To Go Back To Kiawah Island

If I were to go back to Kiawah Island, South Carolina, I would definitely go golfing on the courses they have on the island.  I have had the opportunity to learn golf while at school and I would love to be able to play on a real golf course.  I would do this with my uncles because they love to go golfing while we have stayed there.  Also now that I have learned more about the golf courses on the island, I would have knowledge about each hole.  That may or may not help me while I play a round of golf.  I would love to be able to explore the island by a bicycle.  I would ride the nature trails up and down the island to see different areas of the island.  Once we started living in the house, we only stayed near the house.  We never got to go exploring since we were too young to go by ourselves.  Now that I am older I can do that without adult supervision.  I also would like to check out their tennis courts on the island.  I am not very good at tennis but it would be neat to be able to play on their courts.  I would be able to learn better technique from the workers at the courts.  I think it would be neat to be able to go to the different restaurants that I talked about in my blogs.  When we stayed there we never got to go to the restaurants on the island.  I would love to be able to check those out and be able to eat at a few of them.  There are many other activities I could do if I went back but these are just a few of them.

To Go Back To Charleston

If I were to go back to Charleston, South Carolina, I would explore so much more areas than I have in the past.  I would visit the places that The Notebook is filmed at.  I mentioned these places in the blogs titled The Notebook, a review and Old Village at Mount Pleasant.  I would visit the downtown Charleston area to explore the different restaurants they have.  Now that I am old enough, I would go to the bars in Charleston, South Carolina.  I would go to Hank’s Seafood Restaurant due to their great food and their history.  The Pavilion Rooftop Bar at the Market Pavilion Hotel sounds amazing.  I would love to have a meal and a nice beverage on the rooftop.  It has some beautiful views of historical Charleston.  Another bar I would love to visit would be AC’s Bar & Grill located in downtown Charleston.  They offer a $2 beer of the month.  They also offer tasty food for a decent price.  This would be a great place to go to if you want to keep on your budget.  I would really enjoy going to see Rainbow Row.  I sort of remember seeing it but now that I am older I would remember it better.  The Boone Hall Plantation would be on my list to visit while in Charleston, South Carolina.  I think it would be fun to just walk around Charleston, South Carolina.  This would be an adventure and I would not really stop unless a place caught my eye.  I am sure there would be other places that I would want to visit but these are a few of the places I would want to visit if I went back to Charleston, South Carolina.

Vincent's Soda Fountain

I cannot believe I forgot to mention Vincent’s Soda Fountain at Freshfield’s Village.  I was reading a blog post about it and I figured I would share it with you.  The website is http://lowcountrytourist.blogspot.com/2010/07/vincents-drug-store-and-soda-fountain.html.  This store has a 1950’s feel to it once you enter.  This store has a pharmacy section, an array of products for visitors to buy, and a diner.  I love how this blog talks about the different aspects of the store.  It really does a wonderful job of talking about the different services this one store can offer to vacation visitors.  I would agree that the diner is the biggest attraction at the store.  This is due to the wonderful food and service they offer to their customers.  I loved going in there with my cousins and getting an ice cream cone or a shake to go while we were shopping.  They really know how to make you feel like you have gone back in time.  This is also due to the old-fashion ice cream treats and old-time candy selection.  I remember finding mallo cups at Vincent’s Soda Fountain.  They are milk chocolate cups with whipped creamy center and a sprinkle of coconut.  They are delicious and hard to find.  But at Vincent’s Soda Fountain, you can find any old-time candy that you ate as a kid.  I would have to agree with the blog post that this is definitely a place to stop by when you are on Kiawah Island.  You will have a rocking time at Vincent’s Soda Fountain.

