Let's Learn Hanahan, SC by Shelley Hopkins

Let’s Learn Hanahan

Goose Creek Boat Ramp 

Hanahan is the hidden gem of the Charleston area.  Homes are reasonably priced, and you can find both older neighborhoods with large trees and established yards, as well as new communities with the most modern styles.  The town has one high school, and one middle school, so the students experience the feel of a small town community.  Many of the students that live in the older sections of Hanahan can walk to school.  A new town library is being built near the area that includes the new town amphitheater and the boat entrance to Goose Creek reservoir.  I have read that the reservoir, which provides the drinking water, is also one of the most alligator filled areas in South Carolina.  I don’t know if that is true, but my friends that boat on the reservoir say they would never swim in the water due to the large number of gators they see every time they go out on the water.

Hanahan is bordered by the old Naval Weapons Station, which still houses a brig, and a submarine school.  Many people that live in Hanahan work for the government, either through the base, or Boeing.  Hanahan is conveniently located to the airport and is only about 20 minutes from down town Charleston and the beaches.

Hanahan doesn’t have many walking trails, but there are sidewalks through much of the neighborhoods of the older sections of town. Boaters can launch at the Goose Creek reservoir from Madeline Ave. and float all the way to the Cooper River, or just fish and explore.  Several neighborhoods border the reservoir, including Eagle Landing and Indigo Island Reserve.  Tanner plantation has many new homes, and an entire community is being developed in the Tanner area with a grocery store, daycare, restaurants, and newer apartments.  These apartments have a nature trail that I have explored often.  From the crab dock at the end of this trail I have fished, viewed sunsets and watched a young alligator nearly walk across the water to grab the float on my husband's fishing pole.  The young gater finally grew tired of the game, released the line and swam away. 

Goose Creek behind Tanner Plantation

South Carolina is known for its old plantation homes, and Hanahan had one as well.  Yeamans Hall Plantation was established in 1674 when the Lady Margaret Yeamans received a land grant of 1,070 acres from the Lords Proprietors.  A home was built the same year. After passing through many owners, in the early 1900’s, the land was purchased to build a golf course on what was going to be a winter resort.  The golf course and club house were opened in 1926 and still exists today as a private golf course.  I drove down Yeamans Hall Rd and after crossing the railroad tracks I was stopped at the entrance to the golf course.  I told the men working at the gate that I had driven past this road many times and had no idea this place was here.  One man laughed and said it had been here a long time.  The other agreed with me, he had lived in Hanahan his whole life and never knew the golf course was there.  He thought monks lived down this Spanish moss covered drive before he had started working on the grounds.  The property seems peaceful enough for monks, but any meditation practiced here includes concentrating on hitting a little white ball far and accurately.

Homes in Tanner Plantation

Lakeview neighborhood

Some of the neighborhoods in Hanahan include Belvedere Estates, Belvedere Heights, Eagle Landing, Ortranto, Mossy Creek, Tanner Plantation, Lakeview and Yeamans Park.   

I am enjoying the research, walking and photographing of my local communities.  I hope I am not irritating blog readers with my real estate work, but perhaps you may enjoy the journey with me as I learn my new home state better.  

Let's Learn Mt. Pleasant, SC by Shelley Hopkins

Let’s Learn Mt. Pleasant

Walking along the old Pitt St Bridge

One of the very exciting aspects of moving to a new area is having the opportunity to discover new locations and to explore.  I am now selling real estate, and so I have an excuse to go out, drive neighborhoods, walk, and learn about my local towns.  I need to know as much as possible about each of the towns and communities that are near me, and since I don't enjoy sitting at a desk for very long, I am happily out walking and photographing the local neighborhoods.  This is the description I wrote for one of the nearby towns, Mt. Pleasant.  My office is located here, and many people relocating to the Charleston area end up in this community.  I started my explorations along an interesting and historical street.

Pitt Street Bridge that once connected Mt. Pleasant and Sullivan's Island

             Pitt Street is one of the most interesting and historical areas of an already historical town.   One end of Pitt Street is full of old buildings with shops, a bakery, and a few historical markers.  Follow the narrow street past old homes, huge live oaks, flowers bordering little white fences, and more historical markers.  At the other end of Pitt Street the road dead-ends at the Pickett Bridge Recreational area.  You can park your car and walk to the end of the causeway that leads towards Sullivan’s Island.  This is the area of the old bridge, or series of bridges that had connected Mt. Pleasant and the island.  Before the revolutionary war barrels and planks formed the first bridge.  The crew of the H.L. Hunley crossed this unique bridge to test pilot the confederate submarine at Breaches inlet.  Later a trolley bridge replaced the barrel and plank bridge, and then a drawbridge replaced the trolley bridge.  The drawbridge was dismantled in 1945, and now traffic enters Sullivan’s Island by the Ben Sawyer highway.  This park is a great place to enjoy the scenery and views of Charleston harbor, bird watch, launch a kayak and fish.  People that live in the Old Village neighborhood, along Pitt Street and the adjoining roads are easily able to walk past these old homes and out to the causeway any time they want.  If you walk along these streets you may come to a play park and the Alhambra Hall.  People were picnicking on the grounds of this beautiful building when I was there, and I enjoyed the views of the Charleston harbor from a shaded bench behind the Hall.  This building was built 300 years ago as a dance hall for local Charlestonians.  Now it is used for weddings and community events.

