At HHI and went to Daufuskie Island yesterday...

It is a beautiful place but very remote. We went on the Vagabond- it was $30 for adults and $15 for children- arranged through Surfwatch. Once we got there we rented a golf cart for $50 and drove all over the island. They gave us a map and we saw all the highlighted items on the map. They say that there are only golf carts but we did see cars and trucks driving around. There is a tiny museum and an old school house/library, some old churches, and some old houses that were lived in by previous residents. One school was where Pat Conroy taught in the '60s.

There were very few people there- kind of a ghost town (or as my kids said a desert island). There are three gated communities and apparently only one is doing well called Haig Point, the other two (Melrose and Bloody Point) are in sad shape. The gaurd gates were deserted and falling apart. Melrose is in bankruptcy and it looks like Bloody point will be soon. The pool at Melrose was dirty green and the tennis courts were in a sad shape with weeds growing. The economy has killed these places as well as their remote location. There is a large and quite beautiful condo building at Bloody Point but only one of the condos is lived in. The beach was truly empty- we saw only 2 people there- and it was gorgeous.

We had a good time and would recommend the trip to anyone who goes to Hilton Head. It was odd to get back to Harbour town and all the crowds after being in such a peaceful place. Even the kids had fun riding in the golf cart.

Wow, Daufuskie sounds even more deserted than it was when we visited it two years ago. It's something you only have to do once, a BTDT thing, unless you're a golfer and fall in love with a course over there. Don and Steve didn't. We also went by the island one afternoon on a dolphin cruise another year and somebody was chanting at a bonfire on the beach, we never did find out what that was about.

Speaking of Pat Conroy, have you eaten at his restaurant at the Marriott hotel at Palmetto Dunes? Very pretty, good food, not unreasonable prices. We were there this past December and I had the lobster mac & cheese appetizer as my dinner - more than enough and it was scrumptious. If you prefer it as an appetizer it will feed at least two of you, more likely four.

Enjoy the rest of your week, tlw, it sounds like the good weather is going to stick around for you and Marty and everyone else visiting there now. I am green with jealousy.

SueDonJ said:

Enjoy the rest of your week, tlw, it sounds like the good weather is going to stick around for you and Marty and everyone else visiting there now. I am green with jealousy.

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Me too... Wish I was there!


(Hey, this is my 1000th posting on TUG. Yippeeeee !!)

FlyerBobcat said:

(Hey, this is my 1000th posting on TUG. Yippeeeee !!)

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Yay! Woohoo! BooYA!

No kidding, congratulations. Upping Your Post Count is a decent and noble profession here on TUG, and your contributions are appreciated. Thanks.

Susan,

Yes it was so quiet at Daufuskie- almost spooky. They said a lot of folks are upside down with their real estate there. It makes you sad to think of all those folks who invested their$$ and now it's going belly up.

We enjoyed the trip though- as you say it's worth doing but don't need to go again anytime soon. Even our kids enjoyed it!
tlwmkw

tlwmkw,

If you still on HHI I highly recommend David Young's new restaurant, Roastfish and Cornbread. He use to be the chef at Sea Shack. While on our kayak outing we found out he opened his own restaurant. Just had to go--it was fabulous! My copy of his cookbook arrived yesterday. I just have to try cooking those collard greens. They were the best I've ever had and perfect with the sweet potato cornbread.

http://www.roastfishandcornbread.com/

In '08 we stayed a night at Daufuskie Island Resort & Spa. We could tell then that there were hard times for the island. The resort looked like it was struggling to stay afloat. A review on trip advisor says it's now closed. Watching the movie Conrack was my motivation to go.

We are still here and were just thinking about dinner for tomorrow night. This sounds like where we will go. We'll let you know if we go there and how it was.

I think we saw the inn that you stayed at-was it in the melrose plantation? If so then it is definitely closed. The location is great so I hope they find an angel to invest. I believe that Kiawah was feeling the pinch and they were bought out by the Kuwaiti royal family. Daufuskie will need similar deep pockets to get back on it's feet.

