loving life on the edge.

Published on by Quandie

First up, congrats to Cyndi.  I drew her name to win the paint giveaway from my previous post about Charleston.  Today I’m sharing the last post from our trip.  Be sure to read all the way to the end for another paint giveaway!

While the first half of our trip to Charleston was spent exploring historical sites and admiring beautiful homes and gardens, the 2nd half was spent at the beach.  Folly Beach, to be specific.  We packed up all of our stuff, checked out of our first hotel and drove about 20 minutes to hotel #2 so that we could stay right on the beach.

Here is how visitfolly.com describes Folly Beach …

Folly Beach, South Carolina is one of America’s last true beach towns. Just minutes from historic downtown Charleston, Folly Beach is a 12 square mile barrier island that is packed with things to do, see and eat. This is a funky, laid-back, come-as-you-are kind of beach. The pace is invitingly slow, the people are captivatingly unique and the shops and restaurants will receive you with good old fashioned Southern charm and hospitality. It won’t take long for you to feel right at home.

Surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the Folly River, visitors enjoy six miles of wide beaches, surfing, fishing, biking, kayaking, boating, eco-tours, and sea wildlife including several endangered species. The sunsets on Folly are legendary, so make sure you have plenty of space on your camera or smart phone … seriously, free up lots of space!

A few steps from the beach, downtown Folly features an eclectic array of locally owned stores and restaurants. Fun bohemian clothing, beach knick-knacks and surf shops are mixed with fantastic seafood restaurants, casual cafes and one-of-a-kind bars. With live music coming from all directions and fruity cocktails calling your name, your cares will melt away as you become lost in the Folly lifestyle. And when the sun goes down, Center Street becomes a lively mix of beach-casual nightlife and rooftop dance clubs.

Whether you need a beach front home for 20 or a romantic room for the two of you, Folly Beach is the perfect spot for vacations, reunions, beach weddings, or just a quick weekend getaway. Come visit us at ‘The Edge of America’ … you’ll love life on the edge.

I have to say, for a marketing blurb, it’s fairly accurate.  Folly absolutely felt like a funky, laid-back beach town.  We had some great seafood, some delicious cocktails and listened to some live music.  Everyone we met there was friendly and welcoming.  The staff at our hotel were exceptionally good (and after the really awful staff at our first hotel, this was a welcome change).

Speaking of our hotel, we stayed at Tides Folly Beach.

What I thought was really unique about this hotel was that every room was truly ocean-front.  In the photo above you’re looking at the street facing side of the building.  This is where the open air hallways and doors to the rooms are.  I’ve put a little arrow on the photo to show the location of our room, we were on the 7th floor.

Once you step into the room, all you’ll notice is the wall of glass looking out the opposite side onto the Atlantic Ocean.

Full disclosure, I did not take that photo.  I borrowed it from the web.  However, that is basically what our room looked like with the exception of the pretty aqua colored bed spreads.  We had some really drab beige colored spreads that were itchy and kind of gross.  Also, our room never looked that tidy.  One of the outcomes of COVID is that most hotels no longer clean your room during your stay.  I’ve stayed in … let’s see … five hotel rooms over the last year and none of them offered maid service every day.  The Disney hotels cleaned your room every 3rd day, but the rest did not clean the room at all regardless of duration of stay.  The Tides staff did say that you can request maid service, but you have to do so 24 hours in advance.  We probably should have done that because by day 3 there was so much sand on our floor that we may as well have been sleeping on the beach.

But … that view!

That view was worth having a little sand on the floor.

While lying in bed you couldn’t even see the beach, just the water, so it felt a lot like being on a cruise ship with the vast ocean outside your window (minus the motion of the ship).

I was fascinated by the pelicans that would glide silently past our balcony.  Since we were on the 7th floor, they were right at eye level.  I was never quick enough with my camera to get a photo of them from the room, but I did snap this one from the beach.

Looking down from our juliette balcony (if you aren’t familiar, this is a balcony that is only about 2′ wide, no space for chairs) you’ll see the pool.

I took that photo in the early morning before it was full of screaming children playing.  For the remainder of the daylight hours the pool was packed full.  As a result, we never went there, choosing instead to spend our time on the beach.

If you step out the door from your room into the open air hallway, you’ll see Center Street which basically ends at the hotel.

This street is lined with restaurants, bars and souvenir shops.  I’ve put an arrow on the photo showing our favorite place to eat, Rita’s Seaside Grille.

We ate there three times … no wait … four times.  Three of which were breakfast.  They had the most amazing Belgian waffles and a delicious peach bellini mimosa.

In the end, our favorite thing to do at the beach is to get up early and walk along the shore.

