Tag: beach

Privately owned Little Hawkins Island comes with a main residence, two guest cottages, and its very own club.

When my grandparents and great-grandparents built the lake house in 1979, there were no grocery stores for miles—and only a single tiny restaurant. But in the early 1990s, a Kroger opened. Then a pizza delivery place. And in 1996, the North Georgia Premium Outlets. What greater sign of impending civilization is there than a mall?

Pack up these colorful swimsuits, accessories, sunglasses, and more for your next trip to the beach, the lake, or pool.

Technically located in Miramar Beach, Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort is often confused with a town—perhaps because of the name’s similarity to the city of Destin, located 10 miles west.

At Hilton Head, beautiful drives usually mean golf balls soaring over manicured fairways. But for one weekend every fall, motoring becomes the island’s preeminent pastime as hundreds of haute wheels and pristine vintage restorations roll onto South Carolina’s southernmost point.

Between planning family vacations and running away for novel-writing retreats, I’ve spent much of my adult life questing for the perfect beach escape, renting cottages all along the Florida Gulf and up and down the Atlantic Coast—as far north as Nags Head, as far south as Key West.

The naturalist manager for pristine Little St. Simons Island views every tiny fern, critter, and artifact as a miracle—responding with wide eyes and drawing out the word amazing for even the most common flora and fauna.

Hidden down an unassuming palmetto-lined path is the most visually stunning shore on Jekyll Island. At Driftwood Beach, whole trees rest on their sides, creating a cemetery of twisted, distressed wood.

For the ultimate exclusive getaway, rent an entire island. Ten-acre Eagle Island comes with a vacation lodge surrounded by a 1,500-square-foot wraparound porch.

You go to Huc-a-Poo’s for the hassle-free, beach-hangout vibe; the pizza is just a bonus.