Sea Island revisited

My favorite story about Sea Island is one my great aunt Belle used to tell. She said she was standing in front of the Taj Mahal with her husband Thornton and he looked at her, sighed, and said, "I’d rather be at Sea Island."

This says it all. Sea Island has been a magical getaway for my family since it opened its doors in the late 20's. Needless to say, when we heard they were ripping down the entire joint and building new, we said 'never again'.
But curiosity about killed this cat so my sisters and I took mother down there for her birthday. We have been moaning about the trip for months, how it will never be the same and this is simply a swan song to say goodbye forever.
Well we have already booked for 2008!

Upon entering the lush enclave that are the Golden Isles of Georgia, the musty scent of the paper mills fills our heads with nostalgia of days gone by and we enter onto Sea Island in a delirious state. The oaks, manicured lawns and signs all seem so familiar but all the buildings are completely new and enormous.
We check in and find out that we have spa treatments daily on the house! It was part of the package. Hot damn, my sister was on her phone booking appointments before the concierge finished her sentence.

The resort has whittled down their rooms from 300 to a quaint 150. That means bigger rooms and fewer crowds. Our room was the size of my apartment with two massive bedrooms, bathrooms and a gorgeous terrace looking over the river, where we cozied up to watch the sunset over the marsh with some champagne.

One reason we thought we might never go back is the price. Everything has gone through the roof. This said we luckily got upgraded to a bigger room. Originally we were camping Clampet style in one bedroom. Also dinner on the property is a wonder in price structures, so we ate at amazing top-drawer restaurants off property and saw many other guests doing the same. Don’t get me wrong, I'll splurge on a swank dinner every once in a while but mom, Happy and I were so tanked by the time it was dinner time, Wendy's would of been just fine for all we could care. Just bring us a bottle of something!

I woke at the crack on Saturday and headed to the stables for a ride on the beach. I had a massive draft horse named Charlie who was drop dead gorgeous and he knew it. He would not canter to save his life and kept running my guide’s horse into the water. It was fun all the same to clop about on the beach with a crisp morning breeze blowing through his mane.

I too took advantage of the spa treatments. I had the CUTEST masseuse named Bryan. Please ask for him next time you head down. He was great and a real sweetheart. The pedicure wasn't that wonderful. I had a lady who came out to the waiting area and exclaimed, "Hey Cator! I’m 'Tina' and Ill be working on your feet!" I know what goes on with a pedicure but to have it announced just grated me a bit. They need to hire some gals from Bloomie nails who get down and dirty with it. She slapped a rainbow of gels and scrubs on but nothing to write home about.

Sea Island really is about relaxing but we didn’t do too much of that with our busy schedule of eating, touring, spaing and drinking. We were in store for a real treat when we took a tour of my friend Hawkins' summer home. The house was built and lived in by the famed playwright Eugene O'Neil and his wife Carlotta. Hawkins and his family, plus a very experienced interior designer, took the home back to its roots with minimal furnishings and maximum old school style. Hopefully I will be writing more about Casa Genotta in the near future. Stay tuned.

I got a bit ill the second night out so I crept home to bed at 10pm, a luxury actually. The ladies tore it up in the bar and managed to wiggle into the G8 conference room and plop down, wine in hand, in GW Bush's chair and pontificate about who knows what.

Sunday I had one more massage from Bryan, bid my family farewell and went to lunch in the River Cafe to meet Kyle Jones. She is the 'voice' of Sea Island and what a voice! We have been talking for over a year about coverage of the property so it was about time we met. We were instant BFF's and when they told me my car was in front to take me to the airport, we both sighed. We had so much to talk about. She said that if I secure a story on the place she would bring me back down this summer. Hmmm... may the pitching begin....

Now I am back in the saddle at home and preparing for Fashion Week. I'm sure I will be gazing at some stick thin model and say to myself, "I’d rather be in Sea Island."

www.seaisland.com