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sdiamondriley
Feb 154 min read
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...
455 views0 comments
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...
264 views0 comments
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...
228 views0 comments
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...
394 views0 comments
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...
211 views0 comments
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...
404 views0 comments
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...
437 views0 comments
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,...
568 views0 comments
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...
547 views0 comments
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...
522 views0 comments
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....
629 views0 comments
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,...
988 views0 comments
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...
2,097 views0 comments
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...
1,878 views0 comments
sdiamondriley
Aug 10, 20223 min read
The Storm that Drowned the Sea Islands
Sixteen-foot storm surges. 120-mile-per-hour winds. No survivors remain of the most devastating hurricane to ever hit the South Carolina...
1,551 views0 comments
sdiamondriley
Jul 27, 20223 min read
Legends of the Moss
ZZ Top beards. Spiderwebs. Christmas tinsel. The Spanish moss that drapes swooping branches of Lowcountry live oaks has evoked images...
833 views1 comment
sdiamondriley
Jul 12, 20223 min read
An Island at Arms
Deep within the lushly landscaped confines of a gated Hilton Head Island residential community lie a couple of open acres of waterfront...
2,002 views0 comments
sdiamondriley
Jun 14, 20223 min read
No Small Victory
Prior to the end of legalized slavery in the South in 1865, there were many brave souls who took matters into their own hands to escape...
756 views3 comments
sdiamondriley
May 18, 20223 min read
A Skeleton in the Trees
About midway between Savannah and Charleston on Highway 17 ("Savannah Highway" if heading south, "Charleston Highway" if heading...
2,149 views2 comments
sdiamondriley
Apr 20, 20223 min read
The OTHER Hilton Head Lighthouse
For several days last week, the Goodyear Blimp hovered over my little Sea Island. If you happened to be watching national television...
1,218 views4 comments
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