No Cars Allowed
Last summer we ventured out of quarantine to our summer vacation destination. I enjoy visiting out of the way places, and if there is a history component, all the better. We wanted to go to a beach, just not a crowded beach. After searching the popular islands including Tybee and Hilton Head, I decided on Daufuskie Island. Daufuskie is an island off the coast of South Carolina. A water taxi or ferry is necessary to reach the island as there are no roads connecting it to the main island. When visiting Isleboro, Maine, we drove our car on the ferry and drove off on the other side. Your car is not allowed on Daufuskie, so you pack all your needed items, including food on a ferry. Our water taxi was a very nice, independently owned company. We parked in a lot across from the owner’s house and was kept company by their hospitality staff, a very friendly doggo.
Once our boat arrived, we loaded our supplies for the week and off we went. If you have read “Where the Crawdads Sing”, this is the marsh that meets the ocean. Our route to our pier on the island depended on the tide. I must admit, as many times as I have been to a beach, I have never been where we could watch the tide come in and go out. I enjoyed zipping through the waterways of the low country.
Getting settled in
After arriving on the island and being met by our transportation to our house, the vacation could start. If you need to be entertained, this may not be the place for you. However, if you like to relax and slow down and explore, this could be just the place. Daufuskie Island is known for its Gullah culture. The island is free of commercialized entertainment venues. There are two restaurants, a couple of convenient stores, a golf cart rental, and a few other island owned business spread out across the island. If you have a hard time relaxing, I would highly recommend.
We dropped our bags in the house, and made a beeline for the beach that was steps out the back door. This is not the turquoise water of the Caribbean or the emerald waters of Florida. Due to how the tide rolled in, new silt was always being deposited. The water was clear, but did contain silt. I took this trade off to be able to walk out and see what the ocean leaves behind. I loved watching the starfish move. Their movements appeared as if they were performing a dance. We found a live sand dollar. I did not know they were purplish. As you can see by the pictures, the family enjoyed using the soft silt to see how far they could dig down. I chose not to participate in this exercise. In addition to the sand dollar and numerous starfish, we encountered a couple of Atlantic blue crab.
Around the island
Daufuskie Island is listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places. The full time population hovers around 400 people. The island is approximately 5 miles long with 3 miles of beach. The history of Gullah is everywhere from the cemeteries, churches, schools and light house. The local merchants have truly unique offerings. The Daufuskie Island Distillery offers some truly tasty spirits. They are located down a long dirt road and as we arrived we found their drive full of golf carts. There was a pond with a few picnic tables under a tree for the perfect place to sit back and enjoy the serenity of the island. The Blueberry Lavender Vodka was my absolute favorite.
In addition to the distillery, there is also the small Silver Dew winery that operates out of a former wick house for Bloody Point Lighthouse down the road. As we were out exploring, we came upon this unassuming building that was just opening for the day. The owner was very friendly and had samples available. This was South Carolina’s first winery and apparently the only island winery in the country. At least that is what the internet says, so it must be true.
One day was dedicated to touring the island with the kids. Even though the island was uniquely beautiful and full of history, I think they enjoyed driving the golf cart around the island more than the history.
The Iron Works Company was very impressive. If only I had a place for these awesome mermaids and lobsters.
We continued our golf cart tour around the island visiting a church, a couple of cemeteries, and the island school featured in the movie The Water is Wide. We also stopped at the island museum and were entertained as Joseph played a hundred year old pump organ. Not pictured is the Daufuskie Soap Company that we absolutely loved. I loved the unique scents and the friendly staff.
Lowcountry Cuisine
After wandering for a bit, we stopped at Lucy Bells. Tim and I had eaten here the day before and wanted to share this amazing low country food with the kids. The Deviled Crab was absolutely fabulous, but if I am completely honest, I came back for the greens. They were a perfect blend of sweet and tangy with a hint of smoke flavor. Lucy Bells is a small restaurant with only outdoor seating. The menu was varied, but if you did any research on this island, you knew Lucy Bells was a must. I did discover that Lucy Bells has since closed but the chef should be opening a new restaurant in the same location named Geneva’s Joint projected to open June 2022. I am glad we got to experience this amazing food and atmosphere.
A Walk on the Beach
The beach was steps from the back porch. Just sitting on the back porch watching the waves roll in was relaxing. The beach was never crowded. The afternoons and evenings were spent with walks on the beach or trying to construct a sand castle with silt. The castle was not a masterpiece, but we did the best we could given the raw materials we had to work with. We did see more than one horseshoe crab. Those have to be left over from prehistoric times. A small wooded area lay between the house and the beach. Occasionally we were greeted by a squirrel masqureading as a ferret.
If you are looking for a place to unwind that is off the beaten path and not a tourist trap, I would recommend giving Daufuskie Island a consideration. We did cook dinner at our rented house most evenings, but grilling next to the ocean seems less of a chore. The untouched beauty of this island can take you back in time. This most definitely is a place to get away from it all. However, if you feel you need a bit more social interaction. The island of Hilton Head is a short ferry ride away. However, we enjoyed the serenity and the escape that Daufuskie had to offer.
