Then we continued onto Hunting Island State park. There is a $4.00 fee per person to enter the park. But in my opinion it is worth every penny. All the roads going through the park are one way and are canopied with oaks, palms and pines. It is picturesque as the roads wind throughout the park. We went straight to the lighthouse. As I said this lighthouse is celebrating a 150 years in October. It stands 132ft high and has 167 steps going up. Trust on this I know. There is a $2.00 fee for climbing the lighthouse. (Now I have to pay for exercise), (just kidding), it was well worth it. Don's idea of climbing the lighthouse, I think it was his way of getting even for waking him up at 5:00 am. Anyway the view is amazing from the top and the cool breezes were will worth it. Here is a shot of the lighthouse and Don at the top of it. There is a lot of history here and I'm not going to give a history lesson, because I will probably misquote something and I don't want to do that.
After climbing back down the lighthouse we headed out to beach, which is less than 400 ft from the lighthouse. The lighthouse has been moved in the past and I think this will be in its future eventually also. South Carolina has the same beach erosion problems as my beloved Jekyll Island, but I think South Carolina is eroding faster, they have much more wave action than we do. Here is a shot of the waves coming up onto beach near the trees and driftwood. The other is a black&white I took of the nesting dunes for the sea turtles. Loggerhead sea turtles also nest here.
After leaving the lighthouse portion of the park we discovered they also have a lagoon which is perfect for kayaking and fishing. You can also rent cabins at the park. There is also a wildlife viewing area where we spotted an osprey and a marsh board walk which I think you could see alot of wildlife is you hit the tide just right. I was there during high tide and didn't see too much. But, there was a greeter at the parking lot. This adorable young buck still in velvet was standing right at the entrance way. I just had to stop and take a picture. Unfortunately the moron behind me wasn't as enthused with the wildlife and kept blowing his horn. It didn't really bother me or the young buck, we both ignored him until we were through. Here is his picture.
Isn't he cute. Just down from the park there is a nature center fishing pier. There is also a usage fee for this but I am not sure how much. But it definitely seems to be a hot spot there were lots of people there.After that I drug my hubby to Hilton Head Island, as I said I have a thing for lighthouses and I want to photograph the one at Harbour Town. After paying another $5.00 entrance fee onto Sea Pines and parking a good distance away I finally saw the lighthouse. Unfortunately I was disappointed. Just wasn't what I expected. Here is the photo I took.
And enough said on that topic. We then stopped by to say Hello to my brother in law, Russell, whom lives real close to the Savannah Wildlife Refuge, another of my favorite places. So after our visit Don said we could take a quick ride through the Refuge. It was getting late and I think everyone retired early...I saw a few Anhingas, Moorhens, Snowy Egrets, Cattle Egrets, only three gators, and this Great Egret. But it was still worth the trip. 
This was a very enjoyable day! All said and done we racked up another 300 plus miles on my tired old Chevrolet Pickup and we were quite worn out ourselves by the time we got home. Hunting Island has become another one of my favorite places and is a wonderful example of The Beauty that Surrounds Us.
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