Camping at the Beach

This past weekend we went to the beach to go camping with the boyscouts. We went to the beautiful Huntington State Park in Merrills Inlet, South Carolina near Myrtle Beach. This is one of the best places to visit in South Carolina. It combines the beach with the fresh and salt water marshes. The wildlife was amazing. We saw deer, snakes, alliagotrs, crabs, cranes and much more.
We started the weekend off with a salt water marsh tour. We had a wonderful guide to tell us all about the marsh and the many animals who live there. We had a chance to do a little fishing then took a nice walk on the beach to search for seashells.
The next part of the trip was a tour of the Huntington Castle, Atalaya. Atalaya Castle, also known as Atalaya, stands as a monument to the creativity and generosity of Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington. Archer M. Huntington was a noted scholar of Spanish culture and art and modeled the couple's winter home in the style of the Moorish architecture of the Spanish Mediterranean coast. Anna Hyatt Huntington was a sculptor and her main studio was here.

Atalaya was built near the ocean in South Carolina in what is now Huntington Beach State Park. The 200 by 200 foot (60 by 60 m) masonry structure was built from 1931 to 1933. Local labor was used at Mr. Huntington's insistence to provide work for a community hard hit by the Great Depression.

The living quarters consists of 30 rooms around three sides of the perimeter, while the studio, with its 25 foot (8 m) skylight, opens onto a small, enclosed courtyard where Anna Hyatt Huntington worked on her sculptures. Because she liked sculpting with live animals as models, horse stables, a dog kennel and bear pens were included. The building also features hand-wrought iron grillwork designed by Mrs. Huntington, and shutters to protect against hurricane winds. The inner walls of the main courtyard were covered with creeping fig vines. Sabal palmettos, the South Carolina state tree, and other palms help make the courtyard a picturesque, unique setting. The Huntingtons last used Atalaya as their winter home in 1947. Most of the furnishings were sent to New York City after Mr. Huntington's death in 1955. The studio equipment was moved to the new studio at Brookgreen Gardens just across U.S. 17 which cut through the Huntingtons' former property.

While Hunter was working on some boyscout belt loops with daddy, Rachel and Kent made shell necklaces.

The best part of the trip for the kids was playing in the ocean. Kent had fun trying to "beat up the waves." The kids spent the rest of the day down on the beach.

Now you can't go camping without making S'MORES! The kids ate a WHOLE bag of marshmellows. (With a little help from their parents.)

If you are ever in the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina area this is a must stop!