A very fine day indeed

Saturday November 23, 2013
Hunting Island State Park
South Carolina

 

 

It’s a lovely sunrise this morning at the civilized hour of 7:00.

 

 

  I am  up for sunrise each morning.  David is not.   He joins me later, we read  or walk on the beach.  We return for breakfast and then noodle around inside or out, reading or doing chores.  After lunch we take  another walk  on the beach and then it’s time for dinner in the dark.

 

 

 

 

Our days are all beginning to run together.  Each one mostly like the other one.  I think this is island time and I’m not complaining.  Being so near the beach for sitting or walking  is dandy with me.   My back  is feeling better but the weather really hasn’t been conducive to biking or kayaking.  It’s either been too cold  or too windy.

 

 

 

 

 

Today the tide is out at sunrise and the beach seems to stretch on and  on and on.  

 

 

The ocean side section of the campground is rustic and somewhat helter skelter but it’s right on the beach. 

 

Some of the sites are actually  right on the edge of the sand.  Or they are until the sea takes  them away.  The original road closest to the beach and  those campsites along its water side have already disappeared and every year when we return  we wonder what will we find has been lost.   I guess they just readjust the numbers and reprint the map.  

The sites further from the water  in the maritime forest are much larger and much safer than those 70 or so nearest the water.  On the ocean side, 15 sites for tents and smaller RVs are in “the front row” and would be the first lost.  This morning with the tide out the beach is huge and the danger looks small.

We  spend  the  morning sitting on the beach reading.  The temperature is nice but the wind makes long pants and a warm jacket necessary.  They say it will  go up to the mid 70’s today.  Sounds great.

 

 

Our afternoon walk is really wonderful.  And for most of it, we have  the shore all to ourselves.

 

 

After lunch it has warmed up a lot and we set out to walk all the way around the upper tip of the island to the wetlands if the tide is out far enough.   Both extreme ends  of  the island are less visited since they are much further away from the camping and day use areas.  But today it appears as though no one but us and  a few others with 4 feet have walked through this way.   We recognize the deer  and raccoon tracks but aren’t sure who the small feet with no claws belong to.

The dunes here are among the tallest on this side of the island.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just as we reach the marsh and run out of shore, we find this large  colony of tiny little crabs who appear to have balled up the sand in very small little balls and somewhat larger pellet looking balls.  No idea if these are from their excavations or from keeping their houses clean.  We stand around  for  a while making no noise and soon they begin to come out.

 

 

 

I have not brought my camera on  purpose so I could see the day other than through the eye of a lens.  David has brought his and all of the pictures from this walk are ones he took.  But his zoom lens  isn’t working well enough to get a picture of these tiny crabs about 3/4” in size.  I assume they are some sort of fiddler crab but they are even smaller than ones I’ve seen previously.   It is  fun to watch them.  They certainly are worried about us and many just will not come out of their numerous holes while we are there.

The marsh is looking particularly fine and I wish my back hadn’t been a problem  earlier in  our stay  before the weather began to work against us for paddling.

 

 

 

 

We do the necessary about face and  the walk back  is just as lovely.

It’s especially so as we round the tip where the shore  is the widest.  The dunes, the pools and sand art are breath taking.

 

  

 

 

Much easier to do in the daylight.  DUH!

 

By the time we get back, the sun has warmed it up to 75 degrees.  WHOO HOO!   Even with the wind, this is more like it.

We’ve built up an appetite and know that we don’t want to be shucking in the dark again.  So we turn our minds to dinner.

David wants to try their shrimp so he drives just across the bridge to Gay’s Fish Company and brings back a 1/2 pound  of  shrimp for himself and gives me all the oysters.  YES!!

Here’s how it goes with better pictures in the daylight.  Clean, steam, shuck, and then whatever you want to do with them.  I’m not a raw oyster eater.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the results are…………..

Succulent oysters braised in their liquor with onion and garlic.  Served with kale sautéed in mushroom broth.

 

Steamed Sweet shrimp served over rice with a side of steamed broccoli some of which is hidden under ALL THAT SHRIMP!

 

     

It doesn’t get better than  fresh seafood right off the boat.  You can see the boats pulling up to the back  of Gays’ while you are in there buying whatever you want.  Prices are good and the seafood is GREAT.  We give them 10 thumbs up!!

In the previous post, several people said throw them on the grille which is next on my list of ways to cook Oysters.  Others asked how I fixed them this time.  I like them any way but raw.  Yesterday and today  I   had them braised/sautéed.  For my birthday I ALWAYS have scalloped oysters.  YUM!  For Thanksgiving I always have Oyster dressing.   Another YUM!