Tidbit Tuesdays- Retreat Spring Colors

Spring is a beautiful time at the Retreat. Below are a few pictures captured throughout the community of spring blossoms! Do you have some gorgeous shots of the community? Send them to us, and we will share them on the blog.

Community Barbecue TODAY

Retreat Residents:

You are invited to a Community Barbecue/Pool Party TODAY April 26^th 2-5PM organized by our very own social committee!

Come meet your neighbors, invite a new resident in your building, and enjoy the party. The HOA will provide pork barbecue, chicken, sides, and NON-alcoholic beverages. If you wish, please bring your alcoholic beverage of choice. (Remember: Glass is not allowed in the pool area and you must be 21 to consume alcohol on The Retreat property.)

There will be music, dancing and games during the party, so please come out and partake in the fun!

Life Alert Brochures

Life Alert Brochures 

As a followup to a recent post on personal safety, there are now brochures on Life Alert products available for your viewing in the clubhouse and on the bulletin boards. 

Tidbit Tuesdays - Perimeter Walking Path

The Perimeter Walking Path

Located just within the Retreat property lines facing the woods and crisscrossing our property line with the apartments, the perimeter path is a wonderful amenity for our residents. Daily, you can see everything from dog walkers and baby strollers to runners and bikers enjoying this pathway.   

The path was resurfaced about four years ago with local shell sand and measures approximately 1260 yards or 7/10 of a mile. Over the past year, we have installed several solar powered motion lights along the darkest areas of the pathway between buildings 700 and 400 in order to improve visibility and deter unwanted guests late at night.

Between buildings 800 and 1100, the path has a wooden bridge that climbs the side of the Civil War earthworks that border and enter our property. (See our previous post.)  Behind 400, a beautiful live oak branch extends over the path, and, if you look around, you might spot a tree with a grin on it.

Near the front gate of our property, you can continue over to a second walking path maintained by the apartments. This path circles the large lake adjacent to the road and has mostly a mulch surface. It measures 565 yards, or slightly less than 1/3 of a mile, and has several nice benches and swings situated around its perimeter.

Together these paths are a great alternative to the mundane miles on the treadmill or a perfect evening stroll.

Momma Duck and Ducklings Epic Story - A Reminder to Not Play Around the Ponds

For the past several years, the residents of building 1000 have witnessed the heartbreak of a mother duck's relentless attempts to have ducklings on a second floor porch. This year, she moved to building 1100 and successfully hatched ducklings.

But her troubles do not stop there. On Monday last week, mother duck and her little band of followers decided to visit the pond behind building 1000. Unfortunately, mother duck can not read the warning sign about no fishing or swimming due to alligators. Just as mother duck was entering the water, she was attacked by an alligator but eventually was able to flee to safety with her ducklings. She had obvious wing, leg, and possible back damage from the encounter.

On Tuesday, mother duck and three ducklings made it to the pool. She was in obvious need of medical care from her attack. Several Retreat residents and helpful children rounded up the duck and ducklings, and they were graciously taken in free of charge by the Dorchester Veterinary Hospital. They were all treated for the chlorine water exposure, and the mother duck's injuries are still on the mend. The ducklings are doing fine. They will all be eventually released into a duck conservancy where there are no more alligators to torment this little family. The alligator in the 1000 pond was evaluated on Thursday. It showed no signs of unprovoked aggression and thus was allowed to stay on Retreat property.

Please consider this mother duck's story a warning to you and your family. Alligators are a natural part of the South Carolina environment, should be respected, and not considered a nuisance. Signs are posted at each pond warning about alligators and to not fish or swim in the pond. In other words, do not disturb the alligators. Please do not let your children, grandchildren or pets play at the water's edge. An alligator can move extremely fast when attacking, and you might not be able to get away fast enough.

HOA Quarterly Board Meeting and Pot-Luck Dinner TODAY

The quarterly board meeting will be held in the clubhouse TODAY, April 17th, at 5:30 pm. Please mark your calendars to attend this meeting to get updates on community projects and concerns.

As always, we will have a social pot-luck dinner after the meeting starting at 6:30 pm. The HOA will be providing hotdogs, hamburgers, and condiments. Please bring a dish to share and your favorite drink. Please remember that you must be 21 to consume alcohol on The Retreat property.

Tidbit Tuesdays - Solo Living - Is it time to consider an emergency beacon?

