The Shraders wouldn’t trade places
Tracey Shrader first arrived in Charleston as a Citadel cadet. After graduating from The Citadel, Tracey lived all around Charleston County for the next 10 years. After moving to Atlanta for a job, Tracey and his wife Christie eventually settled back in the Carolinas and soon began their annual Fourth of July vacation tradition on the Isle of Palms.
Tracey and Christie and their four children have made the Isle of Palms their consistent vacation destination for the past 28 years. “I always go back and visit The Citadel when we come down,” explained Tracey. “I like to go where the locals go.”
The Shraders love all things local so much, in fact, that they purchased a home on the island with the help of IOP Residential Real Estate. “We bought our island house for family vacations,” Christie said. “We are renting it out as a vacation home until we are down here full time.”
amily vacations began when the Shraders’ four children were growing up. Now, their vacations include their adult children, grand-pups and friends gathering over July Fourth week. “Our kids have always loved the beach and all things island related. We’ve done the fishing charters, tours and downtown carriage rides. We’ve done the touristy things, and we love that there are always new things going on, so we always try the newest things and the newest restaurants, but mostly we like to live like the locals do,” explained Tracey.
Christie added, “We like the little things: Johnny’s Hot Dogs outside of Ace Hardware, Ye Olde Fashioned Sandwich Shoppe and places like that.”
Tracey continued, “Those are the places I went to while I was at The Citadel; they were and are local staples for me. We also love to try any and all new restaurants on the island and beyond. Of course, we and our kids love the beach, but we also love all of the great food here. We like to keep up with happenings on the island through social media while we’re gone.”
The Shrader family has created a long-standing tradition of visiting the Isle of Palms and creating memories with family and friends. Christie recalled one of her best memories as the time she helped a baby sea turtle while on a beach walk. “It was stuck in the sand and was struggling so badly. I helped get this little baby turtle beyond the breakers. That was definitely a highlight of our time spent here. I lost my sunglasses in the surf, but it was completely worth it!”
Tracey relayed that while he was at The Citadel, he didn’t have much time to spend at The Citadel Beach Club on the island and now that he is able to spend his free time at the beach it’s something he and Christie intend to do more of once they are locals. From college students to vacationers, to rental homeowners, to becoming full-time residents seems like a perfect trajectory for the Shrader family. We can’t wait to welcome them home!
By Laura Fogarty
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