Hilton Head, South Carolina
After not touring the lighthouse of Tybee Island, we started toward Charleston, South Carolina. However, since we had the whole day before us, we decided to drive through Hilton Head. We didn’t have a particular destination in mind, so just set our GPS for an outdoor apparel store on the island and started following the directions. When we arrived at the island, we continued our random driving, expecting to eventually find a beach or other interesting site to stop at.
Instead, we found the entrance to Sea Pines Plantation, which includes Sea Pines Resort. We stopped at the gated entrance, and were convinced by the gate keeper that it would be worth the $5 entrance fee. (It wasn’t.) The resort is home to golf courses, tennis courts, a marina, and lots of vacation homes. It was all very pretty, but seemed crowded and hectic. I was also inexplicably uneasy while there; I was reminded of the deceitfulness of riches that Jesus spoke of in one of His parables (aee Mark 4). Not in the sense that the guest there had been deceived, but in the sense of how easy it is for me to be deceived by riches.
Anyway, we drove to Harbor Town, which was the marina and shopping area of the resort. There were lots of empty storefronts, and the stores that were there were disappointing.
(The best thing I saw in the resort was a sign: “It is illegal to feed alligators.” Sadly, I didn’t see an alligator.)
One interesting feature of Hilton Head is that the stores are all set back off the road, and generally shielded from view by trees and shrubbery. Small signs near intersections announced what might be found, but we didn’t generally know what was near us until we’d driven past it. The roads were very scenic, though.
After we’d executed our plan (which, remember, was “let’s drive to Hilton Head since it’s so close”), we again set our GPS to Charleston and hit the road.
