Blues, haints and bayous: snippets from the Deep South: An island in the sun

There are two through roads on Hilton Head Island one of the renowned beach holiday spots in the low country state of South Carolina. We drove these hunting down a coffee shop along the waterfront so we could look out at the waves as we took our break. Defeated, we eventually pulled into a Starbucks, enroute, instead. In one of the many many malls that line one of the through routes.

Here we saw the saddest group of folk sitting in the sun in the coffee shop carpark, disconsolately staring at bare pavement, not a single wave or a bit of blue water within cooee. Why? Because there are no easily accessible coffee shops anywhere on the beach on Hilton Head Island. Why? Because the beaches, though touted as open to the public, more often than not have access routes restricted. Getting to that public space where the only access possible is through a private space is simply not allowed.

So for a fruitless hour we drove in and out of possible side streets and crescents, beach lanes and dead ends that looked promising on our Sat Nav as the blue of the water, it said, was just there—searching for anywhere to park our car, to take one picture of this beach that was attracting all these driving hoards. But, even that proved well nigh impossible.

The Hilton Head Council has made some carparks publicly available, but these, we found, are then time metered. Too often with too few meters to cater for the endless lines of slow moving cars seeking to park.

It is becoming clearer, after Dauphin Island where we had similar problems, that unless you own a waterfront property, are renting one, or happen to be staying in a resort that has beach frontage, your access to coastal waters, here, is severely limited. Or non-existent.

Frustrated we sought advice from a local. She gave us directions for a public car park. We then had to drive yet another 7.1 miles in slow-stalling traffic to find this public park where we could get out and walk to the beach.

Except the beach was not close. It was set way back. A cut lunch and a water bag would have been useful. And you needed to be mobile. Many retirees, seeking the sun, aren’t. One fellow, we saw, had the right idea. He’d attached wheels to the chair he was going to use during the day. Making his job a little easier.

The council, to be fair, has done a nice job with the space between the car park and the beach, building boardwalks, chained swings, pretty little changing rooms and beach showers. There is even a blue carpet to walk on to the sand to protect delicate feet. And, the public beach when we finally get to it is quite nice. It stretches for miles in both directions. Miles and miles. Some folk have clearly managed to find their way here.

Others are still in their cars, congesting the two island roads, sweltering in the sun, seeking any place to park. And this is just an ordinary Monday in early Spring. Such beach places must be a nightmare in the holiday season.