Watch Out For Alligators

Important tips to remember when visiting South Carolina:

•   Watch Out For Alligators!
•   Don’t leave your boat anchored when the tide is going out
•   Stock up on your booze by 6:00pm on Saturday
•   Don’t get on the scale too soon after returning home

Moss Covered Trees On
College Of Charleston Campus

After landing in the small Charleston, South Carolina Airport in early October, the warm ocean air greeting us, we picked up our rental car and headed out to the beautiful community of Kiawah Island, a beach and golf resort community located on a barrier island fifteen miles south of Charleston, ready for the first home exchange we had committed to through Homeexchange.com.  As we left the city of Charleston and began to approach Kiawah, the roads began to narrow, little white steepled churches started popping up everywhere, and we noticed the hauntingly beautiful long green moss hanging from the century old oak trees, making everything look a little eerie, almost like an old horror movie.  Mark kept expecting to see crazy old ladies with evil grins on their faces rocking in their chairs on their front porches with a hidden axe under their skirt.  We certainly weren’t in California, but it was beautiful, and so different from anywhere we had traveled to before.  This South Carolina adventure in exchanging turned out far better than we had ever expected, providing us many wonderful stories to tell, and encouraging us to continue on with fifteen different home exchanges over the next three years.

  

Before arriving at each exchange home we always try to stop at a grocery store to pick up supplies for our stay.  The wonderful thing about exchanging homes is that many, if not all, of the basic supplies are there for you to use, so one doesn’t need to worry about paper goods and soaps, spices, or even coffee.  The one unwritten rule is that you replace anything that you use up so that when the owners or other exchangers arrive they will have the basics there for them as well.  Driving into Kiawah on Saturday night, we found a small shopping center where we were able to find everything we needed except for liquor, which no good vacation can be without! There were beers, wines, and mixers in the well stocked grocery store, but no gin.  The clerk informed us that the liquor store was just around the corner in the same shopping center, that it was the only place where liquor could be purchased, and must be done so by 6:00pm that night, or we would have to wait until Monday when the liquor stores would be allowed to reopen.  It was now 5:45pm, and after searching for the store and having no luck in finding it we had to return to the grocery store a third time to ask the clerk to please explain to us how to get there, as we were running out of time and starting to panic. The clerk walked outside with us, pointed to where we needed to turn and said that it was on the right side of the street, which we were finally were able to find with its very tiny sign perched in front of the building at sidewalk level, almost as if they were embarrassed to be selling alcohol.  At 5:55 Mark entered the store quite exasperated and told the man behind the counter that we had had a difficult time finding his store and wondered why it was so hidden from view.  His response was, “Welcome to the Bible Belt Sir!”  Yes, we were no longer in California!

Our Kiawah Island Home

After entering the gated community of Kiawah Island and nervously searching in the dark for Ed’s house, not sure of what we would find, I spotted the home from the pictures I had seen of it on Homeexchange.com even before we spotted the address on the mailbox.  We found the hidden key where we had been told it would be, entered the home,  proceeded to look through it room by room, and were pleasantly surprised to realize that our new home for the week was exactly as it had been represented in the Homeexchange.com web site.  Ed’s beach house looked out upon the 13th tee of the Cougar Point Golf Course, set among live oaks, pine trees, magnolias and palmetto palms.  A hammock hung between the pine trees positioned just right so that I could lay and leisurely read a book while watching the golfers go by.  The kitchen was fully equipped, there were two televisions, a comfortable king size bed and a large jetted tub in the master bathroom, as well as a welcoming deck to sit upon and sip cocktails in the evening as the sun set over the golf course.  What more could we have asked for?  There were even several guest rooms, one of which we used when our daughter came and stayed with us.   If we had had any doubts before about home exchanging they had all been erased, and decided that there was no better way to travel than this.

Drayton Hall Plantation

South Of Broad Homes

View of Charleston From Ft. Sumter

Part of the home exchange experience is getting to explore and learn about the community one is temporarily living in, and with the help of our daughter who had been living in the Charleston area for three months we were able to do just that.  First on our list of must sees was visiting a plantation, and Whitney chose Drayton Hall, which has survived the American  Revolution, the Civil War, the earthquake of 1886, hurricanes like Hugo, and even today’s urban sprawl. The beauty of this historic home located on the Ashley River and the undisturbed authentic landscapes, as well as the stories and history of this great old home made early Charleston come alive for us.  We of course toured the beautiful city of Charleston itself, walking through the various historic neighborhoods, viewing the privately owned homes, beautiful gardens, churches and public buildings, and stunning mansions south of Broad which included a tour of the Edmondston-Alston House, built in 1825, and from where General Beauregard watched the bombardment of Ft. Sumter.  One day was spent taking a boat out to the Fort Sumter National Monument, where the Civil War began 150 years ago, enjoying a tour of the historic island guarding the port of Charleston and where we were able to enjoy breathtaking views of the city of Charleston and her harbor.  But there was more to this trip than just visiting the historical sites of the city and the surrounding area.  

