July 22nd, 2009 by Mike Redding
Where to go… What to do… Who to smell…
DESTINATION: Isle of Palms, Mt. Pleasant, SC.
[For SASTP readers Sue Tanner, Aunt Mel and Nancylynn who wrote in and asked what I do when travelling to Isle of Palms area.]
I have a gem for you today and any time you visit the Isle of Palms & Mt. Pleasant, SC, area.
If you’ve never been, entire books have been written about what to do in and around Charleston, SC. I could write one myself. Oh, wait. I am writing one. Ha ha ha, silly me. Whew! I kill myself. (Okay I’m done fake laughing.) What follows will be one of the “hidden gems” from that book about “Where to go… What to do… Who to smell” in the Carolinas.
I could give you 20 great things to do on this side of the Cooper River. But for our purposes here today I narrowed it down to just one, “You have to do this!”
Here’s how I picked that one thing. Very scientific… I posed myself a simple question, “If you gave me just one night in the Isle of Palms-Sullivan Island area with my family what is the one thing I would be the most excited to show them?”
The answer jumped out at me: “The Wreck!”
How I found “The Wreck” is a story unto itself.
I had heard about it from a fellow traveler and a few locals. But no one could tell me the address. The best I got was, “It’s on the far side of Shem Creek near Magwood Shrimpers.” Great. Thanks.
I spent the next trip to Charleston trying to find “The Wreck.” At one point I was standing in its parking lot staring right at it. “Couldn’t be,” I thought. “Who would operate a seafood restaurant that has no sign of any kind and looks like an abandoned warehouse?”
If you're not sure you've found it, you found it! "The Wreck!"
I knocked on the door and no one answered so I left figuring I must have the wrong place. I later chased down a mailman and explained my dilemma. He led me right back to the gravel parking lot and that same ramshackle building next to the Magwood Shrimpers …at 106 Haddrell Street.
“The Wreck” is only open for dinner starting at 5:30 PM. Which explains why no one was there during the day. Why there is no sign is anyone’s guess. I asked the owner, Fred Scott, and he just shrugged. Fred is the man you want to smell in this story. “The Wreck”–though technically owned by his wife, Patricia–is run from stem to stern by Fred. You’ll likely find him at the host/hostess stand seating people.
In a minute I’ll answer the question on the tip of your tongue, “Why would anyone name their restaurant ‘The Wreck’”? But first let me explain the dining experience: plastic chairs, paper plates, a garden hose running to a sprinkler on the tin roof is the restaurant’s air conditioning, and none of this matters. In fact it only adds to the charm because Fred serves the freshest most delicious Low Country seafood you’ll ever eat. The dock a few feet away is lined with shrimp trawlers. Do the math.
Just a few hundred yards upstream from “The Wreck” closer to Coleman Blvd. are a handful of trendy chain restaurants on Shem Creek with real air conditioning, music and partying until the wee hours. These restaurants have neon signs and paved parking lots and are open for lunch even. But there’s only one “Wreck!” And once you’ve found it, you’ve found the buried treasure of Mt. Pleasant, SC.
So why? Why call it “The Wreck?” Well “The Wreck” isn’t its full name. Fred Scott’s restaurant is actually called, “The Wreck of the Richard & Charlene.” (Maybe there’s no sign because you can’t get the whole name on a sign.) Here’s the back-story… during hurricane Hugo in 1989 a trawler called the “Richard & Charlene” smashed onto the dock at 106 Haddrell Street in Mt. Pleasant. Fred Scott saw this as a sign from God. Don’t ask.
Shem Creek in Mt. Pleasant, SC, is home to "The Wreck" and "Magwood & Son" shrimpers.
I have a bonus for you! During the day you can buy fresh shrimp right off the boats next to “The Wreck” at “C. A. Magwood & Sons.” The Magwood boys haul in a fresh catch every day. Bring a cooler and some ice and take home as much fresh seafood as you can carry!
Here’s the info you need:
The Wreck of the Richard & Charlene
106 Haddrell Street
Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464
Phone 843-884-0052
http://www.wreckrc.com/home.html
Open seven days a week for dinners during the summer. Closed on Sundays & Mondays in the off-season.
IMPORTANT: “The Wreck” accepts cash and approved checks only. NO CREDIT CARDS!
C. A. Magwood & Sons Fresh Seafood
110 Haddrell Street
Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464
Phone 843-884-3352
July 17th, 2009 by Mike Redding
Come meet me and my wife, Anna, and our baby boy tomorrow (Saturday) morning at the Firefighter’s Pancake Breakfast in downtown Charlotte. Starts at 8 AM on The Square at Trade & Tryon. I expect we’ll arrive around 9 AM.
