Maggi's Southern Exposure:
 

It was a wedding invitation that brought our group of friends down to Atlanta on Labor Day weekend. We spent two nights at the Sheraton Buckhead in Atlanta, one night in Savannah, and five nights in a condo on Kiawah Island in South Carolina. This won't be a comprehensive travel guide, because our goal was mostly relaxation, but perhaps it will be helpful to someone.

Our trip was in peril from the start: Northwest mechanics were on strike and a tropical storm loomed over Florida and the east coast. Thankfully, we were spared on both counts.

We took the Marta train from the Atlanta airport to the Sheraton Buckhead. It was rush hour on the Friday of Labor Day weekend and the train was packed. All seven of us squeezed in with our luggage piled in the aisles and endured a poor screaming baby for the whole 30 minute ride. That famous southern hospitality showed itself early on: we didn't know we needed to change trains and a very kind local man actually got off with us and waited to make sure we got on the correct train to Buckhead.

There was nothing memorable about the Sheraton Buckhead. The rooms were of an average size, the décor was fairly heavy and dark, the bathroom and amenities were unremarkable. A large convention of partiers kept many of us awake both nights, despite calls to the unresponsive front desk. They actually hung up on one of our group. Had it not been for the wedding, we would have switched hotels. A bright spot during this leg of our trip was breakfast at Chateau Elan Winery, Resort and Spa in Braselton. It is modeled after a 16th century French chateau and is the ideal spot for a romantic getaway. The reasonably priced breakfast buffet in the sunny atrium was scrumptious. We did a wine tasting, but none of the wines we had were worth purchasing.

Our short stopover in Savannah the next day was sublime. I had made reservations at the Green Palm Inn on Green Square because they could accommodate all seven of us. What a lucky choice! The owner, Diane, had left chilled wine with cheese and crackers out for our arrival in the late afternoon. The décor was tasteful with much attention to detail. The linens on the beds were luxurious and inviting. We decided to walk along River Street in search of food. It was crowded and boisterous, definitely not what we were looking for. Ironically, right around the corner from our Inn was Suzabelle's Restaurant and Piano Bar. We had walked by it on our way to River Street. The next three hours passed pleasantly as we ate, drank and enjoyed the piano music and songs provided by the talented Diana Rodgers. The following day we explored many of the charming squares and parks and had a tasty lunch at Lady and Sons.

It was less than a three hour drive to Kiawah Island from Savannah. We had reserved a condo at Parkside Villas, an older complex right on the lagoon. What an ideal location! Not only was it a five minute walk to the ocean or to the huge swimming pool, the lagoon was teeming with wildlife. We were entranced for hours on the screened-in porch or on the deck watching the egrets, herons, various seabirds and the resident ten foot long alligator. A few of our party even saw a bobcat jauntily crossing the footbridge over the lagoon. We all rented bikes and made it a habit to be on the beach watching the sunrise and taking long bike rides on the ten mile beach or on the many miles of bike paths all over the island. We collected more shells than we could carry. The Night Heron Park pool has a very good kitchen. I have it on very good authority the yellowfin tuna sandwich is fantastic!

Three of us chartered a sailboat with Captain Jack out of Bohicket Marina and had the time of our lives sailing in search of dolphin. Jack is very knowledgeable about the area. He was born there (he says you are either a "been he-ah" or a "come he-ah"). Great food characterized this vacation. We followed our sailboat ride at Rosebank Restaurant at the marina and had perhaps the best meal of our lives. These people know how to cook! Another night we cooked in the condo and ate ourselves silly on local shrimp and grits. I also tried my hand at Frogmore Stew, extremely spicy, but a big hit with everybody. We had so much fun on Kiawah, none of us wanted to leave for our one day planned excursion to Charleston. We decided to skip it for another time.

A great, relaxing time was had by all. Thanks so much for all the help I received on this forum while planning this vacation. Once again, you guys made me look good!

Regards, Maggi

Glad you had a good time Maggi! Kiawah is wonderful.

Now you understand why it is so hard for us Low Country backwoods to get off our islands! Isn't the wildlife great?


""he says you are either a "been he-ah" or a "come he-ah"""

Captain Jack was speakin' Gullah atcha honey!

Nothing like spending the day out on the water to kick up your appetite! Shrimp and grits are the best.

Come back and visit and next time don't skip Charleston. You'll kick yourself in the rear for doing it on this trip!

Go Travel, we will definitely be back, and we will do Charleston when we can really give it the time it deserves. I'd like to spend at least a few nights there, before going back to the beach. As great as Kiawah was, I'm sure there are many other islands we should try as well.

By the way, I forgot to mention that we had a picnic lunch under the majestic century-old Angel Oak - a must-do in my opinion. I got teary when I first caught sight of it.

maggi are you from cinci originally?

Nope, born in Austria, raised in Detroit area. Never been to Cincinnati :-)

I might like to do one of the SC islands in combination with Charleston. How far away was Kiawah from there? How expensive was the weekly rental, if you dont mind my asking?

As I recall, it was about a 30-45 minute drive to get to Charleston from Kiawah. We found our condo on VRBO. It was about $900. I can send you the link if you want.

That's great, I would like the link thank you Maggi.

Maggi, Kiawah to downtown Charleston is closer to an hour due to slow speed limits on the islands and narrow two lane roads.

Here is the link to the condo on Kiawah:
http://www.vrbo.com/52621

It is exactly as pictured on the website and we felt it was an ideal location.

I'm sure GoTravel is right: we only drove from Kiawah to the airport and didn't watch the time exactly.

Maggi, thanks for posting.
Kiawah Is. is at the TOP of our
*to see* list and I'm sending this
thread to my sweetie (and my mom, who
likes me to accompany her!)
It sounds like the perfect place
for R and R from what I've always
read, with a side trip to
Charleston.
Hm, maybe still this fall?
Thanks for posting!

Wanderluster, if R&R is what you are seeking, you will definitely find it on Kiawah. Hope you are able to go soon.