Porch Sittin'

The front porch is as American as apple pie and the piazza's of the Lowcountry are no exception. The front porch is functional as well as decorative and in many homes around Charleston it has become the most frequently used room of the house. Whether a garden spot to enjoy a glass of wine with a neighbor after a day at the office or a haven for reading the morning paper and enjoying that first cup of coffee, the residents of White Gables often begin and end their days with a little front porch sittin'. Michelle and I learned about the delightful virtues of a Lowcountry front porch during our first Autumn and Winter in Summerville.

No blog dedicated to the peerless institution of Lowcountry Living would be consummate without a section devoted to the front porch, the symbol of leisure and easy livin' in the South. The spot where young love is born, mature love is embellished and cool drinks amongst friends sets the tone for whiling away the evening hours of a hot Summer night.

For my innaugaral blog on the front porches of the Lowcountry I have chosen my neighborhood, White Gables, located in Summerville, South Carolina. White Gables is a new neighborhood designed and built with traditional concepts and colorful Charleston style row houses with Victorian elements, large front porches and immaculately landscaped common areas reminescent of "the great neighborhoods of the past."

On any given evening in White Gables you can stroll along the sidewalks or ride your beach cruiser bicycle on the streets and observe couples and families enjoying a cold drink or visiting with neighbors on the front porches in the warm glow of a table lamp, a White Gables staple. Or if morning strolls are your preference you just might notice that front porches and upstairs piazza's are very popular spots for morning coffee and the daily newspaper. Many nights as I walk down the street to my car and head to work, I will hear quiet greetings from the front porches on my street, "have a nice night at work."

Southern hospitality abounds in White Gables. The impeccably landscaped lawns complete with lawn benches and sculptures beckon you onto the cool oasis of the front piazza of a Charleston Style home.

Enjoying a large part of your life outdoors is a major attribute of life in the Lowcountry. It was fun for me while researching this blog post to see how many of my neighbors have infused their preferences and personalities into the design and decor of their outdoor living spaces. Some of the retreats were cozy and made you just want to sit down in a comfy chair and loose yourself in your favorite book while other areas are more suited for entertaining and socializing. Overall, I have to admit, my neighbors have impeccable taste.

Taco Boy and Folly Beach Go Together Like Guacamole and Tortilla Chips

While hanging for the day at Folly Beach it's always nice to take a little break from the sun, sand and waves and enjoy a little lunch and a cold beverage. Taco Boy, an authentic taqueria/cantina on Center Street in Folly Beach is just the place. The motto of the dive is "skip Siesta, let's Fiesta," and I like to do just that when I am at Folly. All of the decor within the restaraunt is authentic mexican and fun creating a laid back dining and drinking atmosphere that just feels like "the edge of America." It's easy to hang out for one more round inside of Taco Boy at Folly, even though blue skies and beautiful surf await your return to an oceanside perch.

Taco Boy just doesn't look good, they serve good food and they spare no expense on quality hot pepper sauces at the table either. On the afternoon that I stopped by I enjoyed the Carne Asada Taco, a taco made with grilled flank steak, green chille sauce and salsa cruda paired with a side order of Cowboy beans, a spicy combination of beans, tomatoe sauce, onions, bacon and brown sugar. The dish was just perfect paired with a cold beer, and just the right amount of food for a light lunch at the beach. The choice wasn't an easy one though, some of the other dishes that caught my eyes was the Tuna Taco made with seared Ahi Tuna and Chipotle slaw, and the Chorizo Potatoe Taco made with spicy Mexican sausage and potatoe with green chille sauce and cilantro. Taco Boy also offers a huge Taco salad that can be prepared with chicken, beef or shrimp. The salad topped with one of the exclusive Taco Boy salad dressings finishes off a great meal choice, my favorite dressing? The lime/cilantro vinagierette.

As good as the food is at Taco Boy, the real attraction may be the drink menu. In addition to the standard margarita, custom margaritas are available to patrons of legal age. Also on the drink menu, mojitos, sangria and frozen screwdrivers. And if you are a true tequila connoiseur try a tequila flight featuring 100% Agave tequilas served with sangrita, salt and limes. Of course, if you are just in the mood for Cerveza, there are twenty plus beers avaiable.

So the next time you are at Folly Beach, leave the peanut butter and jelly with pickles at home and "have a Fiesta, not a Siesta" at Taco Boy. Taco Boy is one reason that Folly Beach just may be one of the best little beach towns on the East Coast.

