By: Lisa Marie Carter
Many of you that have been avid readers of Anderson Magazine know each year I plan an annual girls trip (with the girls I’ve been friends with since kindergarten) to the low country, typically Isle of Palms to be specific. This year was no different, but also different as we always try to change things up a bit.
So, what was no different? Well for the first time in our 11 years we stayed at the same home as we did the previous year. We enjoyed the home known as Palm Breeze so immensely that we booked it right after we ended our week in 2022. As they say, location, location, location. The home is located on the main road, not too far into the island and sits right on the beach with amazing, unobstructed views of the ocean and has everything you could possibly want: hot tub right on the deck and a heated pool right on the deck too, each bedroom has it’s own bath, gas fireplace, grill, fully stocked kitchen, carts and chairs for beach use and more! There is plenty of shaded area to enjoy as well as sunny areas to grab some rays, after all there are 4 decks for you to choose from! The elevator is a must for us now, as it makes unloading and loading back up to leave so much easier than trying to haul all our stuff up and down flights of stairs. This house is perfect for a large group like us as there is plenty of room – but you don’t feel lost.
In addition to all the great amenities of Palm Breeze another reason we stayed with the same home was because of the rental company that handles this home, East Islands Rentals. We can not say enough about this rental agency. They are not only on top of everything, if you ever have an issue, no matter how small, they address it immediately and the go above and beyond to accommodate you. Every single person we have dealt with at East Islands has always been friendly, helpful and full of cheer. So for your next coastal rental vacation be sure to check them out, we have never been disappointed.
One other thing that was sort of the same was our annual boat trip with Barrier Island Eco Tours out to Goat Island. This has become a staple now. We love everything about this trip, Captain Shane, Amos our four legged dolphin spotter, the relaxing and welcoming space of Goat Island, the freshest oysters you could ever possibly eat, literally. Since we stop along the way to Goat Island to harvest the oysters we always get to sample one just plucked from the bed and you’ll never get a fresher oyster than that! If all of that isn’t reason enough we also get the treat of the low country boil that is prepared for us as we all chat, explore, snap pics and just relax. What was different about this year’s boat excursion? We went early in the morning instead of the sunset cruise, and stopped to fish along the way! Yes – we all fished, well, all but me – but we all enjoyed it and every single person who fished caught at least one fish! It was catch and release except for one that was taken to the island, filleted and cooked over the open flame for everyone to sample some uber fresh fish that one of us had caught! Now, we have a dilemma for next year, sunset cruise or early morning fishing excursion?
Our new adventure this year was with Diva Dance and what a blast we had! This company will come to you and basically throw a private dance party. They brought cupcakes and champagne, set up fun party decorations, brought cute sunglasses for us all AND taught us a choreographed dance! They even video the final production for you to have (and in our case, keep locked up in a vault!). We may not have looked like the Solid Gold Dancers (I am aging myself there) but we had a blast! I would definitely recommend this for your next event – so much fun.
One thing that will always remain the same is having our own “personal paparazzi”. We use William Thornley Photography, who has become more of our friend than our photographer. Each year he joins us on an adventure of two to capture all the fun and craziness so we can “live in the moment” and enjoy ourselves knowing we’ll have some great pictures to look back on.
With so much to do and write about I’m making this feature a two part article – so check back next month for the rest of this years adventure.
For more information on Palm Breeze and/or East Islands Rentals visit their website – https://eastislandsrentals.com/
For more information on the Barrier Island Eco Tours visit their website – https://nature-tours.com/
For more information on Goat Island visit their website – http://www.goatislandgatherings.com/
For more information on Diva Dance visit their website – https://divadancecompany.com/
For more information on William Thornley Photography visit his website – https://williamthornleyphotos.smugmug.com/