Gary and Pam Lackey from Columbia, SC are enjoying their recently completed home in South Wilson, and they invited us in to chat about the Palmetto Bluff community and building process.

Q: With so many coastal communities to choose from in the southeast, why did you decide to purchase a homesite at Palmetto Bluff?
A: We were staying at The Inn at Palmetto Bluff when we first saw the beautiful sunrise over the May River. It was at that moment we told each other we had to figure out a way to get that sunrise into our lives. In addition to the natural beauty that first captured our attention, we found that Palmetto Bluff is the most stress relieving place we have ever experienced. Everything from the wildlife and open spaces, to the attention to detail and the quality architecture, combines to create one of the few places we can truly relax. Palmetto Bluff is a true stress reliever.

Q: When it came time to build you decided to select one of the house plans in the Design Sketchbook Program. What about the Design Sketchbook Program was most appealing?
A: Beyond the fact that the sketchbook program is a perfect dollars and cents choice over custom architectural design, we found that the architects represented in the program are second to none. Plus we were able to take one of the sketchbook homes and modify the plan to suit our needs. This saved us a lot of time and it allowed us to take advantage of the favorable market for custom home construction.

Q: Some people find the home building process daunting. Now that you are finished, how would you describe the building process at Palmetto Bluff?
A: Palmetto Bluff has very high standards for architectural design so from the very beginning the community attracts some very high-quality contractors. Our building process was easy because our builder quarterbacked the entire job. Every detail was taken care of because our builder took ownership of the process from day one. We have to say that we are 100% pleased with the entire process and we would not change a thing. It’s great to be in our dream home at Palmetto Bluff.

Our antique yacht and her Captain George York "grace" the cover and pages of CB/CH2 magazine this month.

Her name is Grace and she celebrated her 97th birthday this April; she’s still sleek, strong and distinguished. She doesn’t work every day, but on the days she does, she holds her own to gals half her age. She’s been known as the darling of a millionaire, but she’ll never scorn the admiration of ordinary folks. She’s Grace, the elegant yacht, captained by George York, moored at the Inn at Palmetto Bluff’s Wilson Landing, freshly renovated and ready to provide pleasure to 25 passengers, for several hours each week, on the May River. Continue reading

For the past two weeks, our archaeologists have been revisiting one of Palmetto Bluff’s most intriguing historical sites.  Located behind the Inn at Palmetto Bluff's cottage # 11 are the fragments of a tabby wall covered with concrete. This is actually the site of William McKimmy’s Octagon Plantation built around 1790. Our resident archaeologist, Dr. Mary Socci, believes this might be one of the first octagonally-shaped houses in North America. (In addition to extraordinary architecture, McKimmy himself has a fun, sometimes swashbuckling story to tell.) 

Read more in today's Bluffton Today and Sunday's Island Packet.

Kerry Sanders knows travel, but from a different perspective.

As a veteran Miami-based NBC News correspondent, he has reached global audiences from inside war zones—he was embedded with the troops during the Iraq war, covered the first Persian Gulf War from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, and was on the front-lines for Hurricanes Andrew, Ivan and Katrina.

He’d be the first to tell you he doesn’t know how to vacation. Can this deadline-driven journalist learn to turn off the cell phone and Blackberry and get away from it all?

When was the last time you sat and watched the day slip away?

If there is an antithesis to the go-go world we exist in, he found it in the South Carolina Lowcountry.

Click here for the full story on PeterGreenberg.com

CNN Clip 01 04 10 from Courtney Naughton on Vimeo.