It is an interesting place, bigger and different than we had thought. We were expecting a typical beach town/community but it is much more than that - sort of like Palm Springs by the ocean. The island is heavily wooded with lots of oaks, palm trees, palmettos and lush, well kept vegetation. The island is essentially divided into "plantations" which are gated community developments with lots of large high-end homes, all the same color and architectural style - and expensive. There also a large number of "villas" inside some of the plantations. These are condominiums, apartments and some smaller houses. It appears they are mostly rented to people on vacation as we saw a lot of families that were apparently here on spring break. We also saw a few "heritage" buildings here and there, some occupied and some not, left over from the old days.
The commercial establishment system is also different. Most of the businesses, restaurants and shops we have seen do not have their individual logos/brands displayed on road side and location signs. All the signage is the same grey/dark tan color and tastefully done on wooden signs. Some of the commercial facilities are also inside the plantations and you have to pay to get in or get a pass from someone who lives there. Others are along the public roadways but there is not a low-end strip mall, motel/hotel, or beach shop or restaurant in sight. The whole island is a high-end recreational location with a lot of expensive homes in enclosed communities and controlled commercial activities. There are some public beaches and beach access, but a lot of beach access, at least from the road, is restricted to people who reside or are guests in the plantations. We are not sure where all the service help live, but it definitely isn't on the island.
We decided to visit the south end of the island where there is a marina and a lighthouse. All this is inside the Sea Pines Plantation, the first plantation to be developed on the island and one of the largest. We had to pay $1.25 on a toll road and $8.00 to get into the plantation. The upper part we drove through was mostly high-end homes all the same color and very nice. All the mailboxes were all the same color with a resident name sign on each box. There didn't seem to be a lot of activity except for tourists on the bike path adjoining the road. The south end beach was mostly villas with a lot of obvious tourists staying there.
We had a great lunch at the Salty Dog Café, the restaurant at the marina. There are also a few shops in the adjoining village.
Later we went out for dinner with Anita Bowser, our friend from the Air Force. We had another great meal at a restaurant, inside a plantation where Anita had a pass to get in.
After dinner, we drove over to a beach access pathway in another plantation to have a short look at the Atlantic Ocean and a glimpse of the end of the sunset.
It was a long but enjoyable day in a different beach environment than the ones we are used to visiting.
The plan is to visit Savannah tomorrow, but we may just stay here and continue our island visit instead.
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