Keigley CAMPaign: Huntington Beach

Lately it feels as if all forces conspire against me in completing a blog post in a regular or timely fashion.

And I’m missing my writing consistency.

But it’s early (ish) morning and I’m pounding the keys for a few quiet moments.

Huntington Beach.

I think it’s the state park farthest away from our home.

Are you kidding me?

That’s all I kept repeating.

Otto was wearing shorts and a t-shirt.  (And eventually only his underwear.)

I was thinking about sunscreen and Kevin and Mosely were flying a kite.

(A really cool box kite that we found completely intact in the sand dunes.)

It’s November.

No.vem.ber.

I think we just spent the day feeling so lucky.

This was the trip we almost skipped.

I’m so grateful we stuck with the plan.

The day we arrived we sprinted across the beach, discovered that kite and settled ourselves into our camp site.

(Riley assembled the giant tent completely by herself!)

The next day we pretty much did Nothing.

Nothing.

The kind of nothing that involves building giant sand castles, watching dolphins frolic, London drawing 200 small works of art across at least 75 yards of beach, admiring pelicans diving for their prey, flying a kite, reading a novel on the sand, taking a nap on the beach.

The best kind of nothing I know.

Huntington Beach State Park is one of a handful of South Carolina state parks that participates in a Junior Ranger program.

It was the first time we’d ever tried the program and apparently it’s a three level deal and on this trip we managed to make it through Level 1.

The kids had to identify some plants and animals, learn about recycling and safety on the beach and interview a park ranger.

We had a fabulous park ranger who spent extra time with the kids, teaching them about Huntington Beach and answering their questions.

In the end, the kids were all awarded a certificate and a Junior Park Ranger badge and all the paperwork to complete the next level.

They were pretty thrilled.

Huntington Beach is named after a very generous couple who donated the area for its preservation.  Archer and Anna Huntington built a Moorish-style castle on the beach and we toured it before we headed out Monday morning.

Atalaya was so funky and old and beautifully designed with bathtubs overlooking the ocean and open courtyards on each side and animal pens for Anna to store live bears or other creatures while she sculpted them.

It was completely worth the extra time and $2 admission fee.

There is certainly nothing too impressive on the road between our house and the coast to make the drive exciting – but Huntington Beach State Park itself will certainly be listed among our favorite camping trips yet.

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