Isle Of Palms Magazine Summer/Fall 2018

11 www.IsleOfPalmsMagazine.com | www.ILoveIOP.com | www.IOPmag.com A Day On J ust an 18-minute ferry ride from the end of Isle of Palms lies a unique private island that seems like it’s worlds away from the hustle and bustle of real life. I arrived for the ferry 20 minutes before it was scheduled to leave the dock, mainly because if I was late, my entire morning would be thrown off waiting for the next one. Surprisingly, there was little in the way of humidity on the ride out, and the captain pointed out a pair of ospreys sitting on a dock as we putted past Goat Island and then picked up speed toward our destination. When we arrived, Judy Drew Fairchild – a Realtor and one of the island’s 42 residents – picked me up in her golf cart because there are no paved roads or cars on the island. Immediately, I met a family of vacationers catching the next ferry into town, as well as a resident out for his morning ride to pick up a newspaper at the dock. The developer embraced “accidental meeting spaces” such as these, and it was clear from the start that they create a sense of community and strong support system. Living on a private island may sound isolating, but, on the contrary, my entire trip was spent “accidentally” meeting people – at By Anne Shuler Toole the crabbing dock, at the beach, along the dirt roads and watching nature by the lakes. It’s amazing how much more personal a golf cart can be than a car; with no doors and slow speeds, the conversation and friendly “hellos” were refreshing. The only traffic jam we got into was because several people paused to watch some baby green herons being fed by their mother. We stopped to chat with each resident or vacationer we saw, many asking if Judy had found any Photo by Judy Drew Fairchild. Dewees Island Photo by Judy Drew Fairchild.