Edisto Island Getaway

Well, it's been a while since I posted on my blog but I do like using it to share our little trips. It helps to serve as a diary for myself and maybe a guide for others who need to getaway.

Lately, I've felt as though something was smothering me. The house, a strained relationship, the new job ... something had to change. A trip to the SC coast usually gets me out of a funk and I hadn't been since November 2011, so it was definitely time.

I started looking for a room on Wednesday night. I don't like paying a lot so my search always starts on Priceline.com. That wasn't working so I decided to see what was available on short notice at www.Homeaway.com. When we got in the car around 1 pm on Friday, I still didn't know where we would end up, but I had decided Edisto Island would be a nice change of pace from my normal Charleston haunts. 

After three hours of emailing Haley at Edisto Island Realty, she had come up with a two night stay that I thought was a bit more than I normally pay but that I was willing to splurge for on this much needed getaway. We stayed at the Sound Shack! It's normally a 3 night minimum but if it's not booked 7 to 10 days out, they will consider letting you get in for less. It doesn't come with toiletries or toilet paper or even sheets and towels but the beachfront was so peaceful. And a quick stop at the Piggy Wiggly took care of all of our needs. Be sure to take sheets and towels or you can rent them from Edisto Essentials and they will have them waiting at the shack when you arrive. Our thanks to Haley for taking care of all of that for us since we were driving!

First night we ate at Dockside Restaurant - 3730 Docksite Rd. I rely on Yelp.com a lot these days for restaurant reviews, hours, and directions. The reviews on this place were dead-on. It was a little chilly so we ate next to the window but they have a dock with seating, too.

It doesn't look like much when you walk in the door or drive up in the dirt parking lot for that matter, but the food was fresh and delicious. If you like crab, be sure to get the crab balls - I could eat two or three (dozen)! They were so creamy inside and the breading on the outside was the thinnest I've ever eaten. We also had the fried oyster and flounder combo basket. I'm not a fan of real bready fried seafood but those were so good. Add a squirt of lemon and that's all they needed. Frank got the mini seafood pot. We shared! The boiled shrimp in it were huge and the sausage was full of flavor, add in the potatoes and corn and it was a hit!!  Below are a few scenes from the docks around the restaurant:

Haley also took care took care of renting bicycles for us and they were at the rental when we got there on Friday. Frank and I enjoyed bicycling all over Hilton Head many years ago and I thought this might be the place to give that a try again. It's not as quaint a ride as HH, but it was smooth and very quiet. We got up on Saturday morning and walked the beach then hopped on the bikes and rode 30 blocks to the Seacow Eatery.

It was tasty but not unlike any other good breakfast place. It was packed. I didn't notice anything special on the menu - they have shrimp and grits but only for dinner. Frank ordered the eggs with shrimp and a side of sausage gravy and grits and made his own. He kept remarking how awesome the grits were. He said they were creamy and didn't need seasoning at all. I tasted them, too, pretty good even for someone who isn't a huge breakfast grits fan. 

We made our way back to the house and took a 15 minute siesta. Edisto has got to be the quietest beach I've ever been to. The whole town is quiet and peaceful.


I told Frank I needed to get my photog on so we decided to ride to John's Island to see the Angel Oak tree. If you haven't seen it in person, go. It's free and massive and amazing. And this lady with a cool tattoo of a tree on her back was getting married under the tree when we went. So neat!!

On the way out, we got a piece of the rough pavement caught between the rotor and the brake (the road to Edisto is horrible but they were paving so hopefully if you go it will be finished.) It made a horrible sound and we stopped to take off the tire and see what was up. It was the perfect place to stop and check it. We didn't realize it, but our 60 block round trip from the Seacow to the Sound Shack and that 15 minute siesta added to changing a tire can make you kind of hungry. It was fortuitous that the pavement got caught up right as we were at Flowers Seafood Company on the road out of Edisto. They have a food truck out back and Frank said he would see what the problem was and put the jack away and all the crap back into the trunk of the car if I would go get him a soft shell crab sandwich. DEAL!! I walked up, ordered two sandwiches with fries (Frank had cold pepsi in cooler for us) total $20 - so worth it! Fresh soft shell crab fried - you eat the whole thing!! It was so good - unplanned but I would totally add to my next trip!