Old Village at Mount Pleasant

I know in my previous post I talked about The Notebook.  I forgot to mention one location that they shot at but I did not want to talk about it in the last post.  This is because I wanted to go into more details about Mount Pleasant, which is located on South Carolina’s central coast.  Mount Pleasant, South Carolina was used for The Notebook’s film location of the fictional town Seabrook, South Carolina.  Old Village in Mount Pleasant is unique and wonderful place to live.  This is by people biking, running, and walking on the sidewalks and parks.  There use to be a bridge used for trolleys but it got converted into a park.  Half of it is a walkway and the other half is a grassy lawn area with park benches and palm trees.  This bridge is just beautiful with a wooden pier at the end for those fishing fans.  And you can see the sunrise over Sullivan’s Island and the midday sun over Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor.  Do not forget about the sunset behind the charming steepled city scape of Charleston.  Then you can go for a nice meal at the famous historic Post House restaurant.  They offer Toby’s Clam Chowder, Poached P.E.I Mussels, House Salad, Post House Pate Plate, Iceberg Wedge, New Bedford Sea Scallops, Crab Cake, Beef Carpaccio, and Fried Oysters for starters on the dinner menu.  The main dishes are Lowcountry Shrimp & Grits, Seafood Pasta, Grilled Salmon, Crispy Fried Pecan Crusted Flounder, Braised Short Ribs, Post House Lump Crab Cakes, and Grilled New York Strip.  You cannot forget about desserts.  Their dessert menu offers Post House Milkshakes, Seasonal Fruit Cobbler, Banana Cream Pie, Post House Chocolate Cake, Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée, Sorbet, and Cappuccino or Latte.  Sounds like they have a wonderful menu at the Post House.  You should take a short trip there before heading to Kiawah Island.

The Notebook, a review

The Notebook is a lovely story based on two lovers who are different in their social standings.  It stars Rachel McAdams as Allie Hamilton and Ryan Gosling as Noah Calhoun, the two lovers in the story.  This movie is based on a novel that was written by Nicholas Sparks.  This movie is set in the 1940s in South Carolina.  I would go on but I do not want to ruin the movie for you all.  I would recommend watching this movie.  This movie was shot in many different places in South Carolina.  I wanted to let you know where some of the scenes were shot.  For Allie’s college, the backdrop was the College of Charleston located in Charleston, South Carolina.  The Hamilton’s summer house was shot at the Boone Hall Plantation, which I mention in my article “Go See South Carolina” on my website http://vacationkiawah.webs.com/goseesouthcarolina.htm.  King Street in Charleston was used for four different scenes in the movie.  One scene is where Noah and Allie lie watching the traffic light.  Second scene is where Allie and Noah watch a film, which is in the historic American Theater.  The third scene is located in the William Aiken House for the wedding dress fitting scene.  The fourth scene is when Allie and Noah walk and talk for 3 blocks.  For that scene, the production team had to replace the contemporary parking meters with period-style meters.  In North Charleston, the old Navy base area was used for many different shots.  The admiral’s house was used for several interior shots.  The interior of a desanctified chapel went through multiple set transformations to serve as the backdrop for scenes of the USO Dance Hall, the infirmary, the military physical exam room, and recruiting hall.  The last place I will mention is High Cotton in Charleston.  This is the scene where Noah looks through a restaurant window and finds Allie dining with her fiancé.  I am so thankful they shot this film in South Carolina because I have gotten to see some of the places they shot certain scenes.

A Day At Freshfields Village

You can always leave the beach and the place you are staying at to spend a day at the Freshfields Village.  It is at the entrance of the island when you arrive.  There are plenty of shops that you can look at.  This was always my favorite activity to do because it gave us a chance to get away from the house.  We could also explore the shops and see what we wanted to get while we were on vacation.  The grocery store is amazing to look around in.  It has wonderful food for you to get while you stay on the island.  There are plenty of gift shops that sell items with Kiawah Island on it.  I know my family has gotten shirts, sweatshirts, cozies, and various other products with Kiawah Island on it.  I remember the clothing stores that my cousins and I would get to go to.  We would get our summer dresses to wear on the beach or in the house.  I still wear those dresses a lot because when I wear them it reminds me of the wonderful time I had on Kiawah Island.  Another favorite store of ours was the ice cream shop.  My cousins and I would always make it a point to get ice cream when we would go to Kiawah Island.  There are so many memories with them when we would get the same ice cream every time we would go there.  There is also a candy shop that you can go in.  I love going into the candy shop and seeing all the different types of candy they have to offer.  One of my favorite candies to get is the salt-water taffy.  It was a treat to go with our moms and check out the neat gifts they would buy for themselves or for others.  Even if you go a bunch of times, there is always something new to check out.