Alligator Tracks

Golf was the next important activity!  Kiawah Island is home to five beautiful golf courses and since our new home was located directly on the Cougar Point Golf Course we decided to begin with that one. As a guest of Ed’s we were able to get a members discounted price, which is always a nice perk when doing exchanges on a golf course. The dramatic vistas of the course located along the Kiawah River made for a memorable first day of golf, not only for the beauty of the course, but it is where we saw our first alligator. On Kiawah Island there are signs positioned along the river and swamp areas which say, “Danger - Alligators”, which we laughed at when we first came upon them.  After Mark reached for his out of bounds golf ball along the river one time and an alligator seemed to appear out of nowhere, we were no longer laughing at the signs, and it was always interesting to see the alligator tracks in the sand traps where they seemed to enjoy warming themselves in the sun.  We also played Osprey Point Golf Course which featured large natural lakes and a grassy, saltwater marsh, as well as dense maritime forests which was very different from Cougar Point. 

Biking On The Beach

After two days of golf I decided that I needed some beach time, so Mark decided to play the top course on the island by himself, The Ocean Course at Kiawah, and I borrowed one of the bikes left by Ed at the house to ride down to the white sand beach for some reading and relaxing.

                                             Cocktails At Sunset At The Ocean Course Club House

Panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean from all eighteen holes of The Ocean Course, host of the 2012 PGA Championships, and the beauty of the club house setting is hard to adequately describe. It was voted the number one golf course of South Carolina by Golf Digest and is a spectacular place to play, even if the easterly and westerly winds are blowing, which they often are.  Armed with a caddy for help, Mark took on the course, and enjoyed the day immensely. Later, Whitney and I met him after the round for a cocktail on one of the large wraparound porches of the wood shingled club house which overlooks the ocean and the sand dunes while we watched the sun slowly set.  A very romantic setting, and a lovely way to spend on of our last nights in Kiawah.  

Sunny Day On the Intercoastal Waterway

Charleston is nestled between the Intercoastal Waterway, which runs from Maine to Florida, and the Atlantic Ocean, with boating, fishing, and crabbing being important activities in the area.  One day Whitney, her boyfriend, Scott, Mark and I decided that a few hours out on the water would be a lovely way to spend the afternoon.  We packed up our picnic lunch, rented a small motor boat from Bohicket Marina on John's Island, just off of the Intercoastal Waterway, and took off for our adventure.  We were warned when we rented the boat that the tides came in and out quickly and to be aware of shallow waters.  It was a warm fall afternoon as we cruised down the Waterway, in and out of various outlets until we found a small island where we decided to stop and have lunch on the sandy shore.  We dropped anchor and waded to shore, lunch in hand, where we all enjoyed the sunshine and some good conversation, until one of us noticed that our boat was now partially aground! Quickly forgoing the rest of our lunch we proceeded to push, pull and prod the boat into deeper water and decided that we had better get the boat back to the marina before we got into any more trouble.  Boaters we are not, but it was still a great afternoon on the warm South Carolina waterway.

Sticky Fingers' Ribs, Chicken Baked Beans & Slaw

Jestines' Fried Chicken,
Okra and Mac & Cheese

Now what would a trip to the South be without talking about the food!  Much gravy and grits, deep fried fish, and messy bar-b-cued ribs were all on our menu, and my did we enjoy it all! At Rosebank Farms Cafe on Seabrook Island we were able to get our fill of fried green tomatoes which I have tried to make myself, but have never even come close to duplicating.  Heges on Kiawah Island had some outstanding crab cakes, and the huge serving of southern fried chicken at Jestines Kitchen in downtown Charleston was enough to feed the entire table. By far our favorite meal was at Sticky Fingers, a South Carolina bar-b-cue chain serving the best ribs I have ever had, and when we left we certainly had sticky fingers! We ordered so many ribs that we were even given three bottles of their special barb-b-cue sauce to take home. Unfortunately the sauce alone is not the only secret to their outstanding ribs, and I have never been able to experience those tender, mouthwatering bites of pork in California, even with their sauce.  Another reason to go back soon!

The food, the history, the beach, the golf, and the over all beauty of the Charleston area made for a trip to always remember, and one we were looking forward to making again.  Ed’s lovely home which he had shared with us, along with his complete instructions about the home and advise and information about the area made for a very successful home exchange experience. Once I was back home in Sacramento I began searching the Homeexchange.com site and started looking for other places to stay in Charleston on our trip we were already planning for the next year, as well as for other new and exciting locations for the future.