Tlwmkw

We've been to HHI many times but never taken a trip to Daufuskie. From reading this thread, it just sounds creepy now. The build up is always that it is terribly exclusive, etc. It is too bad things haven't worked out.

Deb

We toured Daufuske a few years ago--just the old historic part, not the upper end resorts. I highly recommend Pat Conroy's book The Water is Wide which chronicles his year as a teacher there. I read it before we went so it really made an impression to walk around on the island and picture it as it was in 1970. The movie version was "Conrack", but the book is better.

We got there by airboat but Conroy traveled every day in a little motorboat.
Jolene

Deb,

It wasn't really creepy- just strange. It's sad to see these resorts that are empty with guard gates that are falling apart and nobody around. It looks like the golf courses are still being maintained but no one was playing. The tennis courts were in bad shape and so was the pool at the Melrose plantation. The rest of the island was interesting to see (we went to all the historic sites that they listed)- it is sooo quiet and peaceful and unspoiled. Takes you back in time because it doesn't look like much has changed over the years.

tlwmkw

Empty Nest,

I want to read that book now- have read other Pat Conroy stuff but not that one. Didn't know about the movie so I'll look out for that on Netflix.

tlwmkw

tlwmkw said:

We are still here and were just thinking about dinner for tomorrow night. This sounds like where we will go. We'll let you know if we go there and how it was.

I think we saw the inn that you stayed at-was it in the melrose plantation? If so then it is definitely closed. The location is great so I hope they find an angel to invest. I believe that Kiawah was feeling the pinch and they were bought out by the Kuwaiti royal family. Daufuskie will need similar deep pockets to get back on it's feet.

Tlwmkw

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We went for lunch. It was a packed house and there was just 1 piece of sweet potato cheesecake left. I suggest you go early. They have a non-toxic misting system on the patio so the no-see-ums weren't a big bother.

Another evening suggestion is the Sunset Grille. Reservations are a must as the dining room is small. We took our friends there and they rated it wonderful. Ask for a table by the window. Get a reservation that will allow you to watch the sunset We had 3 couples. all of us split meals with our spouses. That gave us room (but not much) for a bite of dessert.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaura...Sunset_Grille-Hilton_Head_South_Carolina.html

Quilter,

We are headed to Roastfish and Cornbread for dinner tonight. Looked at the menu and we are excited to try it. Thanks for the rocommendation. There is even a kids menu and it's all organic! Can't believe there is somewhere that has healthy kids food- I am so happy now. Have to get there early because they don't take reservations.

Thanks again, tlwmkw

tlwmkw said:

Quilter,

We are headed to Roastfish and Cornbread for dinner tonight. Looked at the menu and we are excited to try it. Thanks for the rocommendation. There is even a kids menu and it's all organic! Can't believe there is somewhere that has healthy kids food- I am so happy now. Have to get there early because they don't take reservations.

Thanks again, tlwmkw

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Please write a review on your dining experience. We will be at Surfwatch for two (2) weeks this fall.

Here's my review:

It was the last full day of our 7 week trip. Cypress Harbour, Ocean Pointe, Oceana Palms, Grande Ocean.

First we went kayaking with http://www.kayakhiltonhead.com/directions.html. Our guide was Alex. He was perfect for what we were looking for. We wanted to kayak in the calm waters of Broad Creek and have a guide who knew his stuff. We got a bonus in that he had a great personality. At the end of the trip I was asking him about restaurants and we got to talking about Sea Shack. He then told us about how Chef David had opened his own restaurant right down the road. Our group of 4 had intended to eat up leftovers (we had some really good lasagna) that was back in the unit but when I heard about the restaurant we decided to just go and check it out. Once we saw the place we couldn't leave. We already had reservations for dinner at the Sunset Grille so this was a splurge to eat out twice on the same day. But, as I said, it was the last day to our trip, the weather was great and we were with friends.

