly your receptors need even more dopamine for you to feel good. It’s basically what happens with certain addictive drugs.

I think I’ll peel some carrots.

(Image: Some rights reserved, Christian Cable)

Don't over do it

Here’s a gentle nudge for you to keep your life and your work in balance.

Sometimes we all have to put in some overtime. But be careful.

A recent article on WebMD describes a study in the UK that followed British civil servants for about ten years. The subjects who regularly logged three or more hours of overtime a day showed a 60% increase in heart related problems.

The article quotes a researcher as saying these subjects tended to show more “Type A behavior traits like aggression, hostility, competitiveness, psychological distress, and sleep problems.”

Three or four of overtime each week is a lot. But the message is pretty clear– we all need some down time, for our physical health if for no other reason.

No one on their deathbed looks back on life and wishes he had spent more time at the office.

Here’s to finding a balance.

Please can we go to the dog park?

Cats were the topic of our last dispatch. Let’s give the dogs equal time.

Of course, we at Haddon Hall adore dogs. They’re loyal, they don’t judge, and they’re thrilled when they please us.

Here’s an excellent way to please Rover– take him to a dog park. The City of Charleston has  three parks with off-leash areas.

The closest one is Ackerman Park Dog Run. It’s at 55 Sycamore Ave. It’s fenced in, and a great place for your pooch to romp around.

Check the city’s website for more information on its off leash parks.

We’re lucky, too, that Charleston County Parks and Recreation Commission is really first rate. They’ve created three excellent dog parks. They’re a little farther from Haddon Hall, but might be wortht the drive. (Open the window, and Spike will love the drive as much as the park!)

The dog parks are at James Island County Park, Wannamaker County Park and Palmetto Islands County Park. They all feature drinking water, water hoses to clean and cool you four-legged friend and dog-safe entry gates. James Island also provides lake access for some dog paddling.

Go to the Charleston County Parks and Recreation Commission’s website for more information.

(Image:  Some rights reserved, Kathleen Tyler Conklin)

Guacalulu takes a break from his homework

I don’t wish to stereotype, but as we all know, mankind generally falls into two categories: Cat People and Dog People.

I grew up in a Dog Family. I grew up with two dog companions.

It was when I first lived in an apartment that I started my crossover to the feline side. I still LOVE dogs. But I’ve discovered that if you don’t have enough space… and more importantly, if you don’t have enough time to train and then spend quality time with the pup, the arrangement suffers for both parties.

Cats, on the other hand, can almost take care of themselves. And they’re somewhat less demanding in terms of companionship.

Plus, cats are crazy.

I’ve never known a cat that didn’t have some sort of inscrutable behavior. Guacalulu, the cat my family lives with, insists on sneaking into my daughter’s bedroom every night at bed time. He’ll sit under her bed quietly for about 15 minutes. And then he will get upset because he’s locked in and will want out. Guacalulu does this every night. He KNOWS he’ll be locked in. But he simply must sit under the bed for a few minutes at bedtime.

No one knows why.

WebMD has a fun, and surprisingly informative slide show– Is My Cat Normal?, which explains some of the more common weird cat behavior. A link to the slide show is—> here.

Are you a Dog Person, or a Cat Person? Or are you Bi-Speciesial? And what’s your pet’s inscrutable behavior? And do you think it’s odd that WebMD has a pets section?

Yoga classes are just some of the activities at Bees Landing Rec Center

The new Bees Landing Recreation Center is open, and organizers there have wasted no time in creating some great activities and classes for the residents of Grand Oaks Plantation.

The basketball and volleyball court is open several hours a day for informal play. Shooting baskets can be actually be good exercise, and I’ve found spending a half hour just shooting (and mostly missing) free throws to be very meditative.

There are also a couple of treadmills and exercise cycles available on a first-come first-served basis.

These require an annual registration fee of $15 for Charleston residents ($30 for non-residents).

But I’m thinking it’s the classes that will most appeal to the Haddon Hall community.

Bees Landing is offering Adult Hip Hop, ZUMBA, Mommy and Me Jazz, Yoga and more. One good thing about these– beyond being right in the neighborhood– is that these classes are all very reasonably priced, and most of the exercise classes are just pay-as-you-go.

The City of Charleston has a web page for the Bees Landing Rec Center with all the info.

Do you plan to take advantage of any of these activities? We’d love to hear your thoughts about the Bees Landing Rec Center.

(Photo courtesy www.localfitness.com.au)

Lunch and snacks will be provided.

To participate, the Parks Department asks you to register ahead of time at the Hands On Charleston Website.

They also say to wear comfortable clothes, close-toe shoes and bring a pair of gloves. Kids under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult.

Yay! A new playground! (Some rights reserved, Dave @ InternosPhoto.com)

We know that the Grand Oaks Plantation neighborhood is a wonderful place to live. But here’s a way you help make it even better. You’ll also meet some new people and have some fun, too.

The City of Charleston Parks Department is inviting you to participate in a project to improve our new Bee’s Landing Recreation Complex. They’re asking volunteers to help with building a children’s playground.

We spoke with Matt Compton, who’s organizing this.  “Community build playgrounds are very satisfying projects,” Matt tells us.  “We start the day with a hole in the ground and end up with a really cool structure.  This is the biggest one we’ve ever tried to pull off, so it should be fun!”

Lunch and snacks will be provided.

This project will take place this Saturday, March 13. You have two shifts to choose from: 8am to noon, and 1pm to 4pm, but you’re welcome to stay for both.

You may have heard that there was another date for this, but Matt confirms that it’s only planned for the 13th, so don’t miss out.

To participate, the Parks Department asks you to register ahead of time at the Hands On Charleston website.

They also say to wear comfortable clothes, close-toe shoes and bring a pair of gloves. Kids under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult.

Take some photos, and send them to us!