Your five bucks goes to help a great cause, “Firefighters’ Burned Children’s Fund.“ Enjoy some delicious pancakes and ooh and ahh over Lumpalicious! (I’m pathetic aren’t I?)
See you there… MR
Here are the details straight from the invitation:
8 AM on the Square at Trade & Tryon in the center of uptown Charlotte.
The Center City Green Market is proud to present our Firefighter’s Pancake Breakfast to benefit the Firefighters’ Burned Children’s Fund. This yearly favorite is back again. Charlotte Firefighters will be on site cooking delicious pancakes for only a $5.00 suggested donation, with all proceeds benefiting the Firefighters’ Burned Children’s Fund!
Reid’s Fine Foods is supplying all ingredients and equipment for the breakfast, our farmers are supplying our fresh blueberries and firefighters donate the labor for cooking so every penny goes to the Burned Children’s Fund.
Your $5.00 donation goes to help NC Firefighter’s Burned Children Fund. You will receive a pancake stack, your choice of toppings, juice and/or coffee. Tables will be available for guests to sit and eat at their leisure. There will also be “Big Red Trucks” on site.
The Firefighters’ Burned Children Fund is a non-profit organization developed by area firefighters to support burn survivors and to prevent burn injuries before they occur. The Firefighters’ Burned Children Fund promotes the involvement of fire departments and fire service organizations that are interested in working within their communities and with other participants of the Fund in reducing the number and the severity of burn injuries and fatalities. More information is available at www.ffbcf.org.
July 9th, 2009 by Mike Redding
Where to go… What to do… Who to smell…
DESTINATION: Carolina High Country – West Jefferson & Shatley Springs, NC
[For Sue Tanner who wrote in and asked what I do when I’m in Shatley Springs and West Jefferson, NC.]
If you’ve never been… these beautiful small towns are all the way up at the top left corner of North Carolina by Tennessee and Virginia. It’s truly gorgeous country. Blue Ridge Mountain peaks with sweeping farmland between them stretching out across curved valley floors. The South Fork of the New River zigzags its way through Ashe County joining the North Fork and becoming the New River proper. It’s an area I would call “unaffected.” It feels old and unchanged. I first saw the New River on July 30, 1998 when I was assigned to cover President Bill Clinton’s trip to Ashe County. The President stood in a long flat meadow near the river and proclaimed it an American Heritage River. I did my first Ashe County story in Todd, NC, that day as we traced the New River for several miles. It’s unusual in that it flows from south to north. Its waters eventually end up in the Ohio River and then on into the Mississippi and down to the Gulf of Mexico. It’s thought to be one of the oldest rivers on earth. It’s certainly one of the most beautiful.
I have two “must see-must dos” in the West Jefferson-Shatley Springs area (besides a heavenly float down the New River).
Idea #1:
Just 12 miles from West Jefferson down NC HWY 194 is the historic landmark “Todd’s General Store” in Todd, NC. It happens to be where my first Ashe County story started on July 30th, 1998. (About five or six years later we went back and did another story there about an amazing banjo player.) It’s a wonderful place to stop and smell some people!
Todd's General Store hasn't changed... ever!
They have storytelling on Tuesday nights and live bluegrass music on Friday nights. If you’re really lucky, you might be there for a Friday bluegrass night when my favorite person to smell in Ashe County strolls in to play. He’s a very special house painter by day and world-class picker by night. His name is Steve Lewis and he has won the National Bluegrass Banjo Picking Award. That means he’s the best in the country! He’s a legend in the North Carolina High Country.
Here’s the info you need:
Todd’s General Store (is just North of the Todd, NC, Fire Station)
3866 Railroad Grade Road
Todd, NC 28684
(336) 877-1067
Storytelling Tuesday nights start at 6 PM
Bluegrass Friday nights go from 6:00 to 9:15 PM
toddgeneralstore.tripod.com
Idea #2:
Visit the “Ashe County Cheese Factory” & Store in West Jefferson. They’ve remodeled the 75-year-old factory so visitors can watch the cheese-making process from behind glass. It’s fascinating. I was lucky enough to participate in the process from beginning to end. It’s fun and educational. I had no idea what goes into making a great cheese. I’m salivating right now thinking about the wheel of cheddar I brought back with me.
You should check their website for the “cheese making schedule.” They have busy seasons and times where they shut down altogether… like August.
But Sue Tanner is in luck! Sue wrote that she’ll be up there this Saturday, July 11th, which happens to be the last Saturday they’re making cheese this summer!
The cheese store (directly across the street from the factory) is open Monday- Saturday 8:30 AM – 5 PM all year long so no worries about being able to buy some of this delicious cheese.
Here’s the info you need:
Ashe County Cheese Factory
106 E. Main Street
West Jefferson, NC 28694
(800) 445-1378 or (336) 246-2501
ashecountycheese.com
I’m craving some cheddar now… MR