In my experience not all beach locales are conducive to this activity.  For example, we once stayed at La Jolla de Mismaloya in Puerto Vallarta which is situated in a cove that didn’t allow you to walk much in either direction.

But you can walk quite far on Folly Beach (the beach is six miles long).  We walked to the southern-most tip of the island where the Folly River meets the Atlantic one morning, and as you can see we pretty much had it entirely to ourselves.

We debated walking up the other direction to see the Morris Island lighthouse, but in the end we decided we weren’t up for the 8 miles round trip.

We enjoyed checking out some of the beachfront homes while we were out walking.

Mr. Q and I dreamed about how amazing it would be to live right on the beach.  We don’t even need a big ol’ fancy house like that one.  We’d be happy in a little cottage by the sea.  But as seems to be the trend in most waterfront locations, there are only a handful of small vintage cottages remaining.  I suspect that they get torn down to make way for the huge, expensive homes.  Although, to be fair, Hurricane Hugo did blast through Folly Beach in 1989 damaging many of the homes.  That may also explain why there are so few small, older beach cottages left.

One last thing.  Before you get the impression that the beach always looked like this …

Let me clarify.

That’s how it looked at 7 a.m. before anyone showed up.  Later in the day this beach was positively packed with people.

If you’re looking for a quiet, peaceful beach vacation, this may not be the spot for you.  However, it’s a great spot for families, and for those looking for more of a party atmosphere.

As we realized at the end of our beach stay, Mr. Q and I are really rather lame.  We could have done so much more in Folly Beach, rented bikes, taken surfing lessons, played volleyball, danced all night at the rooftop bars, but instead we mostly just relaxed on the beach, ate delicious seafood, and enjoyed a few cocktails.

FYI, that shrimp was delicious, and the cocktail was called ‘And Just Like That’, so clearly I had to have one (it was your basic Cosmopolitan with the addition of POM juice).

As you can probably tell from my photos, we were blessed with absolutely perfect weather the entire time we were in Folly.  This was a great way to end our Charleston vacation.  Although we stayed right there on the beach, you could also easily plan a day at Folly Beach while staying in Charleston as well.

Before I totally wrap up my Charleston blog posts, I have another paint giveaway for you guys.  Obviously, this one is inspired by the colors of Folly Beach; Stormy Seas, Endless Shore and Wharf.

The rules:  To be eligible to win, simply leave a comment on this blog post (you could tell me about your favorite beach.  Folly Beach was fabulous, but my all-time favorite beach is definitely White Bay on Jost van Dyke.)

Your comment must be left on this blog post, not on Facebook or Instagram.  You are not required to follow my blog, although it would be awesome if you did!

I will randomly draw the name of a winner for today’s prize from all of the comments left on this post by Sunday, May 22, 2022 at the stroke of midnight (U.S. Central time).

The fine print: no purchase necessary, you must be 18 years of age or older to win, void where prohibited by law, the number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning, approximate retail value of prize is $95, if the prize is not claimed by Friday, May 27, 2022 another name will be drawn at random to win, blah, blah, blah.

Thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for providing the paint I’m giving away today.

79 thoughts on “loving life on the edge.”

  1. So beautiful. It’s on my list! My fave beach is Sanibel Island. So many shells. This one looks pretty enticing also and you’re right, walking on the beach when it’s empty is the best activity!

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  3. Looks like a relaxing end to your vacation….how nice! Our favorite beach has been Duke Kahanamoku Beach in front of the Hilton Hawaiian Village Rainbow Tower….it was never too busy when we visited, and was a dream at night to walk and enjoy

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    1. 2nd best was in Carlsbad, California….again not too busy, I spent several afternoons in a beach chair with a book….the best way to enjoy the beach! 😉

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  7. Thank you for sharing your trip. Great info for anyone wanting to visit Charleston and Folly Beach. On a recent trip, we also discovered there was no maid service. Hope when Covid ends, it hasn’t become the norm.

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    1. I do wonder the same thing. I suspect it might be the ‘new normal’. But if so, I hope they will at least provide larger trash cans in the rooms. Those tiny little trash cans get full in two days.

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  9. I lived in summerville SC for 3 years and loved going to folly beach! I miss southern! I now live in Clearwater Florida, the beaches are beautiful but it’s not southern! It’s fun because it’s a mish mash of many cultures! My favorite beach is Turks and Caicos!

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  10. I have to say that I love the beach, my dream would be to have a house on almost any beach if money were no object. Funky little cottages are no longer around, the taxes have become too much for many family camps. The amazing homes that have replaced them are beautiful and totally out of my price range. Thanks for another giveaway, got my fingers crossed.