 Charles Pinckney Home site

Demonstration of rice growing at Charles Pinckney Home site

            Snee Farms was built on land that used to be owned by Charles Pinckney, a SC signer of the Constitution.  The location of his former home is now a National Park Historic Site, and is an excellent place to visit and learn about Pinckney’s life and the early years of South Carolina.  Visitors can walk along paths through the marsh, stop and view a teaching example of rice growing, and can stroll by the locations of former slave cabins.  Stones mark the outlines of the cabins, allowing visitors to see the sizes of these homes.  Snee Farms is a neighborhood that has mixed condominiums, smaller homes and larger homes with generous lots sizes.

One of the many neighborhoods in Park West

            Park West is a huge community with schools, shops, a recreation center, a church, and after driving through several round a bouts you find many neighborhoods of varying price ranges and styles.  Some areas feel newer, and others have the old established appearance.  At the end of one of the streets in Park West I found a parking area with a community dock and I walked out to enjoy relaxing marsh views.

            The Brick Yard is a neighborhood built on the banks of the Horlbeck Creek, and has many homes with marsh or creek views.  There are running and bike trails as well as the usual amenities, pools, playgrounds and sports fields. 

             A few of the other well known neighborhoods include Ivy Place, the Brickyard, Dunes West, Laurel Lakes and I’on.

Shem Creek,with shrimp boats and kayaks

            Mt Pleasant is a great place to live and enjoy the outdoor life.  Most of the neighborhoods include walking paths, and there are many parks and trails to enjoy.  If shopping is your thing, there is Town Center, and there are many antique malls and shops scattered about town.  The farmers market is almost a cultural event in its own right.  There are many wonderful restaurants, kayaking tours and paddle boat rentals on Shem creek, places to buy shrimp right off the boats, and lots and lots of history.  

If you are interested in house surfing in Mt. Pleasant please visit my real estate page,  ShelleyHouseHunters.com  

Walking barefoot, How to enjoy your senses! by Shelley Hopkins

Walking Barefoot!

“Walking barefoot has gone out of fashion but sensible people are reviving the habit.”  Nan Shephard, 1945.

In my last blog post I talked about enjoying the world through all your senses.  Each sense brings a layer of joy and appreciation to life.  The good and the bad enrich our experiences on earth.  Sometimes while walking in the woods I’ll enjoy the fresh smell of flowers, or of clean breezes, but I also notice and enjoy the musty smell of leaf decay, and the strong smell of skunk – as long as its not too close, of course!  I love the smell of freshly cut grass, but usually the stink of burning oil and lawnmower is included.  Sometimes the smell of car gas fumes makes me think of car trips and camping, a strange and unexplainable combination of memory.

Taste is richer, more in depth when I can enjoy sweet and salty and sour.  How dull food would be if it only were sweet.  I believe we have contrasts of flavor for a reason.  The beauty of nature also involves the harshness of nature.  A butterfly flitting through the air, dancing over the flower garden brings joy, but also sadness.  The life of the butterfly is short, and we often see their little bodies crumpled in our car grills or resting on the ground.

I think I enjoy texture, in sights, sounds, and smells, but especially in touch.  When I see a smooth wooden table or banister rail, I have to touch it.  When I see a knobby knitted blanket I have to run my fingers over the pattern.  When I see green grass, white sand, blue grey ocean water, I want to pull off my shoes and feel those textures on my feet.  Sometimes the only way to experience a place is with your bare feet, exposed to the cool breeze, soft grass, hot and scratchy sand, and soothing water.

When I remember childhood play, I remember fall evenings as the sun is setting, running and chasing with neighborhood friends.  I was often barefoot, and I remember cool evenings, dew on the grass, or colder nights, playing while my feet throbbed with the cold, me having too much fun to stop and find my shoes.  I remember hot asphalt burning my feet, hopping and running to the shade.  I remember splinters, sharp rocks and twigs, but also soothing mud and enjoying the contrasts between hot white sand and cool water.   I remember walking on crusty sand at the beach after a rain and feeling the spots where raindrops formed ridges, crumbling when we stepped on them.  I remember the sensations, but now I wear shoes; hiking shoes, sandals, tennis shoes, dress shoes, boots.  My feet are tender; I don’t walk around barefoot anymore.

Once when I was young I hiked barefoot.  My family had a tradition of hiking the same 5-mile trail every Easter, and one year we decided to do the hike without shoes.  I remember stepping on rocks with the bare arch of the foot, kicking tree roots with my naked toes, crossing cold streams and then walking along the dusty trail as our feet dried.  Sometimes the barefoot walk hurt, but on other parts of the trail it was joyous, the sand and the grass and then, best of all,  standing on a large sun warmed rock feeling the absorbed heat soak into those tired feet like a giant massage.

I am reading a wonderful book about walking and discovering old pathways, called The Old Ways, A Journey on Foot.  From that book I discovered the quote that was at the start of this article, and started thinking about the pleasures of bare feet.  The speaker of the quote, Nan Shephard, walked barefoot often, wrote about it, and was quoted by the author of the book, Robert MacFarlane.  If you enjoy walking, and reading about walks, this is the perfect book.  He combines geography, history, linguistics and other sciences together to demonstrate the wonderful places he explores, mostly with his shoes on.  My favorite walk of his was done barefoot, the broomway, and that walk alone is worth reading the book.

 My daughter loves to walk barefoot, and enjoys all the sensations that come with the activity, the good and the bad.  Parents in our neighborhood have fussed her at, as if she were doing something immoral.  I have no understanding of that at all.  We are so protective that we miss vital parts of living.

Have a wonderful barefoot day, and don’t forget to enjoy!