Tuesday, November 12, 2013

A daytrip to Pat Conroy’s Lowcountry


November 6, 2013
Hilton Head Island, S.C.
Hilton Head Island Motorcoach Resort



I first learned about Beaufort, South Carolina through reading one of our favorite authors. Pat Conroy.  An area called the Lowcountry, a geographic and cultural region located along South Carolina's coast, is the setting for most of his works: The Great Santini, Prince of Tides, and Lords of Discipline (based on his experience attending The Citadel, a well-known South Carolina military college in Charleston).  When we were in Charleston for the first time two years ago, I was reading one of his more recent novels, South of Broad, which takes place in Charleston. His writing made me feel an affinity for this part of the country long before ever seeing it.




Conroy now lives in Beaufort and is partially responsible for making it such a popular place to visit these days that apparently many tourists return to retire here.(it has made several “most livable small town” lists.) The town was founded in 1711, making it the second oldest settlement in South Carolina, after Charleston. Beaufort has a diverse history with the slave trade, rice, indigo, and sea cotton plantations, shipbuilding, a devastating hurricane, and a boom and bust textile industry as a result of the boll weevil. Another big influence in the area is the close proximity of three military bases at nearby Parris Island: the  Marine Corps recruit training Depot, Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS), and a Naval Hospital.



The South Carolina slave trade (with Charleston at the center) played a large role in the original settlement of the area. Many of these slaves came from West Africa where there was a similar rice-growing industry. The descendants of these slaves are known as Gullah, African Americans who live in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina and Georgia. The name Gullah is believed to come from a mispronunciation of Angola, one of the predominant countries of their origin. The Gullah heritage is an important part of the Lowcountry culture in terms of storytelling, cuisine, music, folk beliefs, crafts, farming and fishing. My favorites are the Gullah creole-based recipes and their sweetgrass baskets.




Beaufort is about an hour and a half drive from Hilton Head. We first drove through the historic part of town and then decided to head further out to Hunting Island another 16 miles to the seacoast. On the way there, I was reading a Southern Living article about Conroy which said his favorite place to take guests for local seafood was The Shrimp Shack, a little place out in the country which is famous for its chowders and shrimp burgers.



There were several cars parked out behind the shack just as the article described, so we thought we had a winner. We were wrong.  The food was absolutely terrible and the place was dirty. We both ordered shrimp burgers and a tomato-based chowder which was almost inedible. I had the feeling we might even get sick after eating there, but thankfully that did not happen. Either Conroy has terrible taste in food or the management has changed. Do not go there!  Beaufort is full of good restaurants and even the little town of St. Helena Island just down the road has at least two restaurants that are supposed to be good: Gullah Grub and Sweetgrass Cafe.



On to Hunting Island. We originally had reservations to stay here, but heard that our site may have been a problem in terms of low clearance and tree branch issues. The park is pretty remote which is part of the draw, to be camping at a natural and more untamed seashore. It is a beautiful place in a haunting sort of way with fallen trees in the water creating a rugged-looking beachfront.



Even the sites have a more natural feel as they are not all lined up in a row; instead, they are tucked into what appears to be a random pattern going in different directions. We saw mostly tents and small trailers, but there were a few motorhomes wedged into various sites. 




The best sites were definitely the ones near the beach front (numbers 1-86). Our site would have been #197 which is way back in the forest. In driving to this loop of the campground, we came upon a motorhome trying to get into a site in the same area with his toad still attached. (Not a good idea at all). While trying to maneuver into the site, he came within inches of two trees smashing his awning up against one of them. Aside from the trees on his right, he would not have been able to clear the overhanging branches either.



Here is a close-up of the awning pressed up against the tree. Ouch.



His wife had been guiding him in and this outcome made her pretty upset. Vic offered to help guide him out of this predicament.  First he unhitched his car, then Vic had him back out every so slowly to avoid doing more damage. The driver said he just felt sick to his stomach. I would too. We have had our closest calls in state parks and have also run into trouble with our reserved sites being unfit for our MH due to low branches or unlevel grounds. We have also had some fabulous sites at state parks. Ideally, it pays to do some firsthand research.  Watching this incident, however, confirmed our decision to not stay at this park unless we had one of these more open beachfront sites.



We did like the beach and especially the freedom the dogs would have there. This kind of a stay just requires more of a camping state of mind by bringing plenty of food, firewood, and bug spray. We tend to be drawn to less remote camping with urban conveniences nearby and the luxury of full hook-ups—although a good campfire can trump all those amenities for me.





Our main plan for the afternoon was to spend time in Beaufort walking around the waterfront and the historic downtown area. The park along the water was quite lovely complete with swings, rocking chairs, and a beautifully landscaped picnic area with an outdoor stage.





We also enjoyed checking out the marina with its variety of pleasure boats, sailboats, fishing charters, and shrimp boats. It looks like Beaufort has a thriving waterfront industry. 





