Tom & Sue's Incomplete Guide: Lowcountry Sunsets

Greetings
 
Sue: One of the highlights of our summer evening walks around Smythe Lake with our dog Iggy is the sunset. This got me thinking about where else we could enjoy nature’s evening light show. While Tom fancies himself a burgeoning curmudgeon, the truth is he is a romantic and a lover of nature. He urges me out the door each evening to catch the fading sun as it kisses the horizon, glows behind the clouds and shimmers light across the Lowcountry waterways. 
 
Tom: I expected this sunset guide to be the easiest compilation yet. To date, Sue and I have been forced to binge on pizza, ice cream and baked goods from half a dozen farmers markets throughout the Lowcountry. How tough could going out to look at sunsets be? Well, it was August and the sun sets after 8 p.m. each night, which is well after Sue’s bedtime and within four hours of mine. It also rained 47 out of 31 days this past August. Our dog Iggy has had more success chasing our cat Belle than we had chasing sunsets for this guide. 
 
Daniel Island spots
The Best Spots: Bellinger Island, Captain’s Island Bridge, Daniel Island Ferry, Smythe Lake
 
Sue’s Take: Bellinger Island holds a special place in my heart, a frequent favorite trek for adventure when my children were growing up in Codners Ferry Park in the late 1990s and early 2000s. I think this is the best place on the island to see a sunset and to take a walk. The twilight scene is visible from the dock, the pier, and the raised platform. 
 
I saw my first sunset from Captain’s Island Bridge one fall when the sun set directly on the water as a boat cruised up the creek. Idyllic. It’s a perfect way to end a walk around Captain’s Island.
 
The Daniel Island Ferry’s Harbor Cruise offers non-boat owners a great opportunity to see the sunset from the water. During our last Harbor Cruise we saw Panamax ships docked at the Wando Terminal, sailboat races, dolphins swimming in the ferry’s wake, the majestic Ravenel Bridge, and the Charleston waterfront all as the sun lowered in the sky and gently bid the day adieu.
 
Tom’s Take: The spots that Sue mentioned are good places to see a sunset, with the Daniel Island Ferry Harbor Cruise being the top of that list. But, the perfect spot to see the sunset for this landlubber is from on top of the Wando River Bridge. The views of Daniel Island, the Wando River and the sun setting over the horizon are spectacular. It is the absolute highlight of a three-hour commute from Long Point Road to the Daniel Island exit due to a stalled car on the Don Holt Bridge.
 
Mount Pleasant spots
The Best Spots: Pitt Street Bridge, Waterfront Park, Shem Creek, the Ravenel Bridge 
 
Sue’s Take: I’m a cheap date – pack a picnic and take me to Pitt Street Bridge at dusk and I’m happy! Dogs are welcome. This is one of my favorite spots. Waterfront Park also offers a delightful setting as the sun sets behind the bridge. Only downside, dogs are not allowed on the pier or on the Ravenel Bridge.
 
Tom’s Take: The Ravenel Bridge and Mount Pleasant Waterfront Park are off my list due to their canine-discrimination policies, so the Pitt Street Bridge is where it’s at. It’s also the best spot for observing neo-hippies, actual 1960s era hippies turned retired asset managers, and Old Village yuppie parents. It reminds me of the nightly Sunset Fest at Mallory Square in Key West, minus the trained cat circus, which Iggy would see as her duty to scatter in seconds. Even a dog knows that training cats is a black art that goes against nature and is not to be tolerated.
 
The Barrier Islands
The Best Spots: Breach Inlet at Isle of Palms and Sullivans Island
 
Sue’s Take: You can see a wonderful sunset shimmering across the Intracoastal Waterway from Breach Inlet on IOP. Or, better yet, enjoy a drink and a meal from the deck of The Boathouse restaurant. Dolphins are frequent visitors here at sunset as well. 
 
Tom’s Take: The view over the marsh at Breach Inlet rivals the Wando River Bridge sunsets. But, don’t trade the road rage of the Mark Clark “Expressway” for parking rage at The Boathouse. When Sue and I arrive in our luxurious Saturn Vue, I casually flip the keys to the valet and let him worry about the mile walk back from the nearest parking space. 
 
Closing thoughts
 
Tom & Sue: We both agree, our descriptions pale in comparison to seeing it yourself. Sunsets are free fun and a balm for the soul! They are different every night of the week and every season of the year. And, with the shorter days of fall in the offing, they can soon be taken in before Sue changes into her night shirt and slippers.
 
 
 
 
 

 

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Unit 108
Daniel Island, SC 29492 

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