Sunshine and Sand
The Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina was closed, so we were searching for an alternative route. Joe asked me to look at Hunting Island State Park. I pulled out my phone, read the reviews and answered with, “Looks great to me. It even has a castle you can tour.”
“Castle? What website are you on?”
“Huntington Beach Park State Park.”
“I said ‘Hunting Island’ not Huntington Beach.”
“Oh. Well…Huntington Beach looks a great spot to me!”
After looking up the park Joe said, “You’re right. Let’s go there.”
Joe made campground reservations at both parks and added a third. In lieu of the Blue Ridge Parkway, we explored dog-friendly beach campgrounds along South Carolina’s Atlantic coastline. North to south we camped in three state parks: Huntington Beach, Edisto Beach and Hunting Island. Van life is different along the populated Eastern seaboard. Reservations are must if we want to secure a spot: on Saturday nights every single campsite is occupied.
Huntington Beach in January was quiet, peaceful and equipped with spacious campsites. Our campsite was tucked beneath an Eastern Red Cedar. The tree provided ample shade under it’s gnarled branches, twisted limbs growing away from the shoreline as if their job was to point the way inland. Hailing from Michigan, we spent our time walking the beach in shorts and bare feet enjoying the sunshine and temperatures in the 60s. With the tide ebbing and flowing, each walk was different. My favorite was our last, a sunset walk at low tide. With such a large swath of hard-packed beach exposed, it felt like we were walking on a road. The clouds to the south changed from pink to deep red as the sun dipped below the horizon. We walked the shoreline north of the campground where the beach was empty and wild. Although we crossed paths with other dog walkers, at dark we had the beach to ourselves. The temperature dropped faster than the sun and the sand chilled my feet, but it’s a beach I’d love to visit again and again.
