Venus loses in the semis!

Well, another top name from the Daniel Island Family Circle Cup Tennis tourney is out. All week long the tournament has had big names withdraw due to injury or being beaten. Add Venus Williams to that list.

What an exciting match though. 3 sets with the final set a tiebreaker. It was on ESPN and it was cool to see the Daniel Island ads. Even my family called to say they saw it on TV today. It was a gorgeous day and lots of people turned out. It really is quite the social event in Charleston. And everyone (except Venus) seemed to enjoy the day. I brought my camera and took some photos of Venus and of course Steve insisted on being photographed.

Next year make a commitment to yourself and come out and see the ladies hit the balls around. It's a great event and a great way to see world class talent up close. They really do play a different game than the rest of us!

Jack is gone!

Daniel Island lost one of its biggest fans today.
My nephew Jack flew back to Carson City, Nevada today after spending the week with us. Like MacArthur and swans to Capristrano, he vows to return. And he will. He is even talking about going to the College of Charleston and he is only 11 years old!

Here is a shot of Jack and his older brother Jordan and Steve on the 18th green of the Rees Jones Ralston Creek course. Jack's favorite course of the two by the way. He had two pars (playing from the ladies tees) today and is still talking about them. He says his sand game needs a little work and promises upon his return to be better. I think our ambassador is slowly going golf crazy. We miss him and his family already.

Jack is back!

My youngest nephew, Jack Malone, arrived yesterday to revisit one of his favorite spots, Daniel Island. Jack is 11 years old and lives in Carson City, Nevada. He is in the 5th grade and told his Mom and Dad that for spring break he wanted to come back to Daniel Island to visit his Aunt Meg and Uncle Steve. Needless to say we were delighted to hear of his spring break request.

Understand that Jack is a well traveled youngster who has been to Costa Rica, San Francisco, Puerto Rico, and New York. But this time Jack wanted to come by himself. Unfortunately for Jack, his mother, brother and sister also wanted to come along. But when it comes to ambassadors for Daniel Island, I can think of no one better than Jack.

When I asked him what he likes best about Daniel Island, he said "everything." He especially enjoys the golf, the tennis, dinners at Sienna, the birds, and now has even began taking the 8 am yoga classes at the health club. He hopes to one day spend the whole summer with us and we would love that! Here is a picture of young Jack Malone and if you see him hanging around the area, make sure to say "Hi" and c'mon back soon!

May looks to be fun on Daniel Island

We received information recently on some upcoming May events and they should be fun as always. We’re pleased to announce that the upcoming Garden and Art Tour in Smythe Park is scheduled to take place May 10-13 and 17-20 to benefit East Cooper Habitat for Humanity and the Gibbes Museum of Art. At this unique event, six brand-new, lake-front custom homes will serve as gallery space to showcase artwork from some of Charleston's top galleries and artists.

Also in May, the Charleston Symphony Orchestra will return to Daniel Island for a free Concert in the Park and Fireworks Display on Saturday, May 19th. This year’s concert will take place in Smythe Park and will again include a picnic judging contest. It's always a blast to walk around and view some of the elaborate picnic spreads. Come on out and join us!

$30 million dollar weekend

The results are in! Our lot release last weekend brought in over $20 million dollars with over 30 lots sold. It was a busy time getting ready for it and now we get a little breather. But very little. Family Circle Cup is beginning and we have a booth at the event so no rest for the weary. Too bad Sharapova had to withdraw but it looks like Venus, Serena and Martina Hingis are still scheduled.

Steve is still talking about his trip to the Masters on Tuesday. Here is a photo of him near the 18th green. He was able to scalp a ticket to the practice round with a buddy of his and I guess they had a grand old time. He even caught a glimpse of Arnie Palmer. The only disappointing part of the day for him was how easy it was for him to obtain a ticket. He was looking for more wheeling and dealing. Anyway he vows to take me next year and says I will marvel at the beauty of the course. I think his favorite part was the $2 beers. They certainly don't gouge the customer he said.

Grass court tennis comes to Daniel Island!

I had a lovely day yesterday and played some tennis with Steve. He asked Ann, the assistant pro, about the nearby construction and she said that is where the new grass tennis court is going to be built. How exciting! Now we have clay, hard court and grass to play on. Steve said it will be just like Wimbledon and now he can dive for balls! Apparently it will be similar to the croquet court as far as how it is groomed. It will be great to be able to talk about this development with tennis centered clients.

Steve is headed to Augusta tomorrow to try to attend the practice round of the Masters. He plans on scalping a ticket outside the main gate. Good luck to him. He does enjoy the scalping process and is pretty good at it. He was able to attend the USA/USSR Olympic hockey game in Lake Placid in 1980 so he's pretty confident he can get into the Masters.

Me, I have a number of clients to contact and a lot of follow up on last weekend's lot releases. It is busy this time of year and the Family Circle Cup starts next week so we are going to be ready for the crowds. I'll keep you posted on Steve's attempt to attend the fun in Augusta!

Dirt Movers Win!

Quite a day yesterday on Daniel Island and in Charleston. First, our sales team group at Daniel Island won the battle of the new releases. We split the sales team into two sides and our team, The Daniel Island Dirt Movers triumphed over the Daniel Island Lot Lovers. We sold more of the new releases than they did so we all won a weekend trip. (Hopefully with spouses says Steve.) It was a successful day with almost 40 lots sold and around $15 million raised.

All the events (helicopter rides, schooner rides, golf and tennis lessons, etc.) went off smoothly and the evening oyster roast was great! It was a beautiful day and it was very exciting to watch people win their choice of lots. It was a long day but a fun one! The upside is that not all the lots were sold so we still have some inventory to sell in the upcoming months.

Steve got up early and headed downtown yesterday to watch friends run the 30th annual Cooper River Bridge Run. After running the marathon last week, he decided to take it easy, enjoy a bloody mary and watch other people suffer. He said it was a great race to watch and very well organized considering it had over 40,000 participants. He said the town was rocking as bars and restaurants were teeming with people drinking beer at 10 am. Next year we both plan on doing the bridge run as it really is a worthy community event.

Steve is also very excited this week because not only is it Masters week, but he is driving over to Augusta on Tuesday for the practice round. He has never been to the Masters and is a golf nut so he plans on walking the entire course. Everyone says it is an absolutely beautiful course and it's great that is is only 3 hours away.