One of our fellow Retreat residents had a recent slip in the shower. While she was able to get to a phone to call for help and is doing fine, we should all take a moment to examine our own situation for these types of emergencies.

Is there someone that knows your normal schedule and would know to check on you if you do not show?

For those of us that work, this may be a co-worker or your boss. For others, it may be a neighbor, classmate, or a family member you talk to routinely. The key is to make sure that if something was to happen, another person would notice something is wrong if you are unable to call for help yourself.

Let someone know where you are planning to go and when you will be expected back.

Taking a walk or a bike ride outside of the neighborhood? Driving to Goose Creek at night? Let someone know where you are going and when you will be back. We cannot predict when things may go afoul, so it's good to know that someone is expecting your return.

Make sure your phone is relatively near you, especially when in the shower. 

While most of us do not have waterproof phones, placing your phone on your bathroom counter as part of your normal routine is a reasonable alternative. This may make it easier for you to get help if you have an emergency.

 Have you considered an emergency beacon?

Most of us have seen the commercials for Life Alert where a stranded person presses a button around their neck to call for help. While this may seem a bit paranoid, since most of us do not have emergencies that often. You may want to consider this, or another such product, to make sure that you will be able to call for help easily. Many are waterproof and shower safe. There are even versions that are equipped with a GPS beacon and can be activated anywhere (advertised for the ever roaming college student).

Do you have any helpful tips? Let us know!

HOA Quarterly Board Meeting + Pot-Luck Dinner

The quarterly board meeting will be held in the clubhouse Thursday, April 17th, at 5:30 pm. Please mark your calendars to attend this meeting to get updates on community projects and concerns.

As always, we will have a social pot-luck dinner after the meeting starting at 6:30 pm. The HOA will be providing hotdogs, hamburgers, and condiments. Please bring a dish to share and your favorite drink. Please remember that you must be 21 to consume alcohol on The Retreat property.

Community Barbecue/Pool Party Saturday April 26th 2-5PM

Retreat Residents:

You are invited to a Community Barbecue/Pool Party Saturday April 26^th 2-5PM organized by our very own social committee!

Come meet your neighbors, invite a new resident in your building, and enjoy the party. The HOA will provide pork barbecue, chicken, sides, and NON-alcoholic beverages. If you wish, please bring your alcoholic beverage of choice. (Remember: Glass is not allowed in the pool area and you must be 21 to consume alcohol on The Retreat property.)

There will be music, dancing and games during the party, so please come out and partake in the fun!

Tidbit Tuesdays - Our pool furniture is blue!

This post is the first of a series of posts about the community. If you have any ideas for topics for this series, please let us know!

Over the winter all of our pool furniture took a trip to Myrtle Beach to be re-strapped. Over the past 10 years, the old strapping had taken a bit of a beating and was really starting to show their age.

However, the metal frames were still in quite good shape. So all the chairs and lounges had the old green and beige straps tossed out and replaced with new navy blue straps. What a difference!

Since the pool is now officially open for use, go grab a towel and try out the new chairs. We would love to know what you think!

Pool Season is officially OPEN!

Hear ye, hear ye! As of April 1st, the pool is officially open! But what does that really mean? Each and every day during the pool season, the chemicals in the water are checked, debris is removed, and the pool area is generally "reset" for the day's use so that we can fully enjoy our pool area.

Friendly Pool Etiquette Reminders

Glass is not allowed within the pool gated area. This is a safety rule required by the state. If a piece of glass breaks within the gated area, the pool is required by law to be drained and cleaned. So please refrain from bringing glass to the pool. If you notice someone at the pool with glass, kindly offer them a red solo cup (located in the clubhouse kitchen) to better enjoy their beverage.

While we all love listening to music by the pool, we cannot agree on exactly what type of music. If you choose to enjoy your favorite tunes using a speaker for others to hear, please keep it at a reasonable volume.

Proper bathing attire must be worn at all times. Please leave your thongs at home ladies and gentlemen.

Bring your friends, but not a huge party. Please remember that the limit on guests accompanying you to the pool is 5 and that you are responsible for the actions of your guests while they are on Retreat property.

Finally, the pool's hours are from dawn to dusk. Again this is a requirement by the state. If you are in the pool area after it has closed, you are technically trespassing. While late evening swims can be relaxing after a hot day, our pool does not have adequate lighting to be open after dark.  A good rule of thumb is if the street lights are on, then the pool is closed.

And most important of all, have fun at the pool!