soowoo--
because of your prompt re Hunting Island, I spent some time with my Moon guide for Charleston & Savannah and in online searches targeting Beaufort and environs. Yes, Hunting Island with its untapped beauty certainly has a draw. Those packs of Marines can't hurt, and neither can the hiking trails and the lighthouse, all 160+ steps to the top, puff, puff, but with that panoramic view. That would all be great for us were Jeri and I about 25 years younger. What did especially catch my interest as I was reading was St. Helena's Island with its Penn Center and also the Gullah Grub restaurant. From looking at the website and seeing how wonderfully this chef's food has been recognized, I think this might be our chance at Gullah cuisine. We'll be going through there on a Sunday and they have a bruch, if the online menu is correct, that lasts from early to late afternoon. Has anybody reading this been there? What do you think?

BTW, this is not far from the Old Sheldon Church Ruins. Very convenient to visit both.

A further thing--I now know what Fragmore stew, or low country boil, is. On my list to taste. Preparing for a trip is almost as exciting as the trip itself.

soowoo--
because of your prompt re Hunting Island, I spent some time with my Moon guide for Charleston & Savannah and in online searches targeting Beaufort and environs. Yes, Hunting Island with its untapped beauty certainly has a draw. Those packs of Marines can't hurt, and neither can the hiking trails and the lighthouse, all 160+ steps to the top, puff, puff, but with that panoramic view. That would all be great for us were Jeri and I about 25 years younger. What did especially catch my interest as I was reading was St. Helena's Island with its Penn Center and also the Gullah Grub restaurant. From looking at the website and seeing how wonderfully this chef's food has been recognized, I think this might be our chance at Gullah cuisine. We'll be going through there on a Sunday and they have a bruch, if the online menu is correct, that lasts from early to late afternoon. Has anybody reading this been there? What do you think?

BTW, this is not far from the Old Sheldon Church Ruins. Very convenient to visit both.

A further thing--I now know what Fragmore stew, or low country boil, is. On my list to taste. Preparing for a trip is almost as exciting as the trip itself.

Sorry for the double posting. My computer got hung up and I pressed the SUBMIT button more than once.

<b>Tasmania???</b>
Did someone get lost?

_____________________________________________
Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie

I hope not! My cat COULD be mistaken for a Tasmanian Devil, I guess.

Bo2642, Gullah Cuisine can be found everywhere. I haven't been to Gullah Grub yet, but it's on my list. I just don't get down there much, but I've heard good things.

Frogmore Stew is one of my favorite party dishes. You just boil it, dump it on a table and let your friends eat with their hands. The best. Also in October, there will be lots of oyster roasts. Many non-profits do them as fund raisers. Check with the Charleston City Paper (free all over town) when you get here to see who's doing what when you get here. You'll need to bring your own oyster knife and towel.

Barbara's (Bo2642) To Do List:

Buy an oyster knife


An oyster roast sounds so fun. We'll certainly look for one.

I recently posted on my blog a trip report on Charleston - there are also other trips on the side bar, maybe it will help:

http://susannj.travellerspoint.com/8/

I would love trying to explain an oyster knife to the airport security folks.

This is probably a stretch and maybe I shouldn't bring it up, what with being a big Charleston and Savannah fan and knowing there's plenty to do in and closer to Charleston. But if you're interested at all in very nice gardens and loads of representational sculpture, mainly from the late 19th and early to mid 20th C. but some more contemporary, I'd suggest a day trip to Murrells Inlet and Brookgreen Gardens. http://www.brookgreen.org/

It's about 80 mi. and might take you the better part of 2 hrs., depending on where you leave from in Charleston, so it might not be viable for you. But you would be going through the area of Rt. 17 north of Charleston with all the gullah basket booths. I went 50 years ago with my parents, when I was a teenager, and remembered it only vaguely. It's changed enormously - apparently the Huntingtons left a nice endowment and they keep purchasing new work, much of it very interesting. Think they have the largest collection of American figurative sculpture exhibited outdoors/in a garden setting in the world. (Also quite a lot of smaller work in indoor galleries.) The gardens are in top notch shape compared to, say, Cypress Gardens and Audubon Swamp Garden at Magnolia Plantation near Charleston. They plant masses of seasonal flowers. We were there in bulb season, but I'm sure they'll have replaced those with great quantities of mums or other fall flowers. And the perennial foliage plantings and trees are impressive.

My husband and I made two trips through SC in the winter and spring, the first from FL through Charleston, then inland; the second visit was some stops on the way back to FL from VA. Brookgreen is actually something we did on the way back from farther north, but knowing what I know now, I'd do it from Charleston if that were where I was going to be and wanted a change of scenery out of town and an un-strenuous day.

susannj--I love reading trip reports. Thank you for the link to yours. It was fun following you through your adventures, and your photos brought everything to life. We're looking forward to our own visit.

palmettoprincess--....er, yes. There's always the airport security situation. I did go online to see what an oyster knife looks like, but I didn't order. I don't do a lot of shopping anymore while traveling. I just try to pick up one or two small things which will be useful, which I can display as an art object, or which will remind me of a special activity we took part in. So maybe that's the oyster knife. Hopefully they won't be hard to find in Charleston.