Unexpected Dilemnas

It's funny how sometimes we picture or imagine things going a certain way and in the end, they turn out to be almost opposite of what we originally thought. I had one of those experiences today. Yesterday evening my youngest son told me that a friend from school had invited some friends to her house at Folly Beach to spend the day at the beach. He was interested in going but wasn't sure whether he would have a ride, since my wife is still teaching school this week and he wasn't sure what my plans were. At first I thought that there might be an opportunity to look for a carpool partner, then when that didn't look like it was going to work, I volunteered to "take one for the team" and "suck it up" and drive him to the beach and then hang out at the beach myself for the day. Yes, I felt a little tinge of guilt, knowing that I would be relaxing at the beach while my wife was wrangling first graders on the verge of their summer vacation. As the guilt subsided I was somehow able to look forward to a day on the beach, alone.

I pictured myself having a very relaxing day, not burdened with all of the preparation that usually goes along with a day trip to the beach, you know, packing coolers, lugging sand toys, frisbees, footballs and boogie boards. No wife, no kids, just me my Ipod and a good book. So off we went, after I loaded my chair and beach umbrella, sunglasses on and Ipod in tow. I dropped Noah off at his friends house up near the Washout at Folly and I headed for the area of the beach near the Folly Fishing Pier. That would provide me with a prime beach spot, close to downtown Folly Beach so I could walk up from the beach at lunchtime and grab lunch and a refreshment whenever I felt like it.


All was going well, until I parked and began to gather my "light load" to carry with me to my waterside oasis for the day. Then it hit me, I was in a bit of a predicament. How was I going to carry a chair, a beach towel, a book, sunscreen, a beach umbrella and a beach umbrella sand auger all by myself? Unless of course, I loaded most of the things into that nice, cute, beach tote that the wife uses, you know the one with the nice embroideried beach umbrella and chair. For a minute I considered it, then all I could picture would be men and teenagers snickering as I walked past them, toting my girly girl tote bag. Now I had carried that same tote down to the beach at least a hundred times and never thought anything of it, but, that was when my wife was with me and I never felt exposed as a girly girl tote toter, I was being a he-man chivalrous gentleman carrying my wifes heavy bag for her. Not to worry, I figured it out. I would just use the East Bay Deli take out bag that earlier had Noah's lunch in it before he ate the whole thing whilst I drove him to the beach.

It wasn't until I was half way down the beach that it hit me, how ridiculous this chubby forty-something old dude looked walking by himself with a bulging shopping bag that announced to the world, EAST BAY DELI TAKEOUT. In my mind, I could hear the comments, "just look at that poor man, he couldn't even come to the beach without bringing a sack full of food." Or worse yet, "no wonder that fellow is so portly, look at that grocery bag of takeout." These people have no idea that I do a daily 2.5 mile walk/run and that I'm in relatively good cardiovascular condition, for a dough boy. Finally, I made it to my appointed position along the beach seemingly with my unforseen quandary behind me.

I positioned my umbrella perfectly tilted into the sea breeze, settled into my beach chair, chose a Jimmy Buffett shuffle on the Ipod and opened my book and began to read. All was going well until I took a break from reading and began gazing down the beach, fixating on the waves as they gently rolled upon to the shore. Then it occurred to me, no it hit me like a ton of bricks. Every women that was walking up the beach was detouring around my little piece of paradise. No kidding, they were avoiding walking between me and the ocean. They were walking out of their way to avoid what they obviously presumed was the dirty old man sitting alone at the beach behind mirrored sunglasses. Are you kidding me? Really? No. Yes, it was happening, and it was blatantly obvious as I watched one after another, shift course to avoid coming near me. I uncomfortably changed the direction of my gaze, then realizing, "Great, dummy, now they do think you were staring at them and when they caught you then you quickly looked away." Finally, I just gave in, picked up my book and immersed myself into C.S. Lewis once again. And I read, and I read, and I read some more. Needless to say, the relaxing day by myself at the beach, with no kids constantly wanting me to get in the ocean and ride the waves. And the carefree day of not having to worry about my wife being comfortable or properly shaded by the umbrella or thirsty or hungry was turning into a very stress filled excursion. Jeesh, where are my wife and sons when I need them? Who's idea was this anyway? What time is it? How much longer do I have to waste time before it is time to go and pick him up? And, the real kicker, just then I realized I hadn't put any sunscreen on my back, and of course I can't reach my back to put sunscreen on now, what am I gonna do? "Pardon me Miss, would you mind..."