favorite childhood vacation spot (South Carolina)

Member Name: oioiyou

Product:	South Carolina
Date:	01/03/09 (130 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: sandy beaches, great local places to visit

Disadvantages: I can't be there now

I had a really good time writing my last review on the city I was born & grew up in. I sat down to have a think about what review I would work on next and I have made a little list of views I want to share but before I venture into those I thought I would do another one of a place from my past. Can anyone tell I'm feeling my age and suddenly become very nostalgic? Eventually I will accept my age and move on but for now I am quite happy to dwell in the past.

As I grew up driving distance from the ocean we were able to have some nice breaks. I was brought up in a single parent household and although money was tight we still managed to enjoy school breaks. My mother was part of a gathering of single women who would all chuck their kids in the car and meet in the summer. Destination: Sullivan's Island, South Carolina.

Columbia was the halfway point between home and Sullivan's Island and this was where my dad lived so it made sense to stop there for lunch. Dad would always meet us at the same restaurant. It's funny the things you remember from your childhood as the only thing I remember of the restaurant was the painting of Elvis on the bathroom wall. Odd I know!

My favourite part of the holiday was passing through the main town areas of Charleston and over the massive bridge towards the seaside. You knew when you were on the bridge that was it, you were officially on holiday! The crisp sea air seemed to wait for you to enter that bridge before blowing across your face. I can't remember the name of the bridge but I remember it every time I cross over the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge by the Dartford Tunnel.

The island itself is rather small with a population density of 787.2 people per square mile according to the 2000 census. There were many houses available to rent at all times of the year. As the island is situated in hurricane zone all of the houses are built on stilts. I think they are about 8-10 foot off the ground. The house we used to rent used this under-house space to have a little shower, which was really good if you had just come back from the beach and needed to get the sand off before entering the house.

A little island history:

It was known originally as O'Sullivans Island for the lighthouse keeper of the 17th century, Captain Florence O'Sullivan. The island situated north of Charleston Harbour was a port for settlers and slaves arriving to America. In the history books Sullivan's Island was noted as the largest slave port and market in North America. It is estimated that half of all African Americans have ancestors that trace back to the Island. Toni Morrison (a Nobel Prize winning American author, editor, and professor) and the Toni Morrison Society dedicated a bench placed on the Island in 2008 in memory of "those who survived the Middle Passage and those who didn't".

Edgar Allan Poe was stationed at Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's Island between 1827 and 1828. The island was a setting for his short story The Gold-Bug. There are streets on the island that have the names of his works, including "Raven" and "Gold Bug" Drives.

Visit The Fort Moultrie National Monument:
http://www.nps.gov/fosu/historyculture/fort_moult rie.htm

Operating Hours & Seasons
Daily, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; closed New Year's Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

Seniors (62 and over): $1.00 Adults (16 and over): $2.00 Children: $1.00 Family: $5.00 Annual Pass: $20.00

The Island had the Charleston Light built in the early sixties and any local will gladly tell you how modern it is with its' elevator (apparently no other lighthouse in the U.S. has one). No trekking up spiral stairs for them even though it is still necessary to scale a 25-foot vertical ladder to reach the lantern room. I have to admit though it is a very impressive site. I had never realised just how tall those lighthouses were. Standing next to this one makes you think of those towers you would built as a child and how they were always too tall and not wide enough to stay up, but this 163 foot-tall structure has sussed it. If you go on the tour of the lighthouse you can learn many things about the tower including that it houses one of the most powerful candlepower lens in the Western Hemisphere which can be seen up to 26 miles out to sea. Although all this power is highly impressive it was downgraded a decade later to pacify neighbours. Previously the light had been so powerful that the light keepers in order to access the lantern room when the lamps were lit would have to wear asbestos welding suits. Just in case you are wondering where the old lighthouse (Morris Island Lighthouse) is then look roughly a mile out to sea, a little south and there you go! The land it had been located on was severely threatened by erosion.

I can't remember if cars are actually banned or if that was just a myth my mother told me. I get the feeling she wasn't fibbing as we would always leave our cars at the bottom of the bridge and continue on to the house on one of those golf cart vehicles. Don't tell the local police, but my mother let me drive it a couple of times. Now I must be careful how I word this next bit for fear of making myself feel old again! Our parents then used to send us to the beach on our own, which was never a problem because all the children used to roam the streets to and from the oceanside ... I hope these days it is still as safe (I can't imagine its not). The beaches were all golden dunes all the way around. Your feet would sink into the soft sand so you can imagine my shock as the first beach I saw in England was all pebbles! Since then I have found Cornwall and am happier! 

Sullivan's Island has a long military history of protecting the harbour and Charleston from invaders and there are various military / historic reminders around the island. These historical sites are very informative and it's quite amazing how they have withstood so many years of hurricane weather.

No matter what if you are planning to visit the island ensure that you have packed a camera and enough film / batteries. The views are breathtaking and you will inevitably go home with many pictures of wildlife, landscapes, and dunes. There are a number of national historic sites in and around this area so if you are into history you've hit a goldmine.

There are bike-hire shops with bikes in all sizes so the whole family can take a ride along the paths of the island or into Charleston and visit the many shops, restaurants, old style candy shops, and activity places with such things as candle making. I remember on one visit we got a chance to make candles and the lady there showed us how to peel back the different layers of the wax to create curves and colour. There are many 1960's style diners and in some if you play certain songs on the jukebox the staff will dance around whilst serving (lord help them if they get an irritating customer who plays the songs over and over again!).

Thank you for reading and allowing me to share a treasured holiday memory with you and I hope if you find yourself in that part of the world you will take some time out to explore and enjoy this part of the south.

http://www.sullivansisland-sc.com/

(c) oioiyou 2009

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