Watts Line

We are now six months into the Great Boat Search. Four days from now we will return to Florida for the fourth time – the goal is to have the last look, the sea-trial. Although the Atlantic City leg of the GBS was fun, it did not end as happily as we’ ...  full story

You’d think that all hotels within a given chain would be created equally – or at least I the same approximate reality.We stayed at a bunch of hotels from the same chains during our recent “find the boat” trips. (See The Watts Line, 6/23/10.)As the p ...  full story

Apparently the old adage, “The customer is always right,” skipped a generation.My sister was in town to visit her college student daughter and me so we ventured out to a restaurant we’ve enjoyed in the past that has a really great stuffed trout.We we ...  full story

When our oldest Manchild was a baby, I often danced with him, holding him in my arms as I boogied and turned through the house. He would laugh and so would I.But as he got older and more self-conscious, he took up running instead. He loved to run. Wh ...  full story

The wedding had to start exactly at 5:30. Not a minute later.This was not a wish or a want or a “Momma will be mad if it doesn’t” kind of timetable.The wedding was in sync with the tides. Mother Nature was the first consultant the happy couple confer ...  full story

I wasn’t 100 percent sure how I felt about the men in my life – namely, the Hubster, Surfer Dude and Manchild #2 – wearing skirts to our firstborn’s wedding. I’d certainly had long enough to think about it since his intention to be wed in a kilt had ...  full story

This is what I’ve discovered. Weddings should be preceded by an eight-day vacation followed by a three-day cool-down.This gives families an opportunity to bond over their fabulous children, eat way too much and enjoy refreshments while getting sunbur ...  full story

It’s two weeks until Surfer Dude and Dudette return to South Carolina for their wedding. For a week our family and hers will come together to frolic on the South Carolina coast. We will lie in the sun, eat too much and spend lots of time together. Fo ...  full story

We are at T-minus-30 and counting. Thirty days until the wedding of our century – “our” meaning the Watts folks.The plans are in final stages. I have yet to order the groom’s cake that will be served at the rehearsal dinner.After being prompted sever ...  full story

It’s been nearly 20 years since the Hubster and our man-children weathered Hugo.And now, we’re looking for a few good photos from our readers. Actually, we wouldn’t mind seeing the bad ones, too. And we want to hear your stories.Specifically, we are ...  full story

The interesting thing about life is the unpredictability.It was Saturday night. I had gone with a friend to an art gallery show. The Hubster was home manning the fort and dog-sitting our three owners.When I returned home about 10:30 p.m. his truck wa ...  full story

Vi Matheny trolls the yard of Bob’s Landscaping in her golf cart, pointing out the unusual collection of plants she’s propagated through the years.Lamb and donkey ear plants, 100-year plants, dipped-in-wine coleus, mother-of-thousands plants linger u ...  full story

We have a new mouth to feed at our house.We didn’t plan it that way. In fact the Hubster and I’d had a conversation a few days earlier that we were content with our very placid lives – including the two wieners who own us and the two grown men-childr ...  full story

Some call us the sandwich generation, the baby boomers with their children and their parents to care for.The place where this new lifestyle coalesces is at the grocery store.It’s a slow stroll of the middle-aged and sometimes elderly child escorting ...  full story

“Flyin’s easy. It’s landing that’s a problem.” Apparently that applies to more than airborne ships.“Selkie” was ready to sail. “Selkie” is the name of the sailboat my guy has been renovating for more than five years. I learned from the get-go that in ...  full story

For the last couple of weeks, as the news of Gov. Mark Sanford’s infidelities have been doled out to us spoonful-by-lurid-spoonful, we’ve had an interesting perspective over at the newspaper. Two of our staff members were on vacation – one in Califor ...  full story

Will it go?I sure do hope it will.This weekend is likely to be the weekend of “The Boat.”About half a decade ago, the Hubster took possession of a fixer-upper sailboat. (It would be more correct to say that the boat took possession of him.)His boat i ...  full story

I am directionally challenged.Anyone who has ever asked me to be the navigator as they drove, knows that although I do know my left from my right, when I say the direction, it often comes out the opposite of what it should be.I also get lost quite ea ...  full story

Okay, so it wasn’t exactly spring-break-style going wild, but the wieners (how can I say this) fully embraced nature on our recent trip to Lake Wateree. (I say Lake Wateree – but to the folks who have been frolicking up there for the last five or six ...  full story

Day 1 of vacation at “The Cabin.” Determined that not one minute of vacation would be wasted, Friday night after work, we packed ourselves, the truck, the car and dogs (and my technology) as we got ready for a few days off.“We need something to eat,” ...  full story

Tomorrow, I, the Hubster and our two wiener dogs will go to the lake for 10 fantastic days. We’ll stay in the cabin my father and uncles built 56 years ago.I’ll go barefoot, wear no makeup and not do anything to my hair other than corral it with a ru ...  full story

About two weeks ago I came home to find the Hubster grinning from ear-to-ear. Now while he has an excellent sense of humor, he’s not much of a grinner.“What?” I asked him skeptically. “What’s going?”“I just got a voicemail from U.S. customs.”My mind ...  full story

We have a couple of guilty (TV) pleasures at our house.“American Idol” and “Dancing with the Stars.” We’re not big reality TV folks, but those two snagged us early on and haven’t loosened their grip.While “American Idol” would seem to have the more u ...  full story

The big day is six months off. Since we are parents of the groom we used to think we had the “easy list” of things to do.I figured we’d organize a few tuxedo rentals, arrange for a rehearsal dinner at a nice restaurant and show up for the wedding.Thi ...  full story

Every now and again something so absurd happens, you feel like you’re in a “Saturday Night Live” comedy skit.A couple of weeks ago, more than 400 women got together for lunch. Obviously, greater minds than mine masterminded the event. I can’t manage ...  full story

• Santee Cooper sets comment period on proposed changes to residential leases
• Santee Cooper sets comment period on proposed changes to residential leases
• Educators take part in Santee Cooper energy series
• Santee Cooper organizes 'flash mob' to celebrate major milestone in energy efficiency
• Santee Cooper approves 2010 bond sale
• Santee Cooper President and CEO Lonnie Carter assumes APPA chairmanship
• Santee Cooper hosts annual dinner
• Santee Cooper’s GOFER celebrates 20 years

Which high school team are you cheering for this football season?