Best Moving Company in Folly Beach

FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (WCSC) - High tides at Folly Beach that led to flooding and erosion this past weekend reached eight and a half feet, Folly Beach Officials said.

Photos taken on Wednesday show the waterline up against the dunes. The dunes along the beach were put in place to protect the seawater from rushing further inland, Folly Beach Coastal Consultant Dr. Nicole Elko said.

Rising sea levels and climate change are to blame for the tidal flooding, Elko said.

“We are experiencing bigger spring tides – that’s what they used to be known as,” Elko said. “Nowadays, people call them king tides, so these are our larger tides that occur during the new moon, particularly during this time of year.”

For every dollar spent on beach restoration, six dollars get put back into South Carolina’s economy because of increased visits to the state’s beaches and parks, officials said.

South Carolina’s accommodation taxes help fund beach restoration efforts, officials said.

“The past weekend’s flooding event was very impactful to the beach and dune system,” Elko said. “The higher waters drove large waves over and flooded the entire beach system, and the dunes were also overtopped.”

Elko added that the dunes helped retain the encroaching water that threatened the nearby marshland and inland communities.

“Previous dune and beach restoration projects have increased the elevation of the beaches and dunes on places like Folly Beach,” Elko said. “So while the dunes are eroded and while the beach went underwater during the storm, we didn’t have those waves and flooding impacting the infrastructure, so these natural projects actually are protecting and serving as flood mitigation.”

As the sun started to set and the tide receded, the extent of the erosion on Folly Beach came into view.

The roots of trees, previously battling waves, were visible, and the wounds created by Mother Nature have scarred the shoreline.

Cale Shipman calls West Ashley home during the winter.

“I feel lucky to be able to spend my winters here, and [flooding] is a big issue for all of these coastal areas, whether it be Charleston or anywhere along the coast,” Shipman said.

Shipman and his wife Marcia spent Wednesday on Folly Beach admiring the waves and discovering what was left behind after the tides rolled in.

“I think these king tides that we’re experiencing this week are unusual in the fact that they’ve had so many of them in a row,” Shipman said.

While the systems in place on the beach held up, those who ventured out on Wednesday witnessed Mother Nature’s power.

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Like most people, when I go on vacation with my family, I like to take a break from work. Hence, why there aren’t in-depth posts here on the blog about most of our travels. When we’re away, I don’t want the pressure of recording all the details or feeling like I need to check out certain things to report back; on vacation, I generally like to go with the flow and relax. I’ve written about some of our shorter closer-to-home trips, but the bigger ones I usually just share through Instagram posts (if interested, check out Idaho, Asheville, Mexico, Croatia, Barcelona, Maine, Vermont, California, Nicaragua).

This is my rambling way of explaining why this post about our Spring Break trip to South Carolina — specifically Folly Beach and Charleston — is mostly scenes and quick tips, less of a thorough guide. But sometimes, that’s all you need — inspo for a destination, a starting point for planning, and a few ideas for activities.

So, the quick gist of our trip: We spent three nights in Folly Beach, three nights in Charleston (and one in NC on the way down to break up the eight-hour drive). At the last minute, my friend Margaret and her family decided to meet us there, so we spent a lot of time with them (though stayed in separate places since we’d already booked when they decided to join). Our crews always have a great time together and similar traveling sensibilities (very important when traveling with others). She also posted about the trip in her Designer’s Guide to Charleston SC (she’s an architecture and interior design extraordinaire), which includes details that this post doesn’t, so be sure to check it out for even more travel inspiration!

FOLLY BEACH

This actually wasn’t our first Spring Break getaway to the area, though last time we stayed in Charleston and Isle of Palms. During that trip, we took a drive south to Folly and decided that next time we would stay there. Both are great in their own ways, but Folly has a more laid-back surf vibe and more of a town, plus there is excellent fossil hunting! We found a rental through Airbnb that was perfect — just the right size for our family, an easy walk to the beach, and surrounded by leafy trees.

Part of the reason we went to SC for Spring Break was better chances for warmer temps than more northern beaches, and that was a good call, because the weather was fantastic. Sunny and high 70s made for very pleasant days on the beach, and the water wasn’t too cold for swimming.

