A city rich with history, Southern hospitality, and casual seaside charm~ Beaufort, South Carolina is the “Queen of the Carolina Sea Islands”~ discovered by the Spanish in 1514 and chartered by the British in 1711.
This year Beaufort celebrates its Tricentennial~ a special and historic birthday ~ that’s a lot of candles and a lot of cake!
A National Landmark Historic District with gracefully restored antebellum homes, centuries-old live oaks, pristine waters, and some of the best fishing anywhere~
Beaufort has a way of reeling you in. . .
While Beaufort proper is the area’s Queen Belle, attracting admirers with her pre-Civil War mansions and sail-dotted bay, the town’s outlying provinces are also must-sees. . . Port Royal, Parris Island, Hunting Island, Lady’s Island, St. Helena Island and Harbor Island (an annual summer destination for us) just to name a few. . .
Queen Beaufort’s peaceful, watery realm is abundant with wildlife and remnants of the Old South~
Beaufort County rules over & encompasses more than 200 islands~ nestled between Charleston SC and Savannah GA~ most of which remain wondrously pristine. . .
A point of local preference that sets apart the Carolinas: In Beaufort, South Carolina, the name is pronounced BYEW-fort. In North Carolina, a coastal town of great similarity with the same name is pronounced BO-fort.
And yes, it matters :-)
Beaufort has an active and enthusiastically supported Arts Council. Mermaid statues, embellished by area artists in 2006, were auctioned off to endow a fund for public art.
A few mermaids remain sprinkled throughout town. . .
You can read more about Beaufort’s Mermaids here and see a little of sculptor Kevin Palmer’s mermaid-making process here~ from wood frame to fiberglass.
Miss Beaufort, with her streaming locks of copper wire, stained-glass tail, and beauty queen banner, greets drivers as they come onto Bay Street. She happily swims near a Palmetto Tree at the Beaufort County Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center.
A Celebratory Cupcake in honor of Beaufort’s 300th Birthday~ complete with a molded brown sugar mermaid & chocolate seashells :-)
Happy Birthday Queen Beaufort~ long may you reign!
Thank you for your visit, I’m joining:
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Little Red House for Mosaic Monday~
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A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday~
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Jenny Matlock for Alphabe-Thursday~ this week’s letter is Q, for Queen of the Carolina Sea Islands
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Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday~
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Sweets for a Saturday at Sweet as Sugar Cookies~
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The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sundays~
I want to visit this beautiful place!
Absolutely gorgeous Mary! Love your pics, especially the one of the beach and sun! The mermaids are adorable and your cupcake plate looks good enough to eat:@)
Looks like a perfect island retreat. The mermaids are truly fun and remind me of the NYC cows the summer of 2000. Adorable brown sugar maid!
Love The Price Of Tides..
They mention Beaufort and I remember Nick Nolte saying it just the way you say:)
French people would say Bofar(phonetically)it means lovely fort.
Cute cute cake and chocolates
What a pretty town – beautiful Beaufort – and to think, I’d never have known that those words rhyme, without your post!
I ahve never been there but it looks like a place I would love! Love the pictures. Did you do the cupcake and mermaid!!??? You are SOOOO good! XO, Pinky
I’m happy to say I’ve been to Beaufort, S.C. I even spotted one of the mermaids and posted a photo of it. The reason my daughter and I were there was to attend her then boyfriend (now husband’s) graduation from Parris Island MCRD graduation in September of 2010. Such a charming city with lots of good eats!
What a gorgeous place. I love the mermaids. V
Great post…I love those mermaids! The pictures of the birds are amazing and the moss hanging from the trees made me miss my trips to Florida to visit my grandparents when I was a girl.
Look like a perfect place to spend some vacation time. I love all of your photos, especially the sunsets. The one with the reflection in the water is beautiful. I’m visiting over from MM.
Hope your evening is great.
