Beaufort SC
Trip Start
Aug 16, 2009
1
50
67
Trip End
Dec 25, 2009
Loading Map
Map Options
Show trip route
Hide lines
Where I stayed
Sea Island Inn
Beaufort SC, South Carolina
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Located on Port Royal Island, Beaufort SC is in the heart of the Sea Islands and Low country. It is not just a scenic location but also an unforgettable place that been able to maintain a historic character with preservation of many of the antebellum homes scattered through town, all within a few blocks of the waterfront. A beautiful park graces the waterfront and the edge of the park is dotted with restaurants, outdoor seating where you can relax and watch the boats sail in and out on one of the porch-type swings along the seawall.
Before moving on to Savannah we drove out to Hunting Island State Park thinking we might camp. One of the side roads on St. Helena Island led to the ruins of a church known as a Chapel of Ease. These were constructed during colonial times for the rice and cotton planters as houses of worship because the plantations were so far from the churches in Beaufort. This one was constructed in 1742 but most of it was destroyed by fire in 1886. All that remains are these ruins and vestiges of the cemetery. On close inspection of the walls one can see that an amalgam of oyster shells with some type of cement like agent were used then covered with a plaster. It was an interesting site. As we drove back across the islands it began to rain and by the time we entered Georgia it was pouring.