We got there late for lunch and the place was packed. We were able to get immediate seating if we ate outside. The hostess explained they just got a new non-toxic mist system to deal with the no-see-ums. We had a few bother us, but not many. The weather was nice so it was much better being outside. My husband loves crab cakes and had the crab cake sandwich. He also got the hush puppies which we all shared. Both were winners. One of our friends got just the crab cake because her focus was on the piece of sweet potato cheesecake our waiter secured for her as it was the last piece. But she also enjoyed the crab cake and sweet potato cornbread. Her husband got the whole tilapia. I didn't hear him order so it was funny to see his surprise when he got the WHOLE tilapia. Teeth to tail. He turned it so it smiled at me. Once he got the hang of getting to the meat (just flip it over and it opens up) the taste was real good. Both he and I got the lemonade. It's made with fresh squeezed lemons, a dash of red pepper and some ginger (at least that's what the server said). I want more but I'll have to experiment on my own since I live in Michigan.

Now I have to rave over my meal. Well, I got grilled shrimp which were... grilled shrimp. They were fine and I'd get them again but they weren't the highlight of my meal. I got collard greens as a side. As soon as they were set in front of me I knew they were special. I could see big bits of carrot in them. Then there was a spicy brown liquid that sat in the bottom of the bowl. When the greens were gone (all I could think while eating them was it would be a whole year before I'd be able to get back for more) I sopped up the rest of the liquid with the sweet potato cornbread.

By the time I was done my friend who wasn't going to share a bite of her cheese cake (she's so-o-o-o possessive of her desserts ) had relented and was offering me a taste. No need. I was quite satisfied from the hush puppies, shrimp, greens, lemonade and cornbread.

When we were finished the dining room had really cleared out. We told our waiter how much we enjoyed the meal and he asked if we'd like to tell the chef himself. Chef David came out and we got to congratulate him on his new restaurant and wish him well.

We never finished up that lasagna.

Quilter,

You made my day. Thanks for your great restaurant review!

What's the name of Chef David's restaurant -is it Sea Shack? ... and where's it located?

Hungry stomachs need to know.


Richard

Richard,

It's this one: http://www.roastfishandcornbread.com/ He use to be the chef at Sea Shack.

Thanks.

Definitely on our list for our next visit.


Richard

Quilter, I had no plan to revisit Hilton Head any time soon. Reading your review, however, made me want to go back now.

Thanks for the info!

Quilter. What a wonderful restaurant review. Seven (7) weeks of timeshare traveling is just "outstanding." That is why so many families; purchase timeshare to travel, to relax, to explore our great country and to meet so many new friends.

Thanks, Quilter, sounds great! We'll be putting that one on our list for this year's trip, too. Maybe that will be my very first experience with collard greens.

Does anybody have any new info about the restaurant that sits on the marsh on the right just before you cross the bridge onto the island? The octagonal building that had rumors surrounding it about problems with permits and waste? In December we noticed a lot of trucks and vans parked there every day, and thought maybe work had begun again to get it opened?

Quilter,

Thanks for the recommendation. We ate at the restaurant and it was great.

We arrived at 520pm and there was already a line at the door. Luckily it was still only 30 mins- soon after we arrived the wait went up to 1 hour. They said come before 5 or after 745 if you want to get in quickly.

We had fried Okra as an appetizer and it was very good (what isn't good fried? ). Then I had scallops with collard greens, and sweet potato fries. You already described the collard greens and the fries were delicious too- crunchy outside with a soft and sweet interior. Dh had Grouper with cornbread and coleslaw- all delicious. The kids had hamburgers with homemade mac n cheese. The hamburger was organic and homemade and very good. Mac n cheese was delicious too. It was all soooo good. The cornbread was like cake. Both fish dishes came with hush puppies which were out of this world good. I usually don't care for hush puppies but these were delicious.

We had key lime pie for dessert and that was delicious too. They were out of the cheese cake.

Thanks again for this great recommendation. So far it looks like it's mainly locals eating there but I'm sure that will change soon as the word gets out.

tlwmkw

Okra, scallops, greens and key lime pie; my mouth & stomach are waiting for this fall to dine here.