Sunset Over the Atlantic Ocean On Kiawah Island

Watch for the next exchange trip we take to San Diego for a week of water polo games and high rise city living.

Planning Our First Exchange on Kiawah Island, South Carolina

One of the 5 golf courses on Kiawah Island

After several months of looking through the Homeexchange.com web site and having received exchange requests from around the globe, I was now ready to attempt our first exchange.  Friends of ours who had recently returned from South Carolina raving about the hauntingly beautiful Kiawah Island, located a short drive from historical Charleston, thought we would enjoy it because of Mark’s love of golf and the five outstanding Kiawah Island golf courses, as well as the ten miles of wide, immaculate ocean beaches just waiting for me to enjoy.

Beautiful Kiawah Island Beach and Boardwalk

There were many homes offered for exchange in Kiawah so I  had to decide how to narrow my search down, and to whom to send out email exchange requests.  For our first home exchange I decided to attempt to exchange with a fellow second home owner, which I felt would be easier than exchanging with a primary home owner.

When deciding to join the world of home exchanging one needs to be aware of the two different types of exchanges and the pros and cons of each:

• Primary home exchanges, where either one, or both exchange properties are a primary home need to be coordinated to either occur at the same mutually agreed upon dates, or when one of the parties plans on being somewhere else at the requested date.  To exchange a primary home, a small amount of room needs to be made in each bedroom for guest clothing in the closets and dressers, as well as in all bathrooms, and please be sure to remove all personal items from the bathrooms and clean out the refrigerator before you leave.  The home should also be professionally cleaned before your guests arrive, which is standard procedure for second home owners, but not something primary home owners may think of doing.  (you’ll hear about our experience with a dirty home on a later posting)
• Second home exchanges, which are the easiest to make because they are not the primary homes of either party and are usually available for the dates requested, are however sometimes also used as vacation rental homes.  If they are used as rentals this may make  it a little more difficult in getting the preferred exchange date, and if rented frequently the home may not always be in the best of shape. Try to find out how often the home is usually rented, and be sure to request more pictures to view the condition if there are not enough posted on the web site.

Over the last five years we have exchanged for both primary and secondary homes, finding most of the secondary homes the more desirable.  However,  secondary homes have not always been available for the location or dates we required, thus requiring us to do three exchanges of primary homes.  For our first exchange I decided that I would like to look for a second home like ours which was not used as a rental property.  Fortunately,  most of the resort community of Kiawah Island is comprised of vacation homes, so I had many properties to choose from, and sent out several of these emails requesting an exchange.

"Hello,


I am wondering if you would be interested in exchanging for our 3 bedroom 3 1/2 bath ocean view condo in Costa Rica.  We would like to visit Kiawah Island next Sept. or Oct.  The exchange need not be simultaneous as this is our second home and we do not rent it out, so it is available most of the time.
Shelley"

Within a matter of days I received two letters of interest, but this is the letter I chose to respond to because of the pictures and information provided on the listing.

Kiawah Island Back Yard with Hammock

            

Kiawah Island Living Room

Kiawah Island Kitchen

Dear Shelley,


Thanks for your inquiry and I would like to work something out on an exchange.  I have been to Costa Rica before and love the country.  My son and I went on a fishing trip a few years ago and stayed in Jaco. We have a very nice second home on Kiawah that we do not rent either. October is probably a better time to visit Kiawah since the weather is a little cooler and much of hurricane season is past.  Please let me know how long of an exchange you are interested in and how many people will be in your party.


 Regards,
 Ed

Ed wanted to return to Costa Rica, taking his wife and daughters with him this time to experience the beauty and adventure Costa Rica had to offer and was excited to make this trade work as well.   All that needed to be done now was to work out the details.  Because this was a large trip for both parties and it being my first exchange experience and Ed’s second one we sent several emails back and forth getting to know each other and the homes which we were offering for exchange.  Eventually we spoke on the phone, and by doing so I became confident that Ed and his family would enjoy our tropical condo at Reserva Conchal, and that his large southern home located on the Cougar Point Golf Course of Kiawah would be perfect for us as well.  It was now October, 2007 and we were looking to go to South Carolina in September or October of 2008.  We wanted to make this stay the culmination of an east coast trip we were planning, starting up in New England, catching the glorious displays of fall colors I had always wanted to view and then flying down to Kiawah, where we would stay for a relaxing seven nights, golfing, riding bikes on the beach, enjoying the still warm ocean water of South Carolina, and exploring the history and beauty of the city of Charleston. Ed and his family wished to travel to Costa Rica in July or August of 2008 before his youngest daughter headed off to college.  The trade was finalized and now I was left waiting for the fall to arrive while planning all the other details of the rest of the trip, eventually arriving at Ed’s front door on Kiawah Island.

