We Gave Our Legs a Good Workout

Saturday, 15 December
Hunting Island State Park — South Carolina
Temps: LO 52F / HI 60F (11C / 15.5C)

The tragic events of yesterday continue to haunt us today — in part because of what I consider to be over-the-top reporting by the media.

Am I sad about what happened in Sandy Hook?  Of course I am.  Am I horrified by the events?  Of course I am.  Can I comprehend how someone could turn their weapon on innocent children — or adults?  No, I can’t.  Do I want to be bombarded with the details of the unfolding events?  That would be a resounding — no.  It’s not just the amount of information I object to; it’s the accuracy — or more accurately, the lack of it in some cases.  A good example — the Turkish newspapers picked up an early tidbit in the unfolding story yesterday and reported that the shooter was one of the fathers.  Not!

Some might find my attitude callous.  It’s not.  I try to put myself in the shoes of the people who have been touched so closely by the tragedy and can’t help but feel that the grieving process is being interrupted by all the media attention.  Leave everyone in peace I say; report verified updates as needed.  This is not — and should not be turned into — a reality show for the entertainment of the masses.

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And now for news from the Two to Travel front … it’s going to be long.

For about a minute or two this morning it looked like the sun was going to come out.  We saw the big shiny orb making an effort, but the thick overcast won out.  A short while later, the forecasted 20% chance of rain became reality.  It did not stop us from going out to check out the beach at the peak of high tide.  The water was right at the edge of the campground’s waterfront sites.  No flooding, but each tide rise destroys more of the beach.  Before long, those sites will be no more.  The ranger we spoke to yesterday said it was just a matter of time before Mother Nature has her way.

(I didn’t have my camera with me, but here are a few photos from yesterday … these were taken about two hours after the high tide peaked.)

Note the tree trunk Mui’s standing next to — that’s new and is right at the beach
access next to the bathhouse.  The bottom right photo is the beach access — the
washed out gully was created at high tide when the waves crested over this area.  The
top right photo shows the walkway that leads up to the beach access — the foam was
left behind when the seawater receded after peak tide.  When we went out this
morning, The water was at the edge of the dune grass; not a grain of beach sand was visible.

We were planning to explore Beaufort a bit today and then go to Port Royal for dinner.  The rain has stopped, so we still might do that, but for now we’re enjoying a quiet morning — a good time to catch up on yesterday’s events.

Friday, 14 December …

If you felt the chill in the B&W photos from the past few days, Friday’s sunshine-filled photos should warm you right up.

The day started out cool (46F/8C), with a stiff breeze that made it seem even colder.  Once the wind died down mid-day, however, it felt a great deal warmer than the 59F (15C) that was reported as the high for the area.  In fact, when I was out around 4:00p, taking photographs of the few birds on the beach, it felt downright balmy.

From cold on Thursday (left), to warmer on Friday.
(I couldn’t duplicate the photo exactly due to high tide and some new tree debris.)

Wanting to make the most of the sunny day, we didn’t wait for the temps to rise.  It was a mere 47F (8C) when we drove off to the main section of HISP where the trail heads are located.  We parked in the J parking lot, and hiked south on the Maritime Forest Trail and returned via the Lagoon Access Recreation Trail — about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) in total.

The car marks the J parking lot; the green line is the Maritime Forest Trail,
and the purple line is the Lagoon Access Trail.

I said we hiked, but walked would be a more appropriate description.  Both trails are level, and are packed sand/shell surfaces that make for easy walking.  They run through a maritime forest thick with tall pines, live oaks, and palms, and lush green palmettos.  Of course the gray-green draperies of Spanish moss are everywhere too.  The lagoon trail gives glimpses of the water, but unless you’re dressed to go wading, getting close to the edge to enjoy the scenery was tricky in all but a few places.

Left: Heading off on the Maritime Forest Trail.
Right: Backlit palmettos brighten up the trail.

This and that from our trail walk.

