Christmas came and went exactly on schedule, and on Boxing Day we debouched from North Carolina into some moderately ugly weather to Sea Island (KSSI). The airport was busy but in the fullness of time we arrived at our hotel. Walking into The Cloisters is like stepping back in time, or at least stepping onto the sound stage of a Hercule Poirot detective mystery. It was built in the late 1920s by a fabulously wealthy chap named Howard E. Coffin who was one of the founders of the Hudson Motor Car Company. That company was a stand-out success and by 1926 Hudson was the third largest car maker in the U.S., after Ford and Chevrolet. So when Mr. Coffin wanted to build “a cottage for some friends” you can be pretty sure it was going to be spectacular.
