On a roadtrip through sleepy towns and coastal waterways, Tayari Jones unveils a history more relevant than ever.
But to think of this term as merely geographical is a bit too literal for my taste.
As a Southerner, I also understand things operate on more than one frequency.
Waterfront views in Beaufort.Credit:Peter Frank Edwards
Imagine this threshold as its complement, she said.
Nearly two decades later, I am still haunted by the experience.
I paused, considering Pryors words.
From left: The African Ancestors Memorial Garden at the International African American Museum, in Charleston; the Jah Defender Suit, a Mardi Gras costume by Demond Melancon on display at the International African American Museum.Peter Frank Edwards
My own family history is largely a mystery: I know precious little about the generations preceding my grandparents.
I bent my knee, dipped my fingers into the water, and wondered if maybe it recognized me.
My destination wasthe Dunlin, a new 72-room Auberge resort set on the Kiawah River.
From left: Oyster shells on Daufuskie Island; captain Pete Barbano of Outside Hilton Head on a boat tour to Daufuskie Island.Peter Frank Edwards
The road was lined with ancient trees festooned with Spanish moss.
Once I arrived, I felt my breathing relax, as if it were obeying those signs.
The interiors were similarly calming, with lots of rattan, wicker, wood, and textured linen.
Inside the First Union African Baptist Church on Daufuskie Island.Peter Frank Edwards
Three other travelers were gathered at the dock, eager to learn.
I grew up eating crabs every day and never considered where they come from, she told us.
But the first time I caught my own meal?
The spa at the Dunlin, Auberge Resorts Collection.Peter Frank Edwards
She shook her head, causing her dreadlocks to swing.
That changed my life.
Crabbing, it turns out, is something almost anyone can do.
From left: Crabbing with Tia Clark in Charleston; Bridgette Frazier, founder of the soon-to-open Bluffton Gullah Cultural Heritage Center.Peter Frank Edwards
And by almost anyone, I mean me.
I posed for a photo while Clark gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up and my fellow crabbers cheered.
All that crabbing put me in a DIY frame of mind.
From left: Live oaks at Montage Palmetto Bluff, a resort in Bluffton, South Carolina; a cottage at Montage.Peter Frank Edwards
Under his patient instruction, I learned to make an Old-Fashioned that would make Linnette herself proud.
Intrigued, I hung a left when, finally, a banner announced this was the way.
Live oaks are so called because they retain their curvy green leaves year-round.
A guest room at the Dunlin, Auberge Resorts Collection, on Johns Island.Peter Frank Edwards
Touching my hand to the coarse bark, I marveled at its stature.
My next stop wasBeaufort(pronouncedbew-fert).
Beauregard are affixed to the walls.
The pool at the Dunlin.Peter Frank Edwards
I paused, listening to the music of the Beaufort River.
Thank you for your service, maam, I said, surprising myself by speaking the words aloud.
It is only 20 feet above sea levelthe lowest town in the Lowcountry.
From left: Downtown Beaufort; Tabernacle Baptist Church, in Beaufort.Peter Frank Edwards
There are other markers of history, too.
On the riverbank are chunks of tabby, a.k.a.
As a southerner, I sometimes chafe at the idea that our regional culture is composed of quirky eccentrics.
From left: An egret on the Kiawah River; camellias at Montage.Peter Frank Edwards
The man is a character there is no other way to say it.
Imagine Hemingway with a Southern drawl.
See that rocky island?
Sunset over the Kiawah River.Peter Frank Edwards
Barbano asked, pointing.
I nodded, observing the rough gray peaks that jutted up above the waters surface.
He grinned, then said, Those arent rocks.
From left: Oysters at the Dunlin; mixing a cocktail at the Dunlin.Peter Frank Edwards
Suddenly, I saw themthousands of shells that were growing together to form a sort of reef.
Left behind, the plantation workers took up indigo and cotton production themselves.
Seeking other opportunities, islanders migrated to communities including Charleston and Savannah.
The terrace of a guest room at The Dunlin.Peter Frank Edwards
The island feels haunted, but not eerie.
Where are you from?
How do you know so much about Daufuskie?
A guest room at Montage Palmetto Bluff.Peter Frank Edwards
Well, he said, not the least bit sheepishly, I am a Yankee.
If I hadnt been holding on to the boat railing I might have fallen into the river.
While the Lowcountry can seem obsessed with its past, it is also taking strides toward a bright future.
But above the mantle hangs a portrait of a Black woman dressed in white, calmly gazing outward.
I feel like the ancestors speak through me.
They want the story told, but the right way.
Dessert was a buttery pound cake and rich banana pudding.
The three of us talked about the Gullah Geechee and the efforts to preserve their history.
We just want to have the opportunity to pass our stories down through the generations, Frazier said.
I recalled my conversation with Tia Clark, the crabber from Charleston.
I had asked her how her mother felt about her unique and marvelous life.
Clark had spread her arms to encompass the land, the water, and maybe even the sky.
My mother loves it for me, because time on the river is your time with God.
Some things are best taken at face value.
