2nd Annual Sea View Inn T-Shirt Design Contest

WOW! What an incredible response to this year's contest.

We had a total of 27 entries...all of them well thought out and creative.  We thank each and every one of you!  Here is the winner:

Submitted by Brooke Lawson:

Top Ten Reasons to Stay at Sea View Inn

10.     Showering with your neighbors

9.      No cell phones or television.

8.      Dinner bells and Tuesday Fried Chicken.

7.      Crabbing and sunsets on the creek dock.

6.      Bare feet on worn wood floors

5.      Frances singing "Happy Birthday"

4.      It’s not in Myrtle Beach.

3.      Happy Hour on the front porch.

2.      Where being “Sassy” is a good thing.

1.      Pancakes for dessert at breakfast.

There were so many fantastic entries, it was really difficult to pick a winner!  I offer these as runner ups and will post the rest of the entries on Sunday March 19th.

Submitted by Allison Comer, Ina and Sue

What the Sales Brochure says...What it really means

               1.  Casual hideaway....no locks on the doors

        2.  Feel the ocean breeze...No AC

 3.  Family setting ...Hope your neighbor doesn't snore

       4.  Tranquil surroundings...No phones

                         5.  Great food...Great food

   6.  Escape the summer heat...Ha ha!

                      7.  No schedules...Nothing to do

    8.  Simple and full of charm...Outside showers 

9.  Escape from the real world...NO TV

              10. Barefoot Paradise...Barefoot Paradise

Submitted by Dede Wilson

Slatted chairs to rock.  Sunsets on the dock.

The Pawleys shell.  Our dinner bell.

The salty breeze.  Our sandy knees.

The sway of oats.  Our inlet floats.

Icy drinks-to-please.  We have all of these--

And sometimes porpoises!

And last but not least, check out this entry!  It's more than a top ten list, it's our marketing literature for the next 25 years!

Submitted by Carol Birch

March 5, 2006

1. Sea View Inn is the essence of “Pawley’s Pull” with a Generational Invitation!  It is a true family vacation spot.  My grandparents stayed here when the original three ladies ran the place in 1937.  My parents and their children frequently visited while Page and Bruce were the innkeepers.  Now we enjoy coming because Brian and Sassy Henry are the greatest couple who welcome you with the warmest hospitality and carry on many of the Sea View Inn Traditions.

2. Sea View Inn provides a fresh, clean, relaxing, simple, carefree atmosphere within a true Southern Style Vacation Beach House.  This is a complete get-away in which there is nothing to do, but relax, play, read, sleep, laugh, eat, and share experiences with everyone staying there that week with you. The rooms are unlocked and open for the ocean breezes to flow as freely as the fun and laughter there.  There is an air of trust, freedom, and total relaxation here unmatched by any other hotel or vacation spot.  You always leave feeling refreshed, safe, and welcomed anytime!

3. Sea View’s Back Porch provides the real atmosphere of authentic traditional Southern Lifestyle!  This is where guests at Sea View may start off as strangers, but soon become good friends by sitting together, sharing stories, connecting through life events and tall tales.  Time easily slips by when swinging in the hammock or tipping back and forth in the rocking chairs of that porch. There is enough serenity here for lazy afternoon naps and over indulging your mind in a good book or board game. It is a wonderful escape from television, radios, and technology!  We all love that camaraderie, the grand ocean view, watching the gentle waves, listening to the trill of the cardinals, seeing the sea breezes rustling the September Sea Oats, and watching the pelicans undulate over the tops of the waves.  Occasionally, there is a thrilling afternoon with huge thunderheads and rainsqualls.  These clouds create some of the most spectacular sunrises over the ocean and sunsets over the swamp!

4. Sea View Inn is a true Beach House that is actually on the beach.  You must run around the place barefoot and enjoy the easy access to the beach from your room.  That’s why it is a “Barefoot paradise.”   This vacation house is well suited to this stretch of the Atlantic beach.  It seems more exclusive, unspoiled, and quietly populated than most vacation beaches.  Nothing beats the first feel of that warm, white, soft sand between my toes just after you step off the short boardwalk!  The warm Atlantic Ocean water offers gentle wave action for swimming and body surfing.  The shore at Sea View extends out gradually and is shallow enough to enjoy without sudden drop offs or fear of shark attacks.  The early morning walks, from the north to the south end, provide daily treasures of shelling.  This is the only place to find the famous Pawley’s shell.  September is our favorite time because of the tiny loggerheads that are hatching from their nests under a full moon.  We loved learning from S.C.U.T.E. about the life cycles of these turtles.

