There is an ease to
South Carolina, a calm genteel way that forces one to move a little slower,
smile a bit more. If one tries to fight this tide, they will only drown in the
wake of this glorious place and its unbridled joy. People are pleasant and
polite and courteous. No, don't fight it. Just move a little slower when
visiting South Carolina. Let your own smile shine through and enjoy the ride as well as the
destination.
Smiling and moving at a
leisurely pace, Team VFH left the Charleston, with a plan to meander. The next
stop for us was Beaufort, but he had so much to see before we arrived in this
home of Joe Frazier, The Big Chill and Forrest Gump.
Speaking of a leisurely pace
there is the Angel Oak. We had learned about this ancient tree from the National Geographic
Road Trip Series and decided to see it for ourselves.
This beautiful oak has
been growing for a very long time. Varying brochures and websites estimate this
old, stately tree from 300 to 600 years old. It is said to be the oldest living
thing in North America. Indeed, why rush? Located on Johns Island in Angel Oak
Park it stands over 65 feet tall and 28 feet around and offers 1700 square feet
of canopy. It is free, it is beautiful and it is well worth the stop.
 |
| LOGGERHEAD |
EDISTO ISLAND
Another sea island,
Edisto is south of Kiawah. The ride along Route 174 is lovely, lined with live
oak trees draped in silver Spanish moss and past beautiful marshes and
estuaries. It is quite a drive and far off the beaten path. We ignored the opportunity
to visit the Serpentarium to see reptiles from the area, and made our way to
the town; some call it a semi-tropical version of Mayberry. There are no
traffic lights, motels or fast food franchises and the homes are relatively
modest. It is quiet. Loggerhead turtles nest here from spring through the fall
and the state park on Edisto Island offers a guided nighttime walk to explore this creature’s
life cycle.
We stopped briefly so I
could collect some sand, but did not go to the south end of the island where
sea shells are plentiful.
 |
| EDISTO ISLAND, SC |
BEAUFORT
It is the second oldest
city in South Carolina after Charleston. I had always wanted to visit this city
after learning the Big Chill, Forrest Gump and The Prince of Tides, to name a few from a long list, were filmed here. Beaufort is called by some as a little Hollywood in South Carolina. Movie locations from old Southern looks to jungle scenes are the allure as well as a beautiful warm light; there is a lot of moisture in the air. Some of the jungle scenes
from Forrest Gump were filmed nearby on Fripp and Hunting Islands. Also interesting is the heavyweight
champion Joe Frazier was born in this bucolic little town and it is the home of
the actor Tom Berenger and the author Pat Conroy.
Beaufort has recently been ranked No.1 as the happiest seaside town by Coastal Living Magazine. But, when we first arrived we weren’t so sure. We drove through town along route 21, past mundane store fronts and gas stations. But very soon we got to see the historic area. Turning left on Bay Street just before the Woods Memorial Bridge that spans the Beaufort River (which was used in a scene where Forrest Gump was jogging), we drove through the Old Point section of town and marveled at the beautiful antebellum homes lovingly maintained. The streets are quiet and lined with live oak draped with moss. It was everything I expected from Beaufort.
Beaufort has recently been ranked No.1 as the happiest seaside town by Coastal Living Magazine. But, when we first arrived we weren’t so sure. We drove through town along route 21, past mundane store fronts and gas stations. But very soon we got to see the historic area. Turning left on Bay Street just before the Woods Memorial Bridge that spans the Beaufort River (which was used in a scene where Forrest Gump was jogging), we drove through the Old Point section of town and marveled at the beautiful antebellum homes lovingly maintained. The streets are quiet and lined with live oak draped with moss. It was everything I expected from Beaufort.
The other stretch of Bay
Street is lined with trendy shops and galleries and there is a small quiet park
that follows the river. A number of bars and restaurants have open decks that
face the park and everyone seemed to have live music being played when we
walked around town after our dinner.
There is a military
presence here with the Marine Corps Recruit Depot on Parris Island nearby.
Evidently the town gets crowded on Family Day and graduation from boot camp,
although the ceremony is not limited to family members. This and the museum on Parris Island are
popular destinations.
There is a well-attended
Water Festival in Beaufort. It opens tomorrow, July 19th. Now in its
58th year the opening ceremonies will feature the Parris Island
Marine Band. The 10 day event has music, crafts, shrimp boat tours, fireworks,
a parade of boats; everything to make Beaufort a destination. Each day of the
festival has a different theme, like Tropical Tuesday and Lowcountry supper
Thursday.
There’s a shrimp festival too, held in October and a Gullah Festival, celebrating the Sea Island culture of West African and American influences in late May.
The arts are well
represented here also. Operas are held at the University of South Carolina
Beaufort Center For the Arts and an International Film Festival is held in
February.
Beaufort seemed vibrant and artsy and trendy and still southern and stately and genteel. There seems to be so much to do, but sadly, we had limited
time in Beaufort and doubly sad we missed everything! We arrived too late to
take a carriage ride through the town that would have taught us some history and
showed us film locations. It was not a graduation week for the Marine recruits so the town was quiet, almost deserted on this Saturday just after the Fourth of July. The yearly sailing regatta was next week and the Water Festival was still two
weeks away.
What to do?
Well, we made the best of the situation; we opted to go
out to dinner! There are several very
fine restaurants in Beaufort. We had our best meal of our trip so far in South
Carolina at Dockside in Port Royale, just a few miles from the center of town,
where we ate Oysters Rockefeller and the best shrimp and grits slathered with Tasso
ham for appetizers, potato-encrusted Grouper and crab-stuffed flounder for
dinner. Dockside is evidently the place everyone eats when family comes for
graduation week at Parris Island and the wait can be torturous. Our wait was
just an hour, which we spent happily at the bar.
 |
| SHRIMP AND GRITS! |
The other choice for
dinner was The Old Bull Tavern. It is ranked No.1 on a lot of websites. The
food is British Pub with a twist and very reasonably priced. After our meal at
Dockside we stopped in for a drink here. It was a bit too loud, but fun. There
were many delicious items on the menu, but we were glad we had eaten at
Dockside. Our original thinking was to stay on Sunday, but chatting with some
locals they told us the town just rolls up and there’s nothing going on, so we
never ate at The Old Bull Tavern as we decided to high-tail it to our next
destination point on Sunday morning. I think though I would like to return to
Beaufort and spend more time exploring the town and the sea islands nearby.
No comments:
Post a Comment