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    1. Yep, totally out of our price range too. We see the same thing happening here on the lakes. Fabulous old vintage family cottages being torn down and replaced with large, expensive homes.

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  12. Any beach is my favorite, but I prefer them to myself and not too hot, so probably a beach up north or on the west coast. I have a friend that lives on that island; she loves it. Glad you had a great vacation!

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  16. I really haven’t been to too many beaches, but I would have to say Cape May, NJ beach is first on my list, and second is Washington Park Beach in Michigan City, IN – my hometown beach!

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    1. I’ve been to Cape May too! Back when my sister lived in New Jersey. It was winter though, so I didn’t quite get the full Cape May experience 😉

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  17. I shared your post with my hubbie bc my last blog was asking where a great vacation spot was. I’m glad you were honest and told us about the crowds. That is still OK bc 7am looks fantastic! 👌

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  19. Love all the pictures. This is another place I’d like to visit. I love Hanauma Bay in Hawaii. We would go at 6 am when were visited the islands. Hardly anyone there. Like your beach pictures, it got crowded later in the day.

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  22. I love traveling vicariously through you! You are so lucky to have Mr. Q so ready to share your adventures, the traveling ones and the fixer-uppers.

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  23. I’m more of a mountain lake and river/stream person. I don’t have a favorite beach but it would definitely be in the mountains on one of those bodies of water!

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  24. A few years back we flew into FT. Myers, Florida. We rented a car and stayed on Sanibel Island, any of the beaches there are beautiful. Would love to go back some day. Thanks for the give away!

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  26. My favorite beach is a quiet gem on the Oregon coast simply known as the agate beach by our family. It’s been our restoration destination for 35 years. Agates, a small waterfall, the resident bald eagles and the mighty Pacific are magic.💛
    Long to see the sun rise over the Atlantic some day…Folly sounds fun!

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  27. I am a South Carolinian born and bred.
    I’ve been to Folly Beach but not for many years.
    My favorite beach in SC is Hunting Island in Beaufort County and Edisto Beach in Colleton County.
    I was able to visit and fall in love with the Oregon Coast and the beaches there too!

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  28. Our SC beaches are a destination! Yes, they do become crowded…and will get more so as families are able to take summer vacations. And , YES, the McMansions have replaced the old summer homes that were there when I was a child in the 50-60’s. Hope you and Mr. Q have the opportunity to make a return visit!

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    1. Next time we’d like to rent a little house or condo on the beach. It would be nice to have a little more space than just a hotel room 🙂

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  29. Looks like you and Mr. Q had a wonderful trip! I don’t get to travel much outside of my little town of Livermore, California so I really enjoy your blogs where I live vicariously through your camera lens. Thank you for always sharing!

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  30. Y’all need to adventure to the 350 miles of beautiful Texas coastlines. Some of my favorite areas to relax and celebrate all that is good in the world are: Padre Island National Seashore, Galveston Island, Mustang Island State Park, Port Isabel Lighthouse. You will not be disappointed!

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    1. Although I’ve traveled through Texas, with a stop in San Antonio, I’ve never really seen the coast there. We may have to check that out one day.

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  31. Your pics make me yearn for a beach vacation. I have great memories of being on the beach on Maui with my boys. Living on the Gulf Coast where the water is always stirred up and you can’t see your feet, I was just amazed at how clear and beautiful the water was. We had a great time with our boys and have very fond memories.
    Thanks for taking us with you on your trip to Charleston and for another generous giveaway.

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  32. This sounds like a wonderful time at the beach. My husband and I love the beach and have been to many. Like you, we are cruisers. We love the Caribbean. I love Half Moon Cay. The sand is so soft it is like walking through flour and the water is a brilliant shade of turquoise! Now that we are living half the year in Florida, we intend to visit and explore the east coast. I think that I will mark Folly Beach on our list of places to visit. Thanks for sharing and thank you for the chance of a giveaway 😊

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    1. I’ve always said that I’d love to just spend a week at Half Moon Cay. Spending just one day there (or at any of the cruise line private islands) is a terrible sort of tease. Living in Florida, I bet you could easily do one of those cruises they’re doing now where you stop at the private island, then have a day at sea, then back to the private island. Sounds amazing to me.

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  33. Folly Beach sounds like my kind of place! I so love your travel posts, and since I’ve traveled with you, I can always imagine being there with you. Those seaside-inspired paints are lovely, too!

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    1. You’re not alone. My husband’s grandparents went on one trip in their life, and had a car accident on the road, and never traveled again. My handyman Ken and his wife also haven’t traveled in decades. Some people just love to be at home, right?

