84 beachLIFE FEATURE THE AMERICAN ROAD TRIP
“ Once you have traveled , the voyage never ends , but is played out over and over again in the quietest chambers . The mind can never break off from the journey .” – Pat Conroy
THE SEA ISLANDS OF SOUTH CAROLINA
It ’ s a coastal realm ruled by the ocean and tides . This strand of barrier island of coastal South Carolina features shrimp boats cruising the maze of waterways and strands of Spanish moss floating among the limbs of centuries-old live oaks . Yachts cruise the Inter-Coastal Waterway , making their annual passages to and from the southern latitudes . A favorite port of call is historic Beaufort .
Situated on Port Royal Island , Beaufort was home to Pat Conroy , author of The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini , and his memoir , The Water is Wide . His books were often set in South Carolina ’ s Low Country , along with the film adaptations they inspired , making Beaufort a favored Hollywood film location . The area is almost overwhelmingly atmospheric and populated by gorgeous historical sites such as the Chapel of Ease Ruins on St . Helena Island .
Built in 1740 , this Anglican chapel was constructed by rice and cotton planters during the Colonial Period . A forest fire destroyed much of the building in 1886 , but its 280-year-old “ tabby walls ” of shells and lime remain . Like so many of our favorite stops in the South , it ’ s haunted .
THE GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS
Heading northwest from the Low Country , we ’ re off to Gatlinburg , Sevierville , Wears Valley , and Pigeon Forge in the Great Smoky Mountains of eastern Tennessee . The morning fog drifts through century-old trees in this land where they ’ ve turned back time . And yet , it ’ s something of a blend of seclusion and the modern . Distinctly traditional homes built with treetop timber , for example , have