S.C.'s laid-back Edisto Island a breath of fresh air

By REAGAN WALKER
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writer

EDISTO ISLAND, S.C.
	Who goes there: Maybe it's better to say who doesn't. Because of strict rules on the rentals, you won't find raucous college students throwing house parties. Families that know how to play well together enjoy it; those with easily bored children should probably steer clear. There are no diversions such as miniature golf courses or lively boardwalks. Adult singles and couples looking for a quiet time flock here. History buffs also enjoy it; so do golfers. But save the fancy golf and tennis outfits for Hilton Head Island. This is middle-class laid-back all the way. Where I stayed: I stayed in a house called the Ace Base, rented from Prudential/Kapp Lyons (www.kapplyons.com, 1-800-945-9667). My off-season rate was $680, plus taxes, for a four-bedroom house that sleeps eight. It was half a block away from the beach and great fun to live up in the trees. A deposit was required upon reserving and full payment 30 days in advance, which is fairly standard for rental agencies on the island. Other lodging options: For rentals, also try the Atwood Agency, www.atwoodagency.com, 843-869-2151; Edisto Realty, 1-800-868-5398; and Fairfield Ocean Ridge resort, 1-877-296-6335. For information about state park campsites, call 843-869-2156. Good grub: Sunset Grill, on Big Bay Creek at Edisto Marina (843-869-1010), is the place for margaritas at sundown. Boiled shrimp and crab dip are also stellar. Its sister restaurant, the Old Post Office (843-869-2339, 1442 S.C. 174), is more upscale, though there's still no need for a dinner jacket. House-smoked salmon is not to be missed; shrimp and grits are the specialty. Reservations recommended in high season. My favorite is Po' Pigs Bo-B-Q (843-869-9003, 2410 S.C. 174), which features a buffet, but do not be afraid. This buffet stays freshly stocked with the finest Southern specialties -- turnip greens, field peas, macaroni and cheese, squash casserole, fried chicken, barbecue, hash and hush puppies. It's open 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays off-season; Wednesdays-Saturdays in summer. Plan around this. You'll probably want to make two trips. Diversions: Charleston is only 45 minutes north, Savannah about two hours south. But if you plan to stay tranquil, stop by the Grove Plantation on your way in and pick up information about boat tours of the A.C.E. Basin or a driving tour map for some relaxing rambling. For directions and information, call 843-889-3084. Island Tours and T'ings offers a 2 1/2-hour van tour of historic churches and plantations and other points of interest. 1-843-869-1110. Best souvenir: The basket weavers of Mount Pleasant, S.C., are famed throughout the Lowcountry for their intricate sea grass weavings. Most stay in the Charleston environs, but weaver Lillie Howard likes to set up a roadside stand on Edisto. Be warned, the baskets are not cheap. Plan on spending $100. But know you are getting a fine piece of folk art and helping to keep alive a generations-old tradition. A tip: Read "And I'm Glad: An Oral History of Edisto Island" (Tempus, $29.99) by Nick Lindsay before you go or while there to better appreciate the working man's history on the island. Getting there: Driving from downtown Atlanta, take I-75 south to I-16 east toward Savannah. Then go north on I-95 until the exit for S.C. 64 at Walterboro. Go south toward Jacksonboro, then left onto U.S. 17 north toward Charleston. Turn right on S.C. 174 and follow signs to Edisto Island. The nearest airport is Charleston. Information: Edisto Chamber of Commerce, www.edistochamber.com, 1-843-869-3867.

Edisto Island, S.C. -- Memories of a brief visit to this little-known hideaway between Charleston and Savannah a few years ago painted my expectations of its beaches --- robust waves and coarse brown sand richly bejeweled with seashells.

I also knew what to expect of Edisto's accommodations. There are no hotels --- only rental homes, golf resort condos and state park campsites. For my weeklong stay last month, I chose a small house half a block away from the beach. Like so many on the island, it resembled a treehouse, perched on stilts amid the cradling arms of live oaks.

