Isle of Palms - A Quiet Place to Relax
Written: Nov 05 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Nice Southern beach town, close to Charleston. Absolutely fabulous seafood.
Cons: The water is not blue.
The Bottom Line: Relax on the beach. Eat wonderful food. Enjoy Southern hospitality!
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| kwfrancis's Full Review: South Carolina |
Isle of Palms
Every summer I like to take a beach vacation in the United States. I grew up near the “shore” in New Jersey and always loved my time there. Since moving South I have visited beaches along the Georgia and Florida coast. This summer I decided on Isle of Palms, a small island off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina.
I chose Isle of Palms because of its close proximity to Charleston, which is about 15 minutes away. Charleston is a lovely old Southern town with lots to do.
I decided to rent a house because I was taking my mother (aged 74) and my son (aged 6) with me. This way we would be able to cook some and go out to eat sometime. During my research on the Internet I came across Island Realty. They rent houses on several islands near Charleston. They offer all size homes in and also condos in a gated resort area know as Wild Dunes. I chose a 2-bedroom house 2 blocks from the beach with a screened in porch and a deck. There was an upstairs and a downstairs apartment. I chose
upstairs. Parking was included. The house cost $850 per week plus tax. It came to just over $1000 a week with a Saturday afternoon check-in and a Saturday morning checkout.
I thought this was much more reasonable than sitting on the bed in a hotel at night.
We drove from Atlanta to Charleston. It took about 6 hours. On the way we stopped in Columbia for lunch. I was craving barbeque ribs so we stopped at Maurice’s. Mistake.
The plate arrived and everything was brown in color. I recognized ribs with a mustard sauce and then rice covered with some brown mushy stuff. I was told it was hash, made from ground up meat. Neither my mother or I were able to eat it. Upon departing I noticed the plethora of Confederate flags (and lack of African American patrons). Later I was told this was one of 2 restaurants that were boycotted during the Confederate flag controversy.
Upon our arrival on Isle of Palms, Island Realty had an outdoor check-in with cold lemon and chocolate chip cookies. Check-in took less than 10 minutes.
Our house was located on 2nd Avenue. It looked exactly like the picture. Everything was new for the season. The sit-in kitchen was fully equipped with pots, pans, dishes, full size refrigerator, dishwasher, vacuum cleaner, broom, and mop. Anything you would expect in a house. One bedroom contained a queen size bed. The other twin beds. The furniture and pictures were sea scenes and reflected a beach atmosphere.
My mother especially loved the screened in porch where there was always a breeze even though the temperature was in the high 90’s. From the porch you were able to see the ocean as well as the mansions that were oceanfront (most of them are for rent as well).
Our first beach day we visited the “public beach” area. There is meter parking close to the beach and parking lot parking further away from the beach. Because of my mom’s age we opted for the meter parking. Slight hassle because you could only put 3 hours worth of change at one time. Advantages – restaurants and other places to eat right on the beach. There were too many cigarette butts on this part of the beach so we decided to
to go to the beach near our home next time.
The beach near our home was wonderful. Sand dunes and water not blue but clean. Nice shells and other not dangerous sea life to explore. Not crowded. We met our neighbors that were renting homes also. Everyone seemed satisfied with the accommodations and all the homes seemed newly renovated. Good waves for boogie boarding.
We took a 90-minute tour of Charleston. You can just go to the Convention Center and
take tours for all lengths of time and with different focuses – African American history, Civil War history. The houses in the downtown historic district have been restored to their former glory. I’m sure if some of the earlier owners came back from the dead they would be surprised to see their homes looking so lovely. Fort Sumter is nearby as well as Patriot’s Point.
Another day we drove to Beaufort and the Penn Center (a museum) to find out more about the Gullah culture – dating back to West African slaves. There was one place to eat – Gullah Grub. The menu had fish and chicken and rice (since this is what this area is known for). The restaurant was small but clean. Everything was cooked fresh. We spent a little time touring the historic district of Beaufort but by then decided every small town down South has a historic district. Savannah is also an easy drive – about 1-½ hours – from Charleston - but we didn’t make that trip this time.
On the island everyone recommends The One Eyed Parrot but again the parking situation in town was not good. So we found a restaurant just as you enter Isle of Palms named The Boathouse. I ate there 3 times during my visit and enjoyed it each time. First I gouged on shrimp. Then oysters and finally maxed out with the fresh water lobster tails.
The Boathouse is right on the water and the view is nice. There are loads of restaurants between the Isle and Charleston to suit any taste including the standard chain restaurants like Outback Steak House, Applebee’s, and International House of Pancakes.
You can also arrange for an eco-tour that will take you to small barrier islands where you can catch crabs, see land as it existed hundreds of years before and even experience dolphins. The loggerhead turtles are protected by Federal Law and the Turtle Teams on Isle of Palm make sure that the mothers don’t get run over, that the nests are not exposed to weather and predators and that as many turtle babies make it back to sea as possible. They will tell you all about this. Most members are devoted to the turtles.
Wild Dunes is an upscale-gated resort on the Isle. We tried to visit it but were turned away. It appears to have golf courses, condos, hotel rooms and restaurants self-contained but we really enjoyed our house at the beach and pretending we were residents if only for a week!
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Families
Best Time to Travel Here: Jun - Aug
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Epinions.com ID:
kwfrancis
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Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Reviews written: 4
Trusted by: 0 members
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