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      1. I’m beginning to doubt that there are any quiet beaches left. When I lived in Florida, we used to know of a couple of hidden away beach spots where we’d have the whole place to ourselves, but those are long gone.

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  36. What a wonderful trip. That’s what retirement s all about.
    My favorite beach is on Sanibel island. I usually start at sunrise and walk for hours.

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  37. My favorite beach is any beach. I revert back to being a child, collecting seashells and rocks in my overall shorts pockets – all to be found in the washing machine at a later date. Any beach brings me a deep inner peace -along with a sunburn.
    Thank you for the giveaway!

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  38. So excited for your daily weekday posts!! Health challenges keeping me from painting right now and I sorely miss it!! Love the beach colors!

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  39. Looks like Folly Beach needs to go on my bucket list! I really enjoy your blog. Thanks for sharing your travels and your before and afters. Such inspiration.

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  40. Well, Miss Quandie, if you had asked me I would not have suggested Folly Beach! I grew up knowing that it was kind of “junky” for lack of a better word (forgive me!)……people coming for the day, people coming with a cooler of beer etc. And there are beautiful spots so nearby! Sullivan’s Island comes to mind, and Kiawah……..And, of course, The Isle of Palms where I grew up going to the family beach house built by my grandfather years and years ago! It’s so beautiful and quiet but with enough going on to have a fun but relaxing time……It’s funny, my town here is located up on the cliffs overlooking the Pacific……you can see the ocean in the distance from my yard but the town is not “beachy” in the least. I can pop down to the beach if I want to but I hardly ever do. “Going to the beach” is totally east coast in my mind, especially to the Isle of Palms with big white sand dunes, a wide beach, lots of shells, and gullies at low tide! And, of course, sandy feet and sticky salty air! All that being said, I just LOVED your post and reading your observations (-:

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    1. I have found that to be the case in California as well. Maybe it’s because the Pacific is so darn cold! When I was a kid, our mom took all of us to San Diego every summer. We had a motor home, she drove us out there and we parked at her bff’s house. Us kids staying in the motor home, mom had her own room inside the house. And we rarely went to the beach out there. It was more about Disneyland, and the pool in her friend’s backyard 🙂

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  41. You know, there was a time when I was ALL about the party. I’ve outgrown that. Sounds to me like you and Mr. Q did it just right! I have really enjoyed your Charleston trip, thanks for sharing!

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  42. Prior to my husband and I getting married in 1999 (a 2nd marriage for each of us), we took a trip to Vieques, an island near Puerto Rico. We jokingly referred to it as a pre-marriage honeymoon – testing the waters for our compatability.
    We rented a car for a couple of days, and while we did come across several dazzling, pristine beaches where we were the only people on them, the most magical was Mosquito Bay, which we visited on a eco tour one evening. Slipping into the dark water and seeing the blue-green glow around you was magical. Thousands of microscopic dinoflagelates emit this bioluminescence when disturbed, and it literally took my breath away to see and be part of this extraordinary sight.
    If you ever get the opportunity, go there.

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  43. Sounds like a place I’d like to visit….and your idea of laid back, not much partying other than listening to music, the waves, the birds, with a drink in hand…I’m ready to go! Thanks for sharing.

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  46. My favorite beach is in Sitges, Spain. A short train ride or drive south of Barcelona, on the Mediterranean Sea. Closer to home (we are in Illinois) we like to travel up to Douglas MI, they have a really nice public beach. That area is also nice for driving around to surrounding towns and visit small galleries and fruit stands.

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  47. Sounds like your trip was very enjoyable. I can’t say I have a favorite beach. I do enjoy the Edisto Island beaches though. I’m definitely a take a beach novel and plant myself for the day gal. Take a cooler full of drinks, lemonade for me, and sandwiches and listen to the roar of the waves, watch the seagulls and sandpipers. Total relaxation.
    I love your travel posts too!

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  48. Nothing better than sand between your toes and relaxing! Paint — I’m admiring “Stormy Seas” to add to my collection. Thank you for sharing your creativity and stories…

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  49. I love all beaches! I recently came home today from Holden Beach, North Carolina and it was lovely! I love the peaceful atmosphere and amazing water. Great start to my summer!

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  50. When we were stationed at Camp Pendleton in California, we really enjoyed one specific section of the beach in LaJolla. There were rocky outcrops with numerous tide pools in them. Our family was fascinated by the sea creatures left behind, especially the anemones and teensy crabs. The sound of the waves advancing and withdrawing between the outcroppings was mesmerizing. We were also treated to views of the surfers riding the waves when we took a break from the tide pools and looked out over the water.

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