I was supposed to get married this week. So a big dose of southern charm with some of my favorite people in the world seemed like a terrific alternative. Destination, Harbor Island, South Carolina … with a little sprinkles of Savannah, Georgia mixed in.
An amazing gem of an island
One of my co-workers owned the property, and I really lucked out in getting it. Just steps from the beach, it had everything we could need: huge kitchen, big living space to play games and chill, a big deck with rocking chairs, bikes, hammocks, even a golf cart. The golf cart came especially handy so we could go ogle the fantastic technicolor houses, all screaming southern charm. My favorites were bright green with pink shutters and another that was bright purple.
For those who were a little too afraid to swim in the ocean, there’s a great swimming pool for the other homes in the community to enjoy.
The area is known for the annual turtle hatching. Even though we were too see the turtles, we saw some gators who call the surrounding marshy area home.
Shrimpin’ at the Gay Fish Company
Thanks to the Gay Fish Company, we enjoyed some AMAZING food. Per all the locals, it’s THE place to buy your fresh fish, shrimp, or whatever seafood is in season. Frogmore Stew was invented in the area. Think of it as a shrimp boil. So we decided we all wanted to enjoy our own version, complete with shrimp, crab, red potatoes, and corn. Lucky for us, Gay Fish Company was just minutes from where we were staying. It’s a little tucked away off the main road and looks a little dodgy, but thanks to the very noticeable sign, we found it and it turned out to be SO worth it!
Gay Fish Company has a little fame to it. A very memorable scene from the movie Forrest Gump was filmed here. Remember when Forrest was getting into the shrimpin’ business? He was coming back from the sea after another unsuccessful run and when he looked up, Captain Dan was waiting for him on the dock. In his excitement, Forrest yelled, “Captain Dan!” and ran off the boat, letting it crash into the dock. Well, this was the dock. The boat is still there, too, and is still used to catch shrimp. But it’s not name The Jenny.
Hurricane-a-comin’!
The beach is a wonderful draw. It’s right on the Atlantic, and the cool water and big waves offered a lot of entertainment, especially at night after having a couple cocktails. I made a point to enjoy a long walk every morning I could.
One thing we noticed was that the shore was very noticeably retreating every day. There was this huge, gorgeous drift wood on the beach that I walked to every day. And every day, the shore got a little farther away from it. We heard a hurricane was coming, and that was apparently the source for the retreating water. The day we left, Hurricane Matthew was really starting to show it’s power. It was gray out and the wind was really starting to pick up. Our timing to leaving was perfect; we received weather alerts that the entire area where we were was being evacuated. While Matthew left a lot of damage to the area, the house we stayed at wasn’t too impacted.
Cecilia the TravelGurl 