After visiting with Family at my Uncle Charles' home in Atlanta and enjoying a lavish feast at Thanksgiving, Judy and I headed SE on Tuesday after TDay to visit our old friends Diane & Joe Roney who have retired to Dataw Island outside of Beaufort, SC. On arrival we were met by Joe and Diane at the gate and had an escort by security to a location where The Wild Thing was backed in to a parking place (thanks to security for doing the backing up!). Beaufort, founded in 1711, in the low land marshes South of Charleston is known for its beautiful antebellum homes. The area prospered on the cultivation of rice, long thread sea island cotton and indigo for use in dying of cloth. It survived Sherman's march South because it was occupied rather than destroyed and used for hospitals and homes for offices of Northern officers.
Joe and Diane lived outside of Beaufort on Dataw Island, a private island resort with beautiful homes with a country club flair of golf and tennis. Joe, who is a history buff and expert, graciously provided us with a 2 day tour of the surrounding areas that included the original home and surrounding houses of the William Sams' plantation that serves as the basis for Dataw Island ( http://www.discoverdataw.com/7_history.php ). The island contains tennis courts, golf course, and many great facilities. In addition, we visited 2 other old plantations that have survived from the late 1700's as well as local cemeteries, the beautiful ocean near their home and the adjoining beautiful tropical vegetation at the Hunting Island State Park that served as the site for many scenes of Forrest Gump. On our way, Joe took us to a private plantation in which the scene where Forrest outruns his classmates down the lane encompassed with trees full of Spanish moss was filmed. We also had an opportunity to sample (and buy!!) chocolates where Tom Hanks bought the chocolates to fill the Whitman Sampler in the movie Forrest Gump. We had a wonderful dinner on the bay watching a beautiful sunset across the docked boats while eating oysters on the half shell and Margaritas and Manhattans. Perfect way to finish the day.....
On our second day we took a horse and buggy tour in Beaufort of the old preserved area and saw the house where the first draft of the Ordinance of Secession - the basis for South Carolinas secession during the Civil War -was read. We also learned about the "Great Skedaddle" when all of the major landed plantation families of the area left their homes in November 1861 when the North fired on Port Royal, SC. Subsequently, the North moved over 14,000 troops into the Port Royal area. The panic of the white families of Beaufort resulted in their homes coming up for sale when their property taxes were not paid in the years afterwards. Many of the previous slaves, now free, had sufficient funds to purchase lands of the their previous slaveowners. We also visited St Helena's Episcopal Church founded in 1712, the oldest church in the area. Not only are members of the plantation families buried in its surrounding cemetery but also soldiers from the British army during the Revolutionary War. After savoring PoBoy oyster and shrimp sandwiches for lunch and visiting the chocolate shop (great salted caramel chocolates!) we headed back to their beautiful home. We caught the beautiful sunset over the marshes at Dataw as we entered the Island. After a beautiful dinner at their country club, we headed to the local high school for a great Christmas concert where we had the opportunity to hear a wonderful school choir and see a surprise visit of Elvis who sang Blue Christmas. ("Elvis has left the house...")
Many thanks to Diane for her gracious Southern hospitality and to Joe for his great historical tour guidance throughout our too short visit to their beautiful Sea Island home.
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