~Emily
The French Hutch
Beautiful, Beaufort is a stunning place. Thanks for sharing:)
Beautiful Beaufort, South Carolina; Botiful Beaufort, North Carolina…have I got that right? Beautiful mosaics and I mean gorgeous…the blues and the greens are out of this world. What a delightful sweet treat, too! Very artful presentation.
My husband used to hunt on an island owned by a friend right across the sound from Parris Island – quite a few of those small islands were our stomping grounds for many years…Another friend had a huge truck farm on another island he called Cat Island, also right across the Parris Island sound….sometimes when the wind was right you could hear the marines on drills…
Love the seashell plate, the brown sugar mermaid, chocolate shells and cupcake!
What a fabuslous place to visit. I want to go there now. The mermaids are beautiful artworkand statues. And I love all the birds and the last photo of the sunset is gorgeous. Thanks for sharing your beautiful photos and mosaics,
Adorable and breathtaking pics! I want to visit the place someday. :) I discovered your blog through Mary’s mosaic party.
What a beautiful island! Thanks for explaining the pronunciation difference. :-) Your photos are beautiful. Have a great day! Pamela
Love how you pointed out the pronuciations!
Loved seeing Beaufort from your eyes. Love the mermaids and the cupcake … yum!!! Have a great week!
thanks for the tour. great images. Loved the mermaids and cupcakes. And the stunning sunset beach image. Thanks for taking us there. Have a wonderful week.
Such beautiful harbor shots! And I’m loving the mermaids – this may just inspire me to start a new collection! :)
I love this beautiful city! Will have to put it on my list! Your pics are gorgeous and I never would have known the pronunciation difference so thanks for pointing that out! The mermaids are neat too, but I must admit my favorite part of the post is the cupcake plate…complete with a brown sugar mermaid!
Terrific shots – looks like a great place!
My favorite photograph is the reflection of a sailboat in the water. Land of goshen, another place to add to my “bucket list.”
Joyce M
Sounds like a delightful place!
Fantastic photos and great history lesson. Of course no tour would be complete without some chocolate to round out the day…yummy!
Awesome post!
Quiet Winds Of The Night
Wow this is amazing! I love all the pics!
Great photos and wonderful history lesson…
What a beautiful post!! We love Beaufort!
What a wonderful post! I really want to take a vacation now to meet the Queen!
Absolutely amazing!,this setting is fantastic,I wish I had sand between my toes right now.
~Jo
I have cousin who lives in Beaufort, but I have never been there. This makes me want to visit.
What a very beautiful place to visit !
Ii would love to visit some of these islands. Your pictures are mighty alluring!
=)
This area is on our list for next year’s vacation. We haven’t been to Savannah or St. Simons Island before. Your gorgeous pics are just a push in that direction. Love them all…esp the mermaids!
Lovely post, really enjoyed it :)
http://carabossesbedchamber.blogspot.com/2011/08/alphabet-thursday_11.html
All look lovely, the pics and the cookies, look awesome, I love all with the beach or the sea! gloria
I’ve been to Beaufort and your lovely photos absolutely do it justice.. I loved seeing all your photos. the one of the sunset with the glimmers of sun showing on the water is fabulous.. Love your brown sugar mermaid and chocolate seashells! xo marlis
Your photo mosaics showcase such incredible beauty. I love the scenes of the marshes and the birds.
i tried to post a comment from my iphone at the beach, i see it didn’t make it… i was so thrilled with this seaside, you have left me with a strong desire for my very own mermaid… and a 10 gallon bag of brown sugar :)
always love your STUFF!
did you get my email about the author quoting you on her facebook about the butterflies daughter?
This was quite a glorious post! Loved the button mermaid and your creative cupcakes. The idea of molding brown sugar is so wonderfully creative.
When does the humidity back off down there? I’ve been to that area of the country in January and February but never the summer/fall months!
I really need to plan a trip. I am always enchanted by your amazing photographs.
Thanks for linking.
A+
Would love to know where you got the mermaid mold. It’s great.