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By David Henderson

Say what you will about just about any beach in the world. My favorite is Tybee. Never heard of it? It's the barrier island that protects Savannah, Georgia, when the big storms hit. Or, at least it tries. The rest of the time the waves at Tybee are gentle;  the sandy beach is wide, seldom crowded;  the dunes are simply perfect;  and the water is as clean as it gets, warmed year-around by the Gulf stream.

As someone who grew up knowing only the beaches along the shores of Virginia and Delaware where the waves are known as "grinders," Tybee is as genteel as nearby Savannah. Only three and one-half miles long and a mile wide, Tybee might be considered "old fashioned" to many beach-goers, such as the folks who flock to Hilton Head, the next island north of Tybee up the coast. Certainly no crowds on Tybee, no high-rise condos (there's a height limit of about four stories) and no discount malls. Tybee is quiet, picturesque, family oriented, boring to many and ... perfect.  The wood frame Lowcountry beach houses are right out of a Pat Conroy novel. By the way, you just might see Conroy out on Tybee. He lives nearby.

Take a walk on Tybee's beach at night.  Aside from the glare and glitz of lights from Hilton Head, there's a celestial light show overhead.  Constellations and the Milky Way seem close. A gentle, cool breeze blows in from the Atlantic. It's quiet. You may also see the light from the recently restored Tybee Lighthouse, a beacon to ships entering the busy Savannah River. 

The original lighthouse was constructed of cedar and bricks in 1736 and was later destroyed in a storm. Today’s "modern" lighthouse, built in 1791, has become a sort of community shrine, loved by the people of both Tybee and Savannah. It’s one of the most famous lighthouses on the Eastern seaboard.  

Over the last few years, Savannah, with its pre-Colonial architecture and eccentric culture, is filled with tourists.  Many of them recently discovering Savannah through all the motion pictures filmed there and by reading John Berendt’s laugh-out-loud book, "Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil." 

Tybee is changing, like most other places, and many people, like me, are concerned the small island may become too "touristy." If you question whether this is an authentically special place, consider that such people as Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock and John Travolta have purchased getaways on Tybee in the last couple of years. They mingle in with the rest of the folks on the island's wide, wide beaches. Nonetheless, the tiny island is becoming popular and with it, some of the vacation-oriented attractions that make money and draw large crowds rather than preserve a wonderful setting.

My suggestion ... visit Tybee soon. Just a 12-mile drive to the east of Savannah, through some of the most beautiful Lowcountry in the world . . . is Tybee. Still relevantly untouched, old fashioned and perfect. Tybee.

Writer David Henderson lived and worked in Savannah.

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