sdiamondriley
The One and Only Carolina Snowball
For more than a decade in the mid-twentieth century, the Lowcountry had its own year-round Snowball. Then kidnappers from further south...
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sdiamondriley
Dec 21, 20233 min read
Holiday Strong!
Resilient to the core, Lowcountry folks didn't let a little (okay, HUGE) pre-Christmas hurricane ruin their holiday spirit. In fact, the...
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sdiamondriley
Nov 10, 20233 min read
King of the Sea Islands
U.S. presidents come and go. But from 1790 until the 1920's, the Lowcountry Sea Islands had their very own king. All hail King Cotton! A...
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sdiamondriley
Oct 13, 20233 min read
In Search of Robber's Row
Don't let the quiet winding lanes, shaded by twisting live oaks dripping with spanish moss, fool you. Long before a bridge connected it...
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sdiamondriley
Sep 22, 20233 min read
A Touch of Magic
You might say that pure magic drew me to the Lowcountry, and you wouldn’t be wrong. On one of our family’s first visits to Hilton Head...
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sdiamondriley
Jul 18, 20233 min read
Blue Bloods
Blue bloods have been swarming the beaches of Hilton Head and its neighboring sea islands for pretty much forever. But they're not who...
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sdiamondriley
Jun 19, 20232 min read
An Artful Stroll
Get ready to see Hilton Head Island in a whole new way! Countless authors, artists, and musicians call the South Carolina Lowcountry...
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sdiamondriley
May 16, 20233 min read
Decoration Day
Where better to start a tradition of honoring fallen soldiers than the place where the war that prompted it began? Shortly after the...
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sdiamondriley
Apr 28, 20233 min read
Tacky Talk
The Lowcountry plays host to some of the tackiest sights you'll ever see, and I'm not talking about socks with sandals or bikini-clad...
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sdiamondriley
Mar 20, 20233 min read
From Everyday to Extraordinary
Unknown to many who seek it, a favorite Lowcountry souvenir has a dark past. Although prized today by collectors the world over,...
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sdiamondriley
Feb 25, 20233 min read
Our Own Prince of Tides
“Love’s action. It isn’t talk and it never has been.” ~Pat Conroy, Beach Music Despite the controversies he often spurred, one Lowcountry...
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sdiamondriley
Feb 1, 20234 min read
The Day of the Big Gun Shoot
You think your neighborhood's got problems? Mine is the site of the largest naval battle ever fought in U.S. waters. Protecting the Sound...
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sdiamondriley
Jan 13, 20233 min read
Blossoms of Winter
It hardly seems fair, but an explosion of red, pink, and white blooms are taking over Lowcountry gardens while our Northern neighbors are...
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sdiamondriley
Dec 7, 20223 min read
No Snow? No Problem!
Despite--or perhaps thanks to--its mild December weather, the Lowcountry boasts its own unique twists on the usual holiday traditions....
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sdiamondriley
Nov 23, 20223 min read
The Truth about Southern Hospitality
When I moved full-time to Hilton Head several years ago, I discovered something I had never expected. I had heard that "Southern...
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sdiamondriley
Nov 8, 20223 min read
The Forgotten Capital
Half a century before the pilgrims set foot on Plymouth Rock, a bustling European capital called the Lowcountry home. Forts, homes,...
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sdiamondriley
Oct 19, 20223 min read
Beware of Haints!
If you've ever awoken and still felt tired, you just may be the victim of a Lowcountry haint. Members of the Gullah community have long...
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sdiamondriley
Oct 5, 20223 min read
Carolina's Blue Gold
There was a time when all of Europe was clamoring for what the Carolina Lowcountry had in spades. But then, just as quickly as it had...
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sdiamondriley
Sep 21, 20223 min read
Birth of the Bloody Legion (Islands Divided, Part 2)
The residents of Hilton Head Island were out for blood. Their sworn enemies on neighboring Daufuskie Island had burned their homes to the...
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sdiamondriley
Sep 7, 20223 min read
The Burning of Skull Creek (Islands Divided, Part 1)
As the Daufuskie Island men rowed silently up Hilton Head's Skull Creek, they stopped and methodically burned to the ground each stately...
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