And btw, while an oyster roast sounds kind of like a clam bake, I'm not sure how it really goes down. Could someone explain? However it is, though, we'd love to take part and will look for venues.

polly229--re Brookgreen Gardens. Of course you should bring it up. Your link to their website shows beautiful gardens, sculptures, and wildlife. Had we more time, this would be a real option. Unfortunately, as you suggest, it would be too much a stretch for us this time, but, Polly, there may be others who are reading through this thread who can and want to make the time for it, so your contribution is valuable.

How nice that you were able to return to those gardens and re-see what you had fond memories of as a teenager.

Here's a big thank you to all who've come forth to help us plan our trip.

We feel we've got a handle on the St. Augustine and Charleston segments, leaving enough time between the scheduled activities to see what the days bring.

We still have to decide on our walking and/or carriage tours in Charleston--which ones?-- and although I've contacted Alfonso Brown for the Gullah tour, his office hasn't confirmed the date yet. I'll give it a few more days, and contact him again. We are really interested in that particular tour.

We're printing out this whole thread to take with us for reference. Looking forward to an oyster roast.

If you can bear with me for just a bit longer, there's still Savannah to consider.

We'll be there from the night of September 25, leaving early morning for our noon flight out of JAX on September 29. That will give us 4 nights and three full days. Probably not enough time, is it? Well, too late to do anything about that now.

As has been mentioned, we'll take our time getting down there from Charleston on the 25th. As of now we're set for visits to Beaufort and to St. Helena's Island and the old Sheldon Church ruins along the way.

In Savannah, we'll be staying at the Planter's Inn on Reynolds Square.

As for activities, we've heard good things about Savannah Rambles. Any thoughts on that or other companies that you've had experience with? We'd love a good walking tour highlighting the houses and other historical buildings and sites. And we'd like to tour inside one or two houses.

I'm afraid I'm one of those who's read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil--the locals are probably so bored with the likes of us--but I do want to see the Mercer House, and, of course, I want to visit the cemetary. We'll have a car, so we could do the cemetary independently. I understand that there's a self-guided tour pamphlet we could pick up on arrival. What do think? By ourselves or with a guide? I'm leaning to the self-guided. Cemetaries are pretty interesting if you take the time to head the headstones--whole stories in a few words.

Other than the Mercer house, what houses have any of you loved?

Entertainment: I just picked up the website for the Historic Savannah Theatre, and it looks like they have an enjoyable program scheduled for the time we'll be in town--music--Savannah Nights. It would be nice to see at least one live performance during this trip. Charleston had nothing special that I could see during the nights we would be there.

Any and all suggestions to help us frame our Savannah days will be more than welcome. We're open to most anything--houses, gardens, local activities, shopping,dining--oh, yes,in your opinion is the wait time for Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room worth it?

And an afterthought question: at the beginning of the trip when we're leaving our hotel near JAX for Charleston, is there a stop that we should be making during that long driving day? We're certainly not opposed to making a detour off the interstate for something of special interest

Rambles is the way to go for a tour of old Savannah. We did the inside of the houses on our own time, and in all instances, they are guided tours.

Michael, I've just gone back to your report--re-read and printed it. Will spend time with the photos later tonight. The report will be in the reference material we'll have with us on the trip.

Yes, it was from your report that I remember Rambles/Dirk Hardison and also Starrs made reference to him in her Savannah week-end report. She also gave a glowing recommendation. So Rambles it seems to be. I'll be meeting with my friend and travel partner in a couple of days, and we'll begin to make some reservations.

Your writing is very clear and easy to read. I really like your style.

When we first started planning this little trip, we did a lot of overview reading. Some specifics stuck, while others did not. Things are falling into place now, thanks in large part to personal recommendations and observations from posters this board. Now as plans are being refined, we're going back and re-reading trip reports and other contributions as well as our guidebooks. We know we have some good things in store.

I'm so glad you are taking a Savannah Rambles tour with Dirk. You will love it! :-)

I had a very long day! When I'm more alert I'll give you the whole scoop on how to do an oyster roast. It's not complicated. You can get your knife when you get here and give it to a nice local when you leave.

Ah, soowoo. Thank you. I never thought to give the knife to a nice local. Were I to bring it back home, I truly don't know if it would ever be used again.

Over the years, I've had wonderful input from local people, local to the place(s) we're planning to visit. They're like ambassadors welcoming people to their cities. You're one of those.

That is so sweet. Thank you. I needed that today!

At an oyster roast, you'll see everybody standing around tables with holes in the middle. Go get a beer, and belly up. Friendly locals are usually happy to squish closer together to accommodate you. Eventually, the roaster guys will bring a bushel in a roasting contraption and dump them on the table. The oysters will be hot hot hot. Take your towel and pull some in front of you. Watch the guy next to you so you can see how to take your knife and crack open your oyster. I actually found a pearl once. Use your knife to scrap the oyster from the shell and eat it off the knife. There might be a band and dancing, so when get full or tired, whichever comes first, go dance.

You've gotten some fine advice. Hope your trip is great! I am bookmarking this treasure trove of ideas for our future trip to Charleston/Savannah.

Hi, Everybody--
We're home now from a very rich and interesting trip to St. Augustine, Charleston, and Savannah--the "interesting" and "rich" in large part because of the great input from all of you on the boards. Many thanks for your tips and advice.
Within the next few days, I'll post some feedback in hopes that I can add a bit to the valuable information already on this thread.
Once again, a big thank you to all.

Welcome home. I am so looking forward to hearing about your experiences.