A Day at the Beach

It’s been years since we just hung out on a beach. We were definitely going to make it a part of this trip. Laura grew up just a couple of blocks from the Pacific Ocean, so any time that we get within range of an ocean, she has to see it.

After leaving our Governor’s School friends on Saturday, we decided to head north on Highway 17 toward those islands. We crossed the Cooper River Bridge, then headed over to Sullivan’s Island. Traffic was horrendous. Apparently it had been a popular day at the beach on Sullivan’s, because all public access spots were taken, even this late in the afternoon. Routes off the island were backed up for miles.

We continued on to the Isle of Palms and found it just as crowded. I was amazed at how much the little town had had grown. The last time I stayed on the island was about 25 years ago. The beach village was much more substantial than I remembered. Traffic off the island on the new causeway was almost, but not quite as bad as traffic off of Sullivan’s Island. We just patiently waited and eventually got off the island.

The lesson learned was that we had to get out to the beach early. So, Sunday morning we packed up early and headed toward Folly Beach. We found a spot and set up shop. It had been a long time since I had played in waves, and I made the most of it. I even brought out my GoPro camera to catch a few shots.

I found it was hard to body surf and try to hold a camera. Fortunately I was able to hang onto it. I also had my little waterproof Fuji, and took a couple of photos with it.

By lunchtime we were lobsters. It had been a great day on the beach, but we had enough. We did a quick lunch, then headed back to the hotel for a quick shower and change. The rest of the afternoon we headed out to the ACE Basin, but didn’t see much wildlife. Our dinner was on Edisto Island, finishing up the day close to the ocean.