Huntington Beach State Park

View from room 302 at the Kingfisher Inn

I made breakfast burritos with eggs, cubed ham and cheese for breakfast. We went to the Kingfisher Inn front desk and picked up a pass for state parks. This would give us free admission to any South Carolina state park. We left the condo at 9:30 driving south and arrived at Huntington Beach State Park by 10 am.

We toured the home of Archer and Anna Huntington that was called Atalaya Castle which translates to The Watchtower. The Huntington family built this winter home in hopes that the South Carolina weather would be good for Anna’s tuberculosis. Construction on the home was completed in 1933 and was used for about six months each year until the family abandoned it in 1947. The 30 room house was not overly opulent but provided comfortable living for the Huntington family and their servants. Mrs. Huntington had a sculpture at the house with a large skylight where she produced many of the sculptures that are on display at Brookgreen Gardens.

Natalie & Rex at Huntington Beach State Park

By noon, the temperatures were heating up so we drove back to the Kingfisher Inn for lunch. We had salads and diced chicken that we brought from home. We relaxed at the room for a while then Rex and I walked around the small downtown area and checked out a place for Natalie to buy T-shirts for their grandkids. By 3 pm we drove to the nearby Walmart where Rex and I bought fishing licenses for Wednesday. I persuaded the clerk at the sporting goods desk to tease Rex about his “criminal record” from the traffic stop in Virginia last month.

We returned to Huntington Beach State Park and visited the nature center where the interactive displays illustrated the coastal wildlife. A volunteer at the nature center was very helpful in answering our questions. After leaving the nature center we walked the short Sandpiper Pond Nature Trail until the insects got so bad that we walked back to the car.

Hiking on Sandpiper Pond Nature Trail

We went back to the Kingfisher Inn to change for dinner then drove to Lee’s Inlet Kitchen I had the shrimp creole that was similar to shrimp etouffee and was delicious. Everyone enjoyed our meals that were well prepared and delicious. Natalie and I had margaritas that were mostly ice and not especially good but the rest of the meal was excellent.

We returned to the Kingfisher Inn too late to walk on the beach so the four of us walked out on the pier adjacent to the condo. There are two bars on the pier with cover bands at each. Several people were fishing off the pier but no one appeared to catch anything.

Back at the room, we turned in for the night. Our bunk beds were difficult to get into but one we were in the beds we were comfortable and slept well.