A Day In The House

If you do not want to spend your day out on the beach, you can spend it in the house you are staying at.  There are plenty of activities to do while you stay in the house. You do not have to get up early if you do not want to.  You can watch a movie on the television.  You do need to bring your own movies.  Or you could play video games on the television.  You need to bring a video game console and games in order to do this activity.  A great family activity is to bring different games along to play with each other.  For instance, my family has played different card games, The Game of Things, Apples To Apples, and Yahtzee while we spent time in the house.  We had so much fun playing those games with each other instead of spending time alone.  You could take naps while the others are outside on the beach.  There are plenty of rooms you could go to so you can read your book in peace.  You can also spend that time writing in your journal.  I remember some of my family members would bring coloring books.  That was a fun activity to do while we stayed in the house.  There are plenty more activities you can do while you stay in the house.  These are just a few of the activities my family did while we stayed in the house instead of going out to the beach.  I hope this helps you plan your vacation to your liking.

A Day On The Beach

There are so many activities you can do while on the beach.  But I am going to describe to you a typical day on the beach.  You can get up early to see the sunrise while you walk on the beach.  It really is a beautiful site to see even if it does mean waking up early on your vacation.  Do not forget to take your camera with you while seeing the sunrise.  Even though a camera cannot capture what the eyes see, it still can do a nice job of trying to capture the moment.  After your walk, you can dip your feet in the ocean water to get a feel of how the water will feel that day.  You can get ready to spend most of your day on the beach.  Just do not forget to put on the sunscreen.  You can spend hours in the water just floating around with your family talking about random things you have done while on your vacation.  You can also sit in a chair on the beach while reading a good book.  You can also build sand castles, play Frisbee, or play beach volleyball with the family.  I would recommend taking a break from being outside during the hottest part of the day, which is between 12 and 2 pm.  During that time you can eat lunch or spend it on the deck while soaking up some sun or reading a good book.  You can spend a few more hours after that on the beach but you need to be careful of when the tide comes in.  Once the tide comes in, that ends the fun on the beach.  You will want to make sure all of your items are picked up before the tide comes in.  If you do not do so, you will have lost your items to the ocean.  Have a wonderful time on the beach!

Cougar Point Golf Course Part 2

Here is the hole-by-hole review for the back nine holes of Cougar Point Golf Course.  Hole 10 – It looks like Gary Player, the designer of this golf course, made changes to this hole due to everyone having their ball go into the pond.  Therefore, Player dug the pond back toward the trees and filled in by the landing area.  He also added some fairway bunkers.  Hole 11 – This hole has not changed much but the only change was the fairway bunker was moved back and another bunker to the right of the green was added to make it more difficult for players.  It was also one of the holes used in filming “The Legend of Bagger Vance.”  It stared Jack Lemmon who hits his tee shot on this hole and then walks off the tee down the fairway to the left rough.  Hole 12 – The green was lowered about 6 feet and the tees were raised about 6 feet so that there was a 12-foot difference.  This means that shots hit short and right can bounce off the mounding onto the green and that shots hit long players will get wet.  Hole 13 – Gary Player made changes to this hole due to players getting punished for a good drive.  This was due to having bunkers in the middle of the landing area.  So Player moved them to the left rough.  The green is now wider to give a multitude of options for challenging pin placements.  Hole 14 – There use to be a tree on the front-left side of the green but that was removed to make it a fairer hole.  Now there are still challenges on this hole but there is a bailout area to the right of the green.  Hole 15 – This hole use to have quite a few challenges but they fixed some of them to make it a fairer hole.  For example, Player filled in the water-crossing and removed a cluster of oaks.  There is a risk for the better players by going for the green in two shots over the water.  Hole 16 – Players get to hit out of a shoot of oak trees to a narrow landing area.  Bunkers on the left side guard this landing area and on the right side there are trees.  A front left bunker guards the green.  Hole 17 – This hole is the most scenic hole on the course with water down the entire right side.  There are many different ways to play this hole.  The ways you can play are the safe way or you can play over the water and fairway bunkers to land near the green.  Hole 18 – This hole had some changes made by Player pulling the pond back and adding a bulkheaded pond on the left near the green.  Even with the changes, you still need to watch out for the water near the green.  I hope this helps you have a wonderful round of golf while you stay at Kiawah Island.