Poe's Tavern

The great thing about living in Columbia is that we are so close to the mountains & to the beach.  After a long week at work it is so nice to know that if we want to we can hop in the car and either be standing in the sand looking out at the ocean in two short hours or we can head in the other direction and be hiking in the Appalachian mountains also within two hours.  A few weekends ago we decide to take a little day trip to Sullivans Island, a little peninsula of a beach just North of downtown Charleston.  Sullivans Island is a quiet little beach town, with old quaint wooden clapboard beach houses. Home to Fort Moultrie an old retired military base where Edgar Allen Poe was once stationed & also home to the infamous retired Governor Sanford.  Y'all know that story!  I don't think he lives there anymore as the national press just announced the other day his proposal to his Brazilian girlfriend. Any who, with our sunscreen lathered on, sunglasses perched on our heads, & trunk full of beach chairs, umbrellas, towels, we headed to the beach.  In the car at 9 O'clock & on the island by 11.

I just love heading to Sullivans.  First you head from North Charleston to Mount pleasant, crossing over bridges that overlook the vast wetlands and waterways of the Carolina coast. Then Mount P to Sullivans you see dotting the vista beautiful little estuaries, island peninsulas with bungalow homes that have boardwalks leading right out to the inter-coastal waterway, beach grasses bordering little winding creeks, Egrets & Pelicans flying about  and boats trolling around with people fishing or just out for a cruise.  It is one of the most beautiful little trips onto an island ever!

Nate & I brought our friend Kristin along for the day and were just so excited for an afternoon chillaxing at the beach.  We decided to get lunch first on arrival as we knew once we heated up on the beach, got covered in salt and sand we wouldn't have much appetite for eating.  So we headed to the tiniest little village that is hosted on the island, where there are a couple of restaurants and a couple of shops.  We had been wanting to go to the famous Poe's Tavern for the longest time.  When we lived in Awendaw, SC a few years back (40 minutes away) we just never managed to go to Poe's, I was always intimidated by the crowds and we usually headed straight for the beach back in those days.  SO today was the day.  Being that we arrived at 11a, the restaurant was just opening for the day, and we had the pick of the litter...for seats that is.  We decided to place ourselves at a cozy little table in the corner out on their beautiful brick patio, surrounded by a wooden picket fence and vining flowers growing all around us.  It was a very idyllic setting.

A little history of Edgar Allen Poe on the Island. As per Wikipedia.  I LOVE Wikipedia. Edgar Allen Poe was stationed at Fort Moultrie from November 1827 to December 1828. The island was a setting for much of his short story The Gold Bug. In Poe's The Balloon Hoax, a gas balloon is reported to have made a trip from Great Britain to Sullivan's Island in three days. The town library, situated in a refurbished military battery, is named after the poet, and streets such as Raven and Gold Bug Drives commemorate his works.

Pretty cool huh?  So we've got a cozy little island who of course is going to commemorate Poe's stay on the island.  I mean, who can get more interesting than Edgar Allen Poe?  He was one of my favorite authors in H.S, when having so much literature jammed down my throat that I was not interested in.  Poe always captured my attention with his haunting stories and poetry, a few of my faves "A tell Tale Heart" & of course "The Casque of the Amontillado"  This restaurant does a great job capturing his namesake.  The bathroom walls are wallpapered with his poetry, there are haunting chandeliers hanging from the rafters and there is even a ghost like painting of Poe eerily gracing the mason work above the restaurant's fireplace.   

We all ordered seafood of course.  How can you not when your on the coast and can get it as fresh as can be.  Kristin got the Shrimp Salad Sandwich with thier home sliced fries & Nate & I both opted for a gourmet take on a fish sandwich.  All was enjoyed.  I must say though, I was surprised they didn't have any Po'e Boys on the menu, really?

Fish Sandwich

All in all....it was an excellent experience.  The food was delicious, the atmosphere even better and the company (my hubby & dear friend) the best!  A warm island afternoon, a couple of drinks, some food to fill our tummy's, we headed to the beach. 

http://poestavern.com/sullivans-island/

Low country Shrimp Salad Sandwich