We ate most of our meals out, but had breakfast and snacks at the house. There are a bunch of good restaurants and places to get a bite in town, most of them casual and fun, our favorite easily Chico Feo, with delicious tacos, sandwiches, bowls, and drinks. For snacks and stuff at the house, Bert’s Market had everything we needed and then some. It’s not a huge grocery store, but they also have take out sandwiches and other freshly made fare, plus it’s open 24 hours. And non-food related, but I must mention the great massage I had at Folly Beach Medispa.

Before we headed to Charleston after we left our digs in Folly, we went to see Morris Island Lighthouse. You can’t actually go in or even get up close to it, but we walked to a small beach to get a view. However, the path leading to the beach may have been the highlight, the stretch of asphalt covered with colorful graffiti. The walk should have been quick, but we kept stopping to check out the art beneath our feet.

CHARLESTON

Okay, I’ll be straight up: This part of our trip was really a lot of eating and drinking and walking around. We’d been to the city before and had done a lot of touristy stuff — Fort Sumter and tours of historic places, etc. — and we didn’t feel the need to repeat them. So, besides the guys taking a water taxi to the Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum (while Margaret, Sasha, and I shopped on King Street), we really mostly ate, drank, strolled, and just enjoyed hanging out with everyone. Here’s a recap of that in pictures.

Have you been to Folly Beach or Charleston? What are some of your favorite things to do and places to go there?

FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (WCIV) — It’s no secret that Folly Beach is quickly becoming one of the most popular places to move to in the Lowcountry. But town officials are worried that overdevelopment will soon take over the identity of the town.

In an effort to stop this overdevelopment, City Council will look Tuesday night to change those zoning requirements to “keep the character” of Center Street, and the surrounding community, intact.

The first set of changes to zoning requirements fall under what city officials call the “Center Street Overlay Zone.”

The changes include having new developments start at ground level instead of elevated, as well as a two-story maximum or 34-foot height cap on new buildings. This requirement includes rooftop bars or seating areas as one of the two levels.

If approved, the rezoning will also prevent any private residential properties from being built on Center Street, something officials say is important to keeping the Center Street area accessible for residents.

“We want to make sure that whatever goes up on those lines, here on our Main Street, kind of fit the character of what is already here. We've seen in the commercial district in general, we've seen some pretty massive, relatively speaking, massive buildings go up around Center Street and we want to make sure that on Center Street, that scale and massing is kept down to match what's here,” City Administrator Aaron Pope said.

In addition to those restrictions, new developments will be encouraged to put public outdoor seating near the sidewalk on Center Street.

But Center Street isn’t the only area Folly officials are looking to rezone. Another rezoning change involves the surrounding residential area of Center Street and downtown commercial district.

The changes could affect some residents' ability to make improvements to their existing properties.

The biggest change involves how much of the landowners can build out to. The new zoning changes in the area will require all properties to have at least 10 feet of space between their building and the street.

Residents and Business owners in the area expressed concern about their ability to develop their homes in a public hearing last week, but overall, many people say it’s a step that needs to be taken.

“From a residential standpoint, I think it's more pleasing and more pleasant to have more room around the properties, more green space and less of the shoulder or to show or canyon effect of the tall buildings,” Folly Beach resident Joe Vandiver said.

In addition to the land space restrictions, the rezoning changes would restrict multi-family complexes from being built in the downtown area.

Pope cites the building of the big complexes near the post office off of Center Street as a prime example of what could turn into overdevelopment, which could run out local businesses.

“With property values going the way they are, it's only a matter of time before the land becomes valuable enough or the land becomes so valuable that in order to get things out of it, you have to build the biggest thing you can or another Hurricane Hugo is going to come through and destroy half the buildings in the commercial district. And when people rebuild, they max out the zoning. We want to make sure the max zoning results in smaller more compatible buildings,” Pope said.

The zoning changes will take place in the surrounding area of center street down to around Bert's Market.

If approved, officials did say any property owners who have concerns of these changes can request a hearing with the board of zoning appeals as some exceptions can be made.

City Council will have the first reading of these rezoning changes at the meeting at 6:30 p.m.

A final decision will not be voted on until the second reading in June.

FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (WCBD) – A Sunday evening rescue mission of an osprey stuck on a Folly Beach cell phone tower turned into a Monday afternoon recovery.

Wildlife advocates on the island got called on Sunday evening after people reported a bird stuck in the tower. Some say there were two birds stuck, but only one was there when News 2 arrived on scene.

At first, it was believed to be caught in a fence, a more simple rescue for wildlife advocates Carol Linville and Vanessa Oltmann who have rescued dozens of birds on the bird sanctuary that is Folly Beach.

“So I came over here with my towels, my gloves, and a carrier ready to get him off the fence, and low and behold he was up in the tower on the grid plank,” said Oltmann, a nature lover and wildlife advocate.

Oltmann and Linville called the fire department for assistance in helping the osprey to safety, but the ladder wasn’t tall enough.

“It was gut-wrenching to watch him for over an hour struggle to break loose. But he just couldn’t. He was caught by one foot in the grid hanging upside down,” said Carol Linville, the CEO of Pet Helpers and a wildlife advocate.

Oltmann was able to arrange an emergency tower crew to come and help recover the bird. Two men with Southern Tower Services drove up from Atlanta on Monday morning and arrived just after noon.

Another concern from Linville and Oltmann was what was going on in the nest at the top of the tower.

“Best case is that the babies are okay,” said Linville. “Maybe they’ve hatched and they’re circling that nest because we have some circling.”

“We’d rather nature take its own course and then we don’t have to worry about recovering the eggs, making sure they’re incubated correctly, and you take that risk of injuring the babies inside,” said Oltmann.

The nest is reportedly empty.

“We determined the nest was empty. So the eggs hatched and we believe the three or four that are flying around the nest are probably the babies,” said Linville.

A bittersweet story ending on a positive note. Oltmann says this is an opportunity for people to learn about the protected species as well as other wildlife.

“I’m happy that the babies are safe and I’m sad about this bird,” said Oltmann. “It takes a community of people learning about how important it is for us to take care of our wildlife and marine life.”

FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (WCIV) — This weekend saw two separate incidents where first responders from several agencies were called to Lowcountry beaches to help distressed swimmers.

The first happened on Folly Beach following calls that a white male in his 30s was struggling to stay afloat near the pier around 3 p.m. Sunday.

“They were watching what they described as a subject’s head bobbing up and down and then going down lower and then it disappeared under the surface,” said Rocky Burke, Deputy Director of Folly Beach Public Safety.

Crews from Folly Beach Public Safety, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, the Coast Guard and the City of Charleston searched for roughly three hours before calling off the search just before 6 p.m.

“Right now there are no plans to resume the search until new information, or if new information comes,” Burke said. “If we get a report about a missing subject or something, when they were last going to Folly Beach or swimming in the surf, we get a call. We haven’t received any calls like that.”

As the search on Folly came to a close, another incident was unfolding.

Chief Craig Oliverius of the Isle of Palms Fire Department said Sunday evening, crews found one adult and two juveniles had been rescued before they arrived to the area near 21st Street on the Isle of Palms.

Two were taken to the hospital for further evaluation.

“We had an off-duty NWS employee that was on the beach on Isle of Palms and he saw the distressed swimmers being pulled out to sea which he realized was from a rip current,” said Meteorologist Emily McGraw of the National Weather Service.

McGraw said rip currents can occur on any day, anywhere along the shoreline.

“A rip current is a narrow channel of water that’s moving away from shore so it can extend from the shoreline back past the breaking waves,” McGraw said. “It can take even experienced swimmers out to sea.”

McGraw and her colleagues issue a beach forecast daily during the spring and summer months, alerting beachgoers whenever there is an enhanced risk of rip currents. The forecasts can be found on the NWS Charleston, SC Twitter page.

She said those are days swimmers need to be extra cautious.

But if you find yourself in a caught in a rip current?

“Stay calm and don’t panic,” McGraw said. “You want to float out, let it take you away, and then you can try to wave your hands up in the air to call for help. And then when it’s safe to do so, you can swim parallel to shore.”

McGraw and Burke said there are ways swimmers can stay safe before they even arrive to the beach.

They recommend going to the beach with a friend, never swimming alone, and letting someone know where you plan to be.