One of the best things about our walk was that except for some fisherman on the lagoon trail and a biker/runner on the maritime trail, we didn’t see another soul, and the only sounds were those of chirping birds in the canopy.  A beautiful setting indeed, and we enjoyed ourselves tremendously, but our walk was what we consider low in entertainment value — meaning there wasn’t much for us to explore.  Still, I found plenty of things worthy of a shutter-click or two.

Glimpse of the lagoon from one of the few places dry enough to approach the water.

Not the greatest photo, but this is one of the three dolphins we saw playing along
the far shore of the lagoon.  (Photo cropped quite a bit.)

Our next stop was the Hunting Island Lighthouse, which had been closed for some time for interior painting.  It just reopened on Thursday.  We stopped by then and checked out the exhibits in the outbuildings, but decided to delay climbing the lighthouse until today.  Good decision; the $2/person fee was well worth it for the views … and we got in a stair-stepper exercise session by climbing the 167 steps to the gallery landing just below the room where the light once sat.  The signage on each landing gave us an excuse to stop along the way, making the climb relatively easy.

Palm within a palm?  No; it’s just my angle of view, but once I saw it I couldn’t resist the photo op.	Originally constructed in 1859, and rebuilt in 1875, the Hunting Island Lighthouse is the only one in SC that is open to the public.

One of the unique features of this lighthouse is its construction.  Anticipating that the structure might someday have to be relocated, it was constructed with curved cast iron plates that could easily be dismantled.  This foresight paid off when, in 1889, the encroaching sea came within 35 feet (10.5 m), requiring the lighthouse to be relocated 1¼ miles (2 km) inland.  The sea will soon be within striking distance again, and I can’t help but wonder if the light will be moved a second time.  My gut tells me that since it was deactivated in 1933, the chances of getting such a move funded is nil.

Detail shots from the interior of the lighthouse.

LEft: view of the Maritime forest canopy from one of the lighthouse windows near the top.
Right: If you get creative, you can capture a shot of the lighthouse from the gallery.

Views from the gallery atop the 132-foot (40 m) tall lighthouse.

top: the salt marsh (between the trees) about 500 yards [457m] away; the sandbars 1-2 miles
[1.6-3.2 km] away; and Edisto Beach (tiny dots on the horizon) 10 miles [16 km] away.

bottom left: one of the outbuildings and the foundation of the light keeper’s house.

Bottom Right: The beach in front of the lighthouse.

Exhibits in the outbuildings shed light into the life of the light keepers.

Each lighthouse has a unique exterior paint scheme to aid mariners in visual identification.
L to R: Bloody Point Light; Haig Point Light; Leamington Light; Hunting Island Light (twice);
Morris Island Light; Charleston Light; Cape Romain Light; and Georgetown Light.
Of these, only Hunting Island is open to the public.

The Keeper’s house was burned down in 1938 during the occupation of the Civilian
Conservation Corps, here to work on various projects around the island.
an outline of the foundation is all that is visible today.

After our visit to the lighthouse, we returned to the campground.  Taking advantage of the beautiful afternoon sun and the low tide, we set out for a walk.  It didn’t take long for our weary feet to convince us that sitting on the beach, sipping Amarula (think Bailey’s with an African twist) was a much better idea.  (Ooops; no photos of us while indulging — just use your imagination!)

A few things that caught My eye during our beach walk.

I finally got lucky with some birds perched on an old oyster bed that surfaced when the tide went out.  I took my long lens with me and captured a couple of shots handheld.  If the weather cooperates, I’ll go back to this spot before we leave and this time I’ll take my tripod and my bear-watching seat so I can sit with the birds for a while.  (If I have mis-identified either bird, please correct me.)

Willet

Boat-Tailed Grackles

I was going to end this post with a couple more sunset shots …

Sunset over Fripp Inlet

… but I can’t resist this “The End” shot!

 

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Back to Saturday

In case you’re wondering … we didn’t go exploring in Beaufort today.  I think that’s going to have to go on the “next time list.”