ocean – Wandering Dawgs

John of Journeys with JohnBo asks us to share the places we go when we are feeling down and need to take a break.

My favorite go-to place is at home. When I am home I like to see the sky at sunrise or just sit on my back porch overlooking my back yard and the salt marsh.

*My day gets off to a beautiful start when I catch the sunrise from my own backyard*.

*Sometimes I see birds like this Great Egret*

I like to take a walk in my neighborhood which is surrounded by salt marsh and salt water creeks with palm trees, palmettos, and Spanish Moss draped live oak trees creating a peaceful landscape.

The beach is my happy place. If I want to go to the beach there are four barrier islands in coastal Georgia that can be reached by car. There are numerous uninhabited small barrier islands that can be reached by small boats and others that can be reached by ferry.

*Sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean on Tybee Island, Georgia, the closest beach to my home.*

*In January we spent two nights on Jekyll Island where we enjoyed the quiet beaches.*

*Sapelo Island is one of the Georgia islands that can be reached by ferry.*

We no longer have a boat but I have fond memories of how peaceful it was to ride through the nearby creeks and rivers.

*Slow boat ride through the coastal Georgia salt water marsh*

Many thanks to John for this challenge Lens-Artists #345 – My Go To Places

Learn more about the Len-Artists challenges and how to participate by clicking here.

After spending the winter catching up with chores at home and dreaming about wandering, we made our maiden voyage of 2014 just one state over from Georgia to South Carolina.

We started our short trip with 3 nights in Columbia watching our grandson play in a soccer tournament. It was so much fun to watch him play and cheer from the sidelines with his parents and sister.

On our way home we spent a rainy night at Hunting Island State Park. Our first visit there was over 30 years ago in our tent camping days when our kids were little. We have been wanting to return there ever since we got the fifth wheel. Hunting Island is located about 42 miles from I-95 at the end of Hwy 21. The drive takes you through beautiful salt marshes, across rivers and sounds, and through several towns including Beaufort (if you are driving a big rig, take the truck route instead of going through downtown Beaufort).

The campground has about 200 sites, some of them right next to the beach. Our site was located in a loop with the sites surrounded by tall trees and palmettos. A short walk from the RV took us to the dog friendly beach in front of the campground.

The rain let up a little so we drove to the lighthouse to explore. The Hunting Island Lighthouse is the only lighthouse in South Carolina accessible to the public. A short path in front of the lighthouse leads to the beach.