Remembering the Beach

It must be these cold and grey February days that has me reminiscing about our summer beach camping odyssey.   If you remember, I wrote about our first camping trip to Huntington Beach in 2016, when Wendigo was just a puppy and it was my nieces first trip to the ocean.  I also wrote about our 2017 camping trip, way down at Tybee Island in Georgia, when we hiked on islands and kayaked with dolphins.  For our 2018 vacation we were back at Huntington Beach in South Carolina, enjoying the ocean, the sand, and the swampy natural campground at the state park.  

We descended on the campground with two campers, four bicycles, and multiple tents, taking up three campsites for all eleven of us.  We had a beautiful oak tree for shade, and a nice low lying camp spot that filled with water when it rained.   The shallow pond made for a pretty reflection of the tree when the sun would shine after the rain.  It also made for muddy feet.  

Just look at the kids, all dressed for the beach but standing under umbrellas watching our campsite fill!  My nieces were nine and eleven, so not quite teenagers yet, although the elder was wielding her new smart phone.  Their parents didn't come this year, so they traveled and tented with Tamara and I and had their first camping experience where they had to contend with a long drive, adverse weather, mud, sand, sand fleas, relatives, and mosquitoes without mom and dad.  There was a little homesickness, but thankfully not many tears, and they made friends with some of the kids at the campground who were fun to ride the waves with or travel around the campground by bike collecting tadpoles.  A pen pal was made.  

It was nice to have cute amphibians to share our campsite with.  We saw alligators in the nearby marsh, plus storks and pink spoonbills.  

Jamie fished and used a throwing net, so we got an up close look at a tiny shark and some pretty ocean fish and crabs.  

We set up a folding tent on the beach, with sandbags on the legs to keep it from blowing away.  We brought camp chairs and coolers, and a shovel with buckets for sculpting sand castles.  We claimed our spot on the beach each day, and munched Doritos to recover from all the sand sculpting, swimming, kite flying, fishing, and sun bathing.  Grandpa bought everyone boogie boards to ride the waves.  

We were deeply immersed in all of that, when the elder niece asked, "When are we going to do something fun?" HA!  What would be fun?  "A movie, or something."  

So, Jamie, Ashley, and I bravely went with the girls right into the Myrtle Beach tourist area, and we shopped, ate pizza at a restaurant, and splurged for expensive beverages and even a ride on a roller coaster! 

We like to look back on the camping trip and remember all the challenges - the rain, the bugs, the mud, but I think that is one of the great things about camping.  All those physical experiences, especially the uncomfortable ones, make a long lasting impression.  I'll never forget that camping trip, and I'm already dreaming about our next trip! 

Click the movie below, if you would like to see the rest of our vacation photos.