5. Sea View Inn provides three fabulous meals per day so you do not need to go out and drive to some place to eat.  These Low Country Dishes and Southern Cuisines are always presented using wonderful culinary arts.  Each meal is very savory and completely satisfying!  They are prepared and served by very thoughtful and kind staff members who have become so familiar to us that they now feel like dear friends.  Brian and Sassy Henry and their staff are very accommodating and find unique ways to enrich your stay here!

6. Sea View Inn offers multiple amenities to enhance the beach experience.  There are special retreats for artists to bring out their creativities, seasonal activities and tours throughout the year, and workshops for restoring your well-being.   Guests have free access to beach umbrellas, body boards, floats, and other equipment for playing in the water or on the beach. There are showers and footbaths you can use before returning to your room.  You can drop a crab trap into the swamp for a delicious treat by the end of the day.  If you want to throw a net into the ocean waves, your catch can be cooked for you there or you can share it with the staff.  What summer could go by without enjoying southern BBQs at the beach?  Sea View Inn prepares and serves it hot off the grill on the back porch to you.  This is the place we love to invite friends to join us for special occasions and meals.

7. Sea View Inn is close to places for sightseeing.  You can easily find bikes, kayaks, canoes to rent on Pawley’s Island or go drive to nearby historical Rice Plantations, Brookgreen Gardens , the Hobcaw Barony, or sightseeing in Georgetown , or even Charleston for the day.  There are many fun shops, boutiques, art galleries, and museums to visit.  There are so many places to explore around here.

8. The Sea View Inn offers Ocean Front Rooms that draw you back time and time again!!!  Our favorite are the ocean front rooms, but especially the corner rooms on the second floor.  These rooms give the greatest views and most wonderful beach house atmosphere.  I love taking photographs of those wonderful old sash windows with the sheer curtains flipping in the breezes and framing that beautiful Atlantic ocean beach.  I can dry my shells in the window sills.  The beds are covered with the famous ol’ white cotton spreads with the embroidered blue herons.  Sassy once filled the rooms with lavendar and the aroma was so spectacular during our stay.  Every September, I am amazed how invitingly different it feels being in the warmth and humidity of the south, within that sunny, ocean front room, feeling the sea breezes through that window.  This beach needs to be experienced with these elements around you in that wonderful wooden beach house decor, rather than in a new, closed up hotel room with air conditioning.  As one wise man said, “the one thing that would be the downfall of the southern style of living would be the air conditioner.  This takes people indoors and reduces opportunities in which to share and interact with others and nature as it should be.”

9. Sea View Inn has its own history and mystery.  The ghosts of the “Gray Man” and “the lady who is still hunting for her lost wedding ring on Pawley’s Island” may be well known, but the Sea View Inn kitchen staff will tell you of a fun loving, gregarious soul still wondering around the dining room waiting for his opportunity to enjoy just one more delicious southern cooked meal from time to time.

10.  The Great Room of Sea View Inn is the center of the house and attracts young and old, artisans and professionals, internationals and locals alike.  It is “the room of community” enhanced by years of gathering Sea View Inn’s Extended Family there.  It’s walls have painting of its history, bookshelves filled with best sellers, periodicals, and photos handed down for the next generation of readers to peruse.  Those walls have seen entertainment, music, songs, jokes, laughter, and wonderful ol’ stories echoing throughout its time.  This is a haven for heidegarians (storytellers), a beach camp for creativity, fun, and southern culinary delights, and a place to keep as a secret vacation hideaway.  This place is a tremendously unique “heirloom” for those of us drawn by “Pawley’s Pull” and the enduring spirit that lives on generationally at the “Barefoot Paradise ” of Sea View Inn.

Here is a link to the rest of the Top 10 Entries