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Love Affair Cdestnatons. But as great a place as Charleston is, its coastal restaurants – and some good ones at that. There’s Fiery Ron’s Home

harleston’s staid southern charm is legendary. Its history deep
One thing Sullivan’s Island does have in abundance is
and all-encompassing. A city that’s unique among American
Team BBQ, the place Esquire magazine says serves up “the most life-
changing ribs in America.” Or the Obstnate Daughter, named one of
environs are just as spectacular...yet totally diferent and largely
the 100 Best Restaurants in the South by Southern Living magazine.
unexplored by most visitors.
Or Poe’s Tavern, whose Annabel Lee burger (topped with a crabcake
Welcome to Lowcountry – the tdal marshes, rivers and
and vegetable remoulade) was chosen the Best Burger in South
estuaries that dominate much of South Carolina’s eastern landscape.
Carolina by Business Insider. And the best part is they’re all located
Lowcountry doesn’t just inform Charleston, it permeates and saturates
within a few hundred feet of each other in “downtown” Sullivan’s
the city like the heavy humidity and summer rain.
Island – a cluster of low-slung buildings lining Middle St. This is
To really appreciate Lowcountry, you have to leave downtown
quality local dining at its most casual – Lowcountry lowdown.
and get onto the back roads that snake out to the barrier islands, the
narrow strips of land that protect the Charleston peninsula from the
winging around to the other side of the Charleston Peninsula,
rolling surf of the Atlantc Ocean. It’s here you’ll fnd the real beauty
Folly Island is about a half-hour drive south of downtown on
of Coastal Carolina – the fat, endless vistas of marsh grasses, the tall
oaks hung heavy with Spanish moss, the salty, sultry air alive with SRoute 171, crossing the maze of serene and beautful waterways
that cut through vast expanses of marsh grass where the roadway is
the sounds of tree frogs and katydids, the white clapboard churches the highest vantage point in any directon.
that guard every crossroad. The island, known locally as Folly Beach, is more the prototypical
The islands themselves are unique, each having its own distnct
character and lifestyle, from laid-back beach towns to ultra-upscale beach town than any of the other barrier islands on our list, with a
few small hotels, restaurants, bars and souvenir shops clustered along
enclaves and everything in between. For the purposes of our Center St. as you enter from the causeway.
getaway we’ll visit four specifc locales – Isle of Palms, Sullivan’s One of the major atractons here is the Folly Beach Fishing Pier
Island, Folly Island and Kiawah Island – all within an hour’s drive of – at 25 feet wide, 23 feet above sea level and stretching 1,045 feet
downtown Charleston. into the Atlantc Ocean, it’s the second longest on the East Coast. In
additon to fshing, you’ll fnd a host of recreatonal optons – camping,
ounded on the west by the Ashley River and on the east by the picnicking, golf, bicycling, paddleboarding, kayaking, boatng – with
Cooper River, the Charleston peninsula and Charleston Harbor
Befectvely separate the barrier islands that bookend the city, details and contact info at www.follybeach.com/actvites.php. Nature
lover alert: Loggerhead Sea Turtles nest on Folly Island from May to
with Isle of Palms and Sullivan’s Island to the north and east, and
Folly Island and Kiawah Island to the south and west. September. The same female may climb ashore 2-5 tmes a season,
Isle of Palms bills itself as “the perfect blend of 5,000 full-tme digging a nest for 100 eggs overnight. The Folly Turtle Beach Watch
residents and 20,000 to 50,000 investment owners and visitors who Program helps protect the eggs, guides walks and gives tps on how
make it their home and destnaton,” interestng in light of the fact you can help keep these magnifcent and endangered reptles safe.
Accommodatons in Folly Beach – ofen referred to as “the edge
that the island had no permanent inhabitants untl the late 19th of America” – are a mixed bag. The Tides Hotel is the only full-service
century, when it became popular with locals as a refuge
from the summer heat of Charleston. beachfront property, ofering 132 rooms and more than 4,000 square
feet of meetng and prefuncton space that can handle groups of up to
These days Isle of Palms is dominated by homes of
all sizes and descriptons, from humble beach shacks to 300, with the capability to add group team-building actvites such as
breathtaking million-dollar propertes. With rare excepton, kayaking, horseshoes, volleyball and more.
the island’s six miles of ocean beaches are all public access.
As for recreatonal actvites, www.isleofpalmsexplorer.com iawah Island is a special trip – both getng there and being
lists numerous resources for biking, golf, fshing, canoeing/ there. A bit further afeld than our frst three stops, it’s about
kayaking and nature tours, as well as lots of other useful Ka 45-minute drive through a whole different landscape than
informaton. we’ve seen so far. Flat, yes, but you won’t see a lot of waterways
and marsh grass along State Rd. S-10-20. This is Sea Island country,
There are a handful of beachfront hotels, with capacites a place of romantic vistas, cultivated fields, pine/mixed hardwood
ranging from 50 to more than 400. At the northern end of forests and massive old oaks draped in Spanish moss. In fact, the
the island, Wild Dunes resort occupies 1,500 acres and ofers Angel Oak, located near the intersection of Maybank Highway
two Tom Fazio-designed golf courses, 17 tennis courts and and Bohicket Rd., is estimated to be somewhere between 700
numerous pools. The resort’s Sweetgrass Pavilion ofers 10,000 and 1,400 years old – providing shade to locals long before any
square feet of meetng space that can accommodate groups of
up to 400, and the Boardwalk Inn features a Club Room, Board Europeans ever thought about visiting this part of the world.
Room and Billiards Room, as well the Grand Pavilion, a covered The crossroads you pass on the drive out to Kiawah Island read
gazebo with panoramic ocean views. like a logbook of the area’s colorful history: Hoopstck Island, Sandhill,
Oak Branch, Log Cabin, Shadow Pond, Cotage Plantaton, Hickory Hill,
ullivan’s Island, just across Breach Inlet to the south, is our Pumpkin Hill – road names that defne and refect the natural beauty
next stop. This is a place of major historical signifcance. The that envelopes you as you amble south toward the coast. It’s a serene
Sisland was the disembarkaton point for over 40% of the and sensual journey that makes you want to turn of the AC and roll
slaves traded to Britain’s North American Colonies, making it the down your windows. Let the outside in. Go back in tme.
largest slave port in North America. It’s estmated that nearly half of The countryside you’re passing through is part of land grants
all African Americans have ancestors who passed through Sullivan’s made in the early 1700s, when setlers in the area also received town
Island. In additon, the writer Edgar Allan Poe was statoned at nearby lots in what was then called Charles Town. Many planters had town
Fort Moultrie from November 1827 to December 1828, and the island is houses and plantaton houses, a patern that prevailed into the 19th
a setng for much of his short story, “The Gold-Bug.” century. The dual residency was motvated by fear of “country fever”
The string of beautful, public-access beaches contnues here, (malaria), as well as a desire for the social and cultural amenites of
but the key diference is that there are no hotels on Sullivan’s Island. the town. Horse farms, catle ranches, indigo plantatons…these were
Instead, accommodatons are limited to about 60 privately owned the primary ways of making a living for centuries out here, and much
vacaton rental homes that require a minimum 3-night stay. of it stll lies undisturbed by development.
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