 On July 24, 2008, Ed, his wife, and their three adult children headed off for ten days in sunny Costa Rica where all went well for them, and I was told that it was one of their most memorable family vacations.  They were able to enjoy the tropical rainy season of Guanacaste with all the green foliage and vivid colors while only having to deal with a couple hours of rain showers for a few days.  The humidity then didn’t bother them, because after all, they were from South Carolina.  Now we were looking forward to our stay at their home on October 19, where we were hoping to experience some outstanding golf and southern hospitality, but on August 26 I had to send this email to Ed, and received the response from him:

Hi Ed,
We have had a major change of plans for our trip this fall.  Our daughter just found out that she is going to be playing professional waterpolo in Spain this year and we have decided that instead of traveling to the East Coast we are going to travel to Madrid to see her play there.   We would very much like to take a rain check on our plans to Kiawah for perhaps next fall.  We were so looking forward to our trip, but feel that traveling to Spain is something we should not miss out on at this time.  If it is all right with you I will contact you next year and see what we can set up at that time.  Thanks for your understanding.
Shelley


Hi Shelley,
Congratulations to your daughter and we certainly understand your decision. We can work out your visit to Kiawah at a later date.  Stay in touch and enjoy your time in Spain.
Regards,
Ed   

So our first exchange was now delayed for a year, and our flight to Boston was immediately exchanged for a flight to Madrid.  Ole!  Now the challenge became to see if I would be able to find an exchange property in Spain.

Architect's impressively beautiful one bedroom apartment Located in an 1850s building on a central, historic street. 4th floor, wooden recovered structure, modern design kitchen and bathrooms, balconies with French doors five Facing South, operating chimney fire, old fashioned elevator, etc. In the heart of Historic Madrid (Conde de Xiquena Street) A place with superb Vibrations and a perfect hub to discover Spain: Toledo, Seville, Granada, Barcelona, Bilbao.

Historic Madrid 

This sounded perfect, so I sent an exchange request off, but unfortunately this architect was not as excited as Ed was to travel to Costa Rica.  After additional attempts at exchanges with both a charming two bedroom apartment near Plaza Mayor on Cava Baja Street, and a modern loft in Barrio De Salamanca, I realized that one month just wasn’t enough time to put together an exchange to Europe,  and resigned myself to having to stay in hotels while visiting our daughter in Spain.  

Even though the hotels we eventually booked in Madrid, Sevilla, Cordoba and Granada were lovely, we wished that we had been able to experience living in historic Madrid in the 1850s apartment on Conde de Xiquena Street, old fashioned  elevator and all, where we could have strolled the streets late into the evenings with all of the locals, returning to our cozy apartment where we may have been serenaded by musicians playing in the plaza while looking down from our balcony upon the Madrilenos who never to seem to go to bed.

The Reason For Our Trip To Madrid - The Latina Waterpolo Team

A Toast To The Latinas!

Strange coincidences do happen!  In August of 2009, our daughter who had returned from Madrid in May decided to move to Charleston, South Carolina.   She had decided that she wished to apply to medical schools and was going to take a year of additional premed classes at the College of Charleston in order to have the classes required for medical school admission.  We now had another reason to finally get to Kiawah, and immediately emailed Ed to see if his home would be available to us in October, receiving this gracious note in reply.

Shelley,
No worries.  The weather is normally very nice that time of year; except for those pesky hurricanes that come along every so often.  Hopefully, you will not have to deal with that.  Thus far, it has been a quiet year in the Atlantic & Caribbean.

I had planned on meeting you and your husband upon arrival and showing you the house but I am not going to be able to do that.  We are going to be in Germany and will not return to the states until after you arrive. I may have one of my children meet ya'll and give you the quick tour.

I will get directions, passes, keys, etc. to you later but rest assured there will be no problem with the arrangements.  Let me know if you need anything in the interim.
Regards,
Ed
             
Even though I had not been in touch with Ed for over a year I felt like he was an old friend when I received this warm reply from him, and proceeded to book tickets to Charleston once again. This time it would be a short trip to only Charleston and Kiawah Island for eleven nights so that we could spend most of time our time with Whitney, who was now living in the town of Mt. Pleasant, about a 45 minute drive from Kiawah, as well as squeeze in some golf, beach time, and touring the charming city of Charleston and the surrounding area.

Stay tuned for our experiences in South Carolina and what it takes to make a great exchange.