So we finished with lunch and did the angel oak tree and then I just HAD to find the house that Noah built for Allie in the Notebook. It's on private property but sneaking around is kind of my signature :) The house has lost it's blue shutters from the movie but you can definitely tell it's THE house!! It's on Seabrook Island at Martin's Point Plantation and sits at the end of a dirt road covered in arched oak trees and with a beautiful view of the marsh. 

So I got my photo and and rode around the island a little more and then decided we wanted to got to Bowen's Island Seafood for oysters for dinner.  We drove on over to Folly Beach but got there before we were ready to commit to eating again so we drove down to the end of Folly and walked around at a new marina. There was a decent singer playing some Bob Marley as we arrived. Good music to take photos to:

We made our way back to Crosby's Seafood Company where they were doing dinner on the docks. We got out, ordered a $5 clam strip and hushpuppy appetizer, took a few photos and then decided that a place with a bunch of yuppie parents with their loud bratty kids running all over the dock really wasn't our kind of place - LOL!! It really didn't suit us at all. I did get a few photos, though!!

We hopped back in the car and over the bridge and made the left to Bowen's Island restaurant. There are no designated parking spots down there and the place is always packed. They have a full range of seafood but if you like oysters and want what the locals eat (and shuck themselves) then get the tray of oysters. Frank and I had eaten here before but not the oysters so I was looking forward to those! 

As soon as we got there, I jumped out of the car to get a photo of a bird on a pile of oyster shells and guess who I saw? Matt Lee!! He is one of the famous food network people - he and his brother are the Lee Brothers! I just bought their cookbook. I was so excited. He let me take his photo and then told me it was worth the 45 minute wait to have some of the Bowen's Island local oysters! We cut the time dramatically by getting two seats at the bar next to Sabrina and Darcy, a couple of Montana college mates. Sabrina is an attorney enjoying life in the low country. Darcy is a vintner with Amity Vineyards in Oregon. They were a real hoot!! 

Matt Lee, of Lee Brothers fame

Sabrina & Darcy

Matt Lee and his family enjoying the low country oysters

- even his little kids were eating them up!

Go for the oysters, but be sure to hang around for the sunset. Get a good window seat if the bar is full! I think it's the prettiest place on the coast to watch the sunset.

Not sure how much that tray is, I think it was $16 or $17 but I'm not sure because the waitress forgot to put the order in then told us they were going to be free then said she couldn't give them to us free but would give us our drinks free. Frank didn't even look at the final breakdown. The bill only came to $25 so who knows what we got for free! LOL! If you go, hope that Christa is your bartender and that she screws up :)

I want bore you with the history of the restaurant (it's all new now) but you should read up about it on the website, it's quite interesting. And if you do go, be sure to leave your autograph and look for ours at the bar:

When we were done stuffing our faces at Bowen's, it was time for a drive with the windows down across the Cooper River Bridge, AKA Ravenel Bridge. You go across, turn around, and then get to come back across again. Call me a little girl, but this is always my favorite part of the trip!! Another mission of this trip was to get a photo of the bridge that I liked well enough to hang in my den. How do you think this one will look?

By that time, we were ready for dessert. We went traditional with a drive up to North Charleston for HOT KRISPY KREME doughnuts and ice milk!


Check out is at 10 am on Sunday morning so we just got up, got ready and made our way slowly back home on the backroads. Again, I relied on Yelp.com for some advice on where to get lunch.  We decided to take the advice of strangers and give soul food at the Brown Derby II in Orangeburg, SC a chance. I think it's the best restaurant fried chicken I've ever had and the collard greens were good, too. The place was filled with friendly soul brothers and sisters dressed in their best Sunday duds. Most of them got the food and took it home but we stayed and they treated us like royalty! 

From Orangeburg, you're about 2 hours from home. We forgot to stop in Spartanburg to fill up on the cheap gas before heading up the mountain. 

Well, that's my story. If you do go, I hope it makes you feel as good as it did me. I think I am finally breathing again!