A NEW SEASON, BOOK, AND ISLAND EXPERIENCE

When the autumnal equinox happened this week, you could feel the changing of seasons here in the Lowcountry. A cool breeze pushed out the humid air, for at least the day.

Autumn's arrival bids farewell to the season of week-long family vacations and much-needed road trips. Were you able to getaway for a bit? My summer was slammed with book tour, a broken hand, family visits and another book to write.  But I did manage to escape to this picturesque place. 

Dewees Island, SC  (photo courtesy: Judy Fairchild)

This is Dewees Island, South Carolina; a Lowcountry barrier island that's only a twenty-minute ferry ride away from my home on the Isle of Palms.  This is where I got to work on the early chapters of my next novel, A LOWCOUNTRY WEDDING.

During this short respite, I began each day at dawn with coffee in hand on the screened porch overlooking the vast marshland.  I could spot terns, egrets and osprey hunting for their morning meals in the golden and green cordgrass.  Each evening, I enjoyed the swelling music of cicadas and the rising moon.

My porch view of Dewees Island

This was a rare escape for me last month, and I treasured my time there.  The house where I stayed is the same one the lucky winners of my Summer's End Sweepstakes stayed at back in May.  Kathy and Chip Webb of North Carolina were our lucky grand prize winners, and they wrote about their island escape. 

Meet the winners: Kathy & Chip Webb's Dewees Island getaway

Here's what they said:  

Chip's View:  The Dewees Island Ferry is a portal from one reality to another. We arrived at dusk, taking the ferry across the dolphin-laced waters to the Island. The Marshview Cottage is a restful retreat.  The great room opens to a screened porch overlooking the marsh. The marsh changes with the tides and the passing of the day, offering visual delights from sunrise to sunset. Morning coffee, the warmth of the morning sun, and a copy of “The Water is Wide” (by Pat Conroy) from the bookshelf resulted in an incomparable start to a day, Dewees Island style. The second morning, Kathy and I took the golf cart to one of the beach access trails. To experience the beach at Dewees Island is to walk a beach as did the original inhabitants and to be awed by unspoiled nature.    

Kathy’s View:  After three days of Island living, I love Dewees Island. It is an amazing living classroom for children and adults  I learned so much about the creatures and plants that inhabit this little piece of heaven. After exploring the Island, I did not realize what the residents had until I walked out on to the beach and walked for miles, picking up live starfish and whole sand dollars. I loved every minute of it: the quiet, the beauty. It was like living in a Mary Alice Monroe book!

Maybe their words will inspire you to experience the island for yourself one day.  If you're looking to disconnect from the busyness of daily life and reconnect with nature, Dewees Island is unmatched.  I can't think of a better place to be, no matter the season. 

Where's the best place you have stayed that immersed you in the natural world? 
  

Here's the Dewees Island marshview cottage.  Isn't the porch view incredible?   

  To learn more about Dewees Island, South Carolina, click here.