Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
On Port Royal Island, the darling colonial town of
Beaufort
(byoo-furt) is often used
as a set for Hollywood films about the South. The streets of the historic district are lined
with antebellum homes and magnolias dripping with Spanish moss, and the riverfront
downtown has gobs of linger-worthy cafes and galleries. The most romantic of the city's
St; r incl breakfast $179-245; )
, a sumptuously grand white-columned mansion
straight out of
Gone With the Wind II.
Bay St has the bulk of the cute bistros, but for
hardcore local flavor head inland to
Sgt White's
(1908 Boundary St; mains $7-12;
11am-3pm Mon-Fri)
, where a retired Marine sergeant serves up juicy BBQ ribs, collards and
cornbread.
South of Beaufort, some 20,000 young men and women go through boot camp each
year at the
Marine Corps Recruit Depot
on Parris Island, made notorious by Stanley
Kubrick's
Full Metal Jacket.
The fascinating
Parris Island Museum
( 843-228-2951;
www.mcrdpi.usmc.mil
; 111 Panama St; 10am-4:40pm)
has antique uniforms and
weaponry, and covers marine corps history. Come for Friday graduations to see newly
minted marines parade proudly for family and friends. You may be asked to show ID and
car registration before driving onto the base.
East of Beaufort, the Sea Island Pkwy/Hwy 21 connects a series of marshy, rural is-
lands, including
St Helena Island
, considered the heart of Gullah country. Once one of
the nation's first schools for freed slaves, the
Penn Center
( 843-838-2432;
www.discoversouthcarolina.com
; 16 Penn Center Circle W; adult/child $5/3; 11am-4pm Mon-Sat)
has a small museum that covers Gullah culture and traces the history of Penn School,
which was one of the nation's first schools for freed slaves. Further down the road,
Hunt-
ing Island State Park
( 843-838-2011;
www.southcarolinaparks.com
;
2555 Sea Island Pkwy;
adult/child $5/3, tent sites $17-38, cabins $210; visitor center 9am-5pm Mon-Fri, 11am-5pm Sat
& Sun)
has acres of spooky maritime forest, tidal lagoons, and empty, bone-white beach.
The Vietnam War scenes from
Forrest Gump
were filmed in the marsh, a nature-lover's
dream. Campgrounds fill up quickly in summer.
Across Port Royal Sound, tony
Hilton Head Island
is South Carolina's largest barrier
island and one of America's top golf spots. There are dozens of courses, many enclosed
in posh private residential communities called 'plantations.' Though summer traffic and
miles of stoplights make it hard to see the forest (or a tree) along Hwy 278, there are
some lush nature preserves and wide, white beaches hard enough to ride a bike on. Stop
8:30am-5pm)
, on the island, for information and brochures.
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