Effective March 1, all dogs living or visiting the Isle of Palms must have and wear a City-issued license and collar for the current calendar year.

Proof of current rabies vaccination is required before receiving a dog’s license and collar. The fee is $10 for IOP residents and $25 for non-residents and visitors.

Licenses and collars can be purchased at the Public Safety Building at 30 J.C. Long Blvd. The office is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. everyday.

Having newly approved this policy, the Isle of Palms City Council is hoping it will allow better tracking of all resident dogs on the island, as well as those belonging to visitors. This will also lead to quicker reuniting of owners and their dogs in the event a dog gets lost.

Previous regulations required residents to register their dogs and obtain a license for $2.

For more information regarding pet policies in the Isle of Palms, call 843-886-6522

For the past couple years, tourism across the U.S. has been greatly affected by the economy. As a result, many vacation rental agencies have once again discounted their already low prices. Beach rental properties are at their lowest rates in more than 10 years.

Many of these deeply discounted rental properties are available at the Isle of Palms, SC. Located just a short drive from downtown Charleston, the Isle of Palms is one of the area’s best and most well known beaches.

Here, renters can save upwards of $3,000 on a week’s rental at gorgeous beachfront 4,500+ square foot homes. These uniquely decorated homes normally rent for around $12,000 per week, but prices have since been decreased by 25%.

These houses generally sleep around 20 or more and most have their own swimming pools, wireless Internet, luxurious porches, numerous TVs and enchantingly decorated theme rooms. The best part of all is that they are just a short walk from daily outdoor live music, old time ice cream shops and many delicious restaurants.

For those with parties smaller than 20, there are lots of midsize houses and condos to chose from. Three-bedroom, 1,500 square foot houses that sleep 8 normally rent for $3,500 per week but are discounted as low as $2,500.

While visiting, if you’re ready to put the swimsuit and shades to rest, the Isle of Palms is only a 15 minute drive from historic downtown Charleston, SC. Here you’ll find a host of shopping, dining, golfing (nearly 30 local golf courses), and outdoor entertainment venues. History buffs will love Fort Moultrie and Fort Sumter of Revolutionary and Civil War fame.

So if you’re ready for that much needed vacation (or staycation), come to the Isle of Palms today and see one of the most beautiful places in the country.

The film “Slow Ride: The Life and Times along the S.C. Intracoastal Waterway” was shown as part of ETV’s Southern Lens program, which is a production of the Center for Documentary at the College of Charleston.

Director Tim Fennell says the 3,000-mile-long inshore navigation channel along the Atlantic coast is the Route 66 of waterways, and he wanted to show how the South Carolina portion is important to the state.

The South Carolina portion of the waterway flows from Little River to Hilton Head Island.

The film is also being shown at the SC Aquarium to help announce the center’s next documentary, a look at the inter-connected water resources of South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia.
According to the Post and Courier, the growing demand on that water has the state’s grappling with Western states-style “water wars” issues. The aquarium is partnering with the center on the effort.

There is something universally soothing about a long walk on the beach. The crashing of waves, the wind in your hair.

No matter how far you come to be here, the sensation is the same. Sea gulls gliding overhead. Brown pelicans plunging into the water. Shrimp boats on the distant horizon.

Little wonder we lose ourselves in the daydream, strolling the ocean’s edge, splashing saltwater as we go, feeling the tug of an unseen undertow.

South Carolina has its faults, but our natural beauty makes up for some of our flaws. We are blessed with long stretches of sand, smooth underfoot, reaching for miles along the sloping shoulders of our state.

It’s no wonder so many flock to the Palmetto State this time of year. The beaches are packed with people in various forms of relaxation, soaking up the summer sun, reading, napping, allowing the rhythm of the tides to take control of their soul.

From Surfside to Seabrook, Pawleys to the Isle of Palms, Myrtle Beach to Murrells Inlet, Kiawah to Crescent Beach, Folly to Litchfield and Garden City to Cherry Grove, we live in a wondrous place.

Scent of sunscreen

The beach at dawn is almost deserted, except for a man and his dog, running in tandem as the light breaks over the eastern rim.

The ocean, always in motion, scarcely notices as it draws back across the canvas it covered the night before.

Gone are love notes scratched in the sand, castles constructed by children and the footprints of a thousand tourists on a moonlight stroll.

Busy are the shorebirds, breakfasting on the edge of a sudsy brew that bubbles with each incoming wave. So too, a pair of osprey that hover above, preparing to dive on an unsuspecting school of shiny silver fish.

The air is still and fresh, untouched by the scent of sunscreen. The beach is clean, except for tiny shells and scattered sweeps of seaweed.

From the south, coming quickly, a helicopter thumps into view, doors open to the rushing wind, as our coastal guardians prepare for another day.

Old Bay brine

By late afternoon, the crush of cars create a parking lot, and the spill of humanity huddles under umbrellas, sprouting like colorful mushrooms along the beach.

Kids, immune to danger, splash in the surf where older men, ever the optimists, cast lines to snag shark and other things that mothers, always vigilant, fear the most.

Between blankets, spread at random, little girls play hopscotch, teenaged boys throw footballs against the wind, as older girls, in bikinis, pretend to ignore them completely.

Slowly but surely, the sea reclaims the people’s playground, chasing them back to beach houses where wild shrimp boil in Old Bay brine and laughter carries from one front porch to another, like sea birds soaring downwind.

In the distance, the sky is streaked with low-lying clouds, the summer sun sets the sky ablaze, dolphin roll silently by, and the ocean, always in motion, scarcely notices at all.

Charleston’s cruise port, which is located in the historic district, is host to the following cruises over the next year and a half:

2009

Carnival Triumph 5 Night Bahamas – sail date: November 2, 2009 – sails to Freeport, Bahamas and Nassau, Bahamas before returning to Charleston. Prices for this cruise start at $569 per person, double occupancy, not including gratuities and government fees and taxes. This pricing structure (double occupancy, etc.) will be uniform for all cruises listed below.

2010

* Carnival Glory 5 Night Bahamas – sail dates: May 24, 2010 or November 1, 2010 – sails to Freeport, Bahamas and Nassau, Bahamas before returning to Charleston. Prices for these cruises start at $479 per person.
* Celebrity Mercury 10 Night Caribbean – sail date: April 9, 2010 – sails to Key West, Florida; Costa Maya, Mexico; Belize City, Belize; Cozumel, Mexico; and Nassau, Bahamas before returning to Charleston. Prices for this cruise start at $899 per person.
* Celebrity Mercury 10 Night Western Caribbean – sail dates: February 26, 2010 or March 19, 2010 – sails to Key West, Florida; Costa Maya, Mexico; Belize City, Belize; Cozumel, Mexico; and Nassau, Bahamas before returning to Charleston. Prices for these cruises start at $789 per person.
* Celebrity Mercury 11 Night Eastern Caribbean – sail dates: February 15, 2010, March 8, 2010 or March 29, 2010 – sails to San Juan, Puerto Rico; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; Basseterre, St. Kitts; and Tortola, British Virgin Islands before returning to Charleston. Prices for these cruises start at $999 per person.
* Celebrity Mercury 16 Night Transatlantic – sail date: April 19, 2010 – sails to Cartagena, Colombia; Panama Canal, Panama; Puntarenas, Costa Rica; Santa Cruz Huatulco, Mexico; Acapulco, Mexico; Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; and ending in Los Angeles, California. Prices for this cruise start at $1,399 per person.

Check out the cruise ships’ Web sites for more information. You could also get in touch with a travel agent who could set up your vacation for you. Either way, bon voyage!