Adopt-A-Nest

After our time at Hunting Island State Park and our adventure with the baby Loggerhead sea turtles, Barrett wanted to adopt a nest as his souvenir.  He adopted a nest that was laid on the same beach and night that we watched the nest excavation.

You have adopted a nest from Hunting Island State Park, South Carolina.

Nest Activity

• Nest was laid on 21 Jul 2019 by a Loggerhead sea turtle. The nest was protected with a metal cage.
• 21 Jul 2019 - 3 Eggs lost because of Probing.
• 21 Jul 2019 - Nest was relocated (125 eggs).

*We will be checking his website for updates on his nest.

Road Trip 2019 - Home

We hit the road early, ready to make the rest of our journey home today.

 The kids have been trained to be such good travelers.  They are content reading, snacking, resting, listening to music (and Jonathan Park audio stories), and looking out the window.

We decided to stop at Duck Commander on our way home this time.

 Texas Our Texas!

 We made great time and got home in time to go pick Baxter up from his doggy hotel.

It was a wonderful trip, full of new experiences and memories!

We fell in love with South Carolina and look forward to going back again one day!

Road Trip 2019 Day 10 - Goodbye

Today we had to pack up and start our trek back home.

We loved the Mt. Pleasant/Charleston KOA.  It was the perfect base-camp for our time here in Charleston.  For us, the campground is as much of the experience as the sight seeing is on our vacations.  This campground will be one we remember and talk about for years to come!

 We were able to fill in Georgia and South Carolina on our travel map for this trip.

 South Carolina was such a wonderful place for us to visit.  The beaches are clean and pretty and there is so much rich history. We enjoyed everything about this trip!  It quickly became one of our favorite family vacations!

 We drove all day, making it to our regular stop in Vicksburg, MS.

We left the truck hooked up, dropped the stabilizers, and crawled into our camper beds.  There was a storm that came through overnight.  I didn't get a lot of sleep, but everyone else slept right through it!

Road Trip 2019 Day 10 - Sullivan's Island

Since today is our last day, I scheduled it as a day off.  We got a slow start to our day, relaxing and enjoying it.

After we relaxed and played around our campground, we dressed in our beach clothes and went to explore Sullivan's Island.

Sullivan’s Island is a two and a half-mile long barrier island near the entrance of the Charleston Harbor. It is home to a little over 2,000 residents in half as many households.  Residents enjoy the small-town charm and relaxed lifestyle that the Island has to retained since first being settled in the 17th Century. They are well known for their pristine beaches, award-winning restaurants, and close-knit community. 

Sullivan's Island was settled in the late 17th Century by Captain Florence O'Sullivan while he was stationed as a lookout. It has a strong military background having been the site of a major Revolutionary War battle, The Battle of Sullivan's Island, as well as being involved in the first shots of the American Civil War.

We started with brunch at Sullivan's Restaurant.  Of course grits were eaten, because we just can't stop!  After we finished brunch, we went to explore the beach.

 We liked this beach, but we preferred our quiet, less crowded beach at Hunting Island State Park.

After we spent some time at the beach, we drove around this little beach town exploring it.  It has the cutest beach houses and everyone walks, bikes, or rides on golf carts.

 The Edgar Allan Poe Library

 Fort Moultrie is one of the oldest still-standing forts along the Eastern Seaboard. The low-laying coastal structure, which encompasses a large parcel of Atlantic Ocean bordering beaches on the southern tip of Sullivan's Island, began as a Revolutionary War defense before being transformed into a secondary Confederate stronghold during the Civil War.

 We fell in love with this quaint beach town!

On our way back to camp, we stopped off at Boone Hall Farms for a tub of our favorite fresh peanut butter.

 We got back to camp in time for everyone to spend the evening playing.

Bikes, basketball, and the playground were how we spent the evening until the sun set.

Another great day in the books, filled with new memories!

Day 9 (Part 2) - Oakland Plantation

After we ate lunch, we came back to our campground for the rest of the day.

Our campground is situated on the Oakland Plantation property.  They give free wagon ride tours for those who stay at the campground.

The earliest known date of existence for the property was 1696.  The house was built in 1750.

The view as you pull onto the driveway is just breathtaking.

Indigo Flowers (used for dying fabric), corn, and cotton were originally farmed here.

The backside of the home.

 The original detached kitchen.

 The smokehouse.

 The carriage barn.

 The portion of the land where some of the slaves that worked this property are buried. 

It was an experience to learn about the plantation and to visualize what the property looked like so long ago.  There is such rich history here, and we are so thankful to get to be here learning about it and seeing it.

Day 9 (Part 1)- Morris Island

Today we met our guide from Adventure Harbor Tours at the boat dock at 8 am.

He was taking us out to Morris Island to hunt for treasures that washed up in the tide overnight.

The boat ride over was a lot of fun.  He had music playing, taught us about the markers in the ocean that boats use to find their way, and taught us more about Charleston.

We were so excited to come across a small pod of dolphins in the harbor on our way out.  He stopped the boat so everyone could watch them for a little bit.

When we got to the island, one of the guides got off the boat to lead us to the best place to find treasures.

We were on the hunt for shark teeth and sand dollars.

It was so rewarding to find a sand dollar or shark tooth laying in the sand!

 We learned that the teeth commonly found are not white because they are covered with sediment from fossilization.

 We spent the allotted time completely consumed with hunting for treasures. 

 Brynn was so proud of the Great White tooth she found.

 Barrett found a beautiful, whole sand dollar.

 I came upon this whole sand dollar in the dry sand.  The wind had blown the sand over part of it.  It was a beautiful find!

Before we knew it, it was time to meet everyone back at the boat.  We searched the whole way back, not ready for our hunt to be over.

On the way back, our guide passed around a dolphin skull that had previously washed up on Morris Island.

 We had a beautiful view of Charleston!

Barrett enjoyed seeing the Coast Guard station.

 Another pod of dolphins on our way back was the perfect way to end our morning.

We found about 30 shark teeth, 6 sand dollars, and 2 shark vertebrae. We also found some pretty shells that we added to our collection.

We ate lunch at a cute hamburger shop near the boat dock before going back to our campground.

This was such a fun experience!