Somewhat to our surprise, the shops downtown were pretty high-end, especially the art galleries, jewelry stores, and clothing shops. There must be a fair amount of money (coming from Charleston?) in these parts. It seemed like the split was between the wealthy and the poor, with not much in-between.  Perhaps an over-generalization on my part. . . .





Appreciating the Lowcountry takes a different kind of sensibility. Conroy says many people who visit him think the area behind his home is ugly at low tide, but he describes it this way: “It's when small animals come out to eat. Low tide is for the little creatures. But they have to be quick. High tide comes in with a rush, roaring up the creek. It's simply amazing to watch nature in action. The drama of how it all unfolds is the history of life and the sea.”



Dusk was coming on as we took a second walk along the waterfront. Our little daytrip gave us an appreciation for the lifestyle of this area with the wildness of the seashore to explore at the state park, the abundance of seafood to enjoy in local eateries (just NOT the Shrimp Shack!), and the allure of living life at a slower pace.

16 comments:

  1. What a disappointment lunch was. But it looks like the rest of your day exceeded your expectations. I just love the laid back feel to small town America...wherever they are located. Interesting history about the people here...the baskets are beautiful ( I have a thing for baskets and pottery)!

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  2. So sorry to read about your terrible experience at the restaurant. How could Southern Living get it so wrong?

    I am afraid some of the merchants are taking advantage of the popularity of the area. Sad.

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  3. We briefly visited Beaufort when we were staying near Charleston last year. We loved the town. We had heard a lot of wonderful things about Hunting Island SP, but when we took the car over there to check it out, we were very disappointed. It was jammed full that day, with every site taken and we even had trouble driving our truck through the campground. Glad you were able to help the people out of their predicament. We got stuck in a state park in a similar (although not as bad) situation. We are leery because even though the site will hold a big rig, they never mention the roads leading into the campground, and many campgrounds were build before people has such large (and high) rigs. Sounds like you made a good choice.

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    1. We are getting more and more leery too--unless we can see it ourselves or get detailed photos on the site and access to the site. Good point about when most of the park campgrounds were built. The height of the motorhome is often a bigger problem for us than the length since we are only 36 ft.

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  4. I, also, enjoy Pat Conroy's novels. My favorite is Beach Music. I never read a novel twice but did this twice as an audio book. It was so beautifully written.

    I guess it is good that you didn't try that campground. We are always surprised at how many people drive right to their site with their toad attached...crazy (unless you know where you are going)! I am more of the nervous type so we always unhook and drive to look at how to get to the site and check out turns and width, etc. We had friends who just stayed at that park with a large fifth wheel. They talked about how many trees hit their roof. They were glad they made in without any damage to their roof.

    I love the photo of you on the swing with the dogs...a keeper:) Glad you are having a wonderful time...except maybe that restaurant choice:)

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    1. Beach Music is my second favorite. I would like to read it again also as it has been many years. . . .

      We almost always unhitch too as our first big boo-boo happened early in our travels when we didn't. I am sure I will get the chance to tell you the whole story sometime. It wasn't pretty.

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  5. Those first two shots of the low country are fantastic. We're about 10 days behind you. Unlike other folks we love Hunting Island but we do always stay in the helter skelter by the ocean section. I love that it is so rustic. But we are only 35' so I'm not sure I'd bring anything larger in there either. Thanks for checking out Beaufort for us and telling us not to bother with the Shrimp Shack. We have been so busy hiking and kayaking and beaching in our previous visits that we haven't checked out Beaufort but you've motivated us to do it this time. Love Conroy too. Hmmmm do you think that boat is Conroy's?? I do think you are right about the big economic difference in the area between the very rich and the pretty poor.

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    1. You are smart to choose your sites wisely and, in this case, book far in advance. Our lack of planning ahead has its drawbacks!

      I never thought about the boat being Conroy's. It would seem a little presumptuous for someone to use the name.

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  6. So disappointing that the restaurant was no good...bummer. The photos are beautiful and it looks like it turned out to be a great day despite the food fail! Can't wait to see you again! Surely somewhere in Florida!!

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    1. It was not really a restaurant--just a order at the window dive, but still. After finding treasures in places like this in Louisiana, my hopes were high.

      We came close to seeing you this week! Our alternative turned out pretty well as we had lunch with my oldest brother today.

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  7. Good idea to scope out a campground in a car first. I'd hate to lose an awning, or worse on a tree. These big toys break enough on their own without me "helping"! ;c)

    Awesome pictures, glad you enjoyed the area.

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  8. I too am disappointed when the restaurant experience is a let down but at least you had the consolation of great scenery. I thought I spotted Conrack in one of the marsh pics!

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    1. I forgot about Conrack! Vic reminded me of the movie starring Jon Voight, based on Conroy's autobiographical novel, The Water is Wide. Clever you.

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  9. If you're not too far away and wand some great seafood…try Bowen's Island Restaurant. It's this little concrete dive place out on the road to Folly Beach but it looks over the water and the food is really good.

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    1. Thanks for the suggestion, Neil. It will have to wait until next time!

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