Within a day or two, I knew the laid-back Lowcountry pace of this quiet place would coax the big-city buzz out of my head and allow me to rest.

But something else besides slowness seemed to go to work on me immediately. I couldn't quite figure out what it was until my first step outside on the second morning, not long after thunderstorms had passed. I drew in a deep breath, and then I knew.

It was the air.

As that one clean breath moved through my body, I could feel its vigor expanding into every cell. I took another deep breath and then another, as if each were a tall drink of freshness.

I had not known that I was so thirsty.

I allowed myself to wonder: If fresh air seems exotic, then just how bad is the air I'm breathing every day in Atlanta? Is it time to rethink my priorities? Redefine my quality of life? Those are the kinds of questions that take one's breath away, rather than restore it. So I decided to hold them at bay and spend the week living in the moment.

Sweet Edisto moments.

Like walking along the shore of Edisto Beach State Park, where some of the tallest palmetto trees in the state sway over nearly two miles of shoreline. I joined the beachcombers, with bags or buckets in hand, to sift through the thick tideline of shells. The lucky find the perfect scallop-shaped shell or the undamaged sand dollar. The really lucky find a prehistoric fossil or a relic left by the Edistow Indians.

Archaeologists say the area was inhabited as long as 4,000 years ago. Woolly mammoths, Spanish explorers, English settlers, indigo farmers, cotton planters and modern dwellers all have left their mark. The state park beach is known as the best hunting grounds for pieces of the past.

Then there were meandering moments, turning down a few of the sandy back roads, discovering groves of moss-draped oaks leading to old plantation homes that are mostly tucked away from sight. (Private tours will get you a closer look.) The island's historic churches, like the 1830 Presbyterian Church of Edisto Island, with its white columns and green shutters, are more accessible and worth a roll of film.

Luckily enough, my wandering also took me to George and Pink's produce stand (look for a sign for Eddingsville Beach Road off S.C. 174). There I found tender-skinned new potatoes for a salad. "Early March is kind of slow here," I remarked to Pink.

"We like it slow on Edisto," Pink replied, though the locals say this stand is brimming with produce and bustling with customers in summertime.

I ventured off Edisto only once during the week, visiting Grove Plantation, headquarters for the A.C.E. Basin National Wildlife Refuge, before heading into Charleston. The A.C.E. Basin is named for the Ashepoo, Combahee and Edisto rivers, and it encompasses 350,000 acres of wetlands, rivers and islands, including Edisto.

Nature lovers, take note. Information about boating tours and self-guided driving tours to points of interest is available at Grove House. Fish, waterfowl and other birds are abundant in the basin, but if you are lucky, you'll spot one of the endangered or threatened species that live here, like the bald eagle, shortnose sturgeon or the loggerhead turtle.

I visited Grove House because I wanted to see an old plantation home up close. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service offices are in the house, built in 1828. It is not open for tours beyond the information center. But the exterior and the grounds rewarded the jaunt.

From there I drove into Charleston for a long lunch and a walk around the historic district. It was a lovely afternoon but about all the traffic and city life I could take that week. Thank goodness the trip back to Edisto was only about 45 minutes.

I was back in time for a sunset moment on the south beach, the best spot to see the sky put on its evening light show. Afterward, I scooted around to the Sunset Grill on Big Bay Creek, overlooking marshland. More than once during the week, I decided dinner would be a margarita and some boiled shrimp at the Grill.

When friends arrived late in the week, we took in a few more of the island's eateries. Po' Pigs Bo-B-Q is not to be missed for its bounty of Southern favorites, from hash to hush puppies. For white-tablecloth dining, the Old Post Office did not disappoint, with its Lowcountry specialties like shrimp and grits and --- get this --- pimento-cheese-topped steak (actually pretty good). It also offers a very nicely priced wine list.

The wine can't compare to the air, though.

At times I felt as intoxicated as a college student on spring break. On my last morning, I practically gulped the freshness as I said goodbye to the Atlantic, wishing I could hold my breath all the way back to Atlanta.