Some More Folly Beach Pictures

Since the Folly Beach pictures from my last post seem to be the more popular ones, I thought I’d share a few more.

Folly Beach, SC is one of my absolute favorite places and is our usual yearly vacation destination. We skipped going in 2020 due to COVID, so we were very excited to be able to go in October of 2021.  We opted to skip indoor activities like museums and house tours and spent most of our time on the beach.  It gave me a lot of great opportunities to play with the camera.

I love the shell tree.  I don’t know why or when people started hanging shells from it (there were no shells on it when we were there in 2019), but I think it’s such a cool idea.  It’s just so pretty and cheery.

The weather we’ve had for the past few days makes me miss the blue skies and sunshine.

 

Morris Island Lighthouse

Yesterday was National Lighthouse Day.  I had plans to do this post then, but it was a typical Monday, so that didn’t happen.  I think it’s interesting, though, so I decided just to do the post a day late.

Last year our beach vacation was very different than usual.  We ended up leaving a few days early because of a hurricane evacuation, but we were able to see the Morris Island lighthouse lit up.  It’s just off of Folly Beach, South Carolina, and October 1, 2016 marked the 140th anniversary of the current lighthouse being lit.  It’s no longer in use, but Save The Light was able to arrange a lighting for the first time in over 50 years.

October 1st just happened to be the first day of our vacation, so we made sure to walk out to the end of the island so we could see the lighthouse all lit up.  We chose to skip the ceremony, partly to spend more time on the beach, and largely in an effort to avoid the worst of the crowds.  Traffic was pretty intense on that end of the island, but it was worth it.

We’ve never spent much time on that end of the island.  There are some bird sanctuary areas where dogs aren’t allowed.  The dogs always vacation to Folly Beach with us, so we typically spend most of our time on the other end of the island.  It was nice to finally go to the other end of the island, and seeing the lighthouse lit up may well be a once in a lifetime experience.  We were both really happy that our trip happened to coincide with the lighting.

I took a lot of pictures, but most of them didn’t come out.  Obviously, it was really dark at that end of the island.  There were also signs warning of rocks and currents, so Nick was super paranoid about me getting too close to the water for the sake of pictures.

Even though my pictures are nothing amazing, the experience definitely was.  There are records dating back to 1673 showing some sort of light there, and the current (third) lighthouse has been there for 140 years.  It was like a little piece of history coming to life.  There are some better pictures on the Save The Light website, as well as some more history about the lighthouse.  I encourage you to check it out.  It’s a quick read, and I think it’s fascinating.

Happy National Lighthouse Day!  A day late, but we’ve made it almost halfway through the workweek.  The weekend is shining like a beacon of hope.  Kind of like a lighthouse.

Happy Places

The Lodge @ Table Rock

I think most of us have a place (or maybe more than one if we’re lucky) that just makes us happy. Maybe it’s a place that’s soothing or comforting, or a place where nothing but good things have happened, or maybe it’s a place that for some reason just speaks to our soul.

We need happy places. Everyone needs at least one place to go that will put a smile on their face, make them feel at peace, or just make them happy.

These are my happy places:


Folly Beach, SC

Table Rock State Park: I’ve always liked Table Rock, but it’s also where Nick and I got married, and that made me love it. It’s beautiful there, the lodge has a really neat history (built by the Civilian Conservation Corps), and I loved our wedding. I know it sounds a little cliche, but it really was a perfect day. We like to go back, around our anniversary if possible, and take the dogs hiking. I love that the place we got married is a place we can return to over and over again. 

 Folly Beach, South Carolina: This is possibly one of the most beautiful places on earth. Standing on the shore, it just feels like all is right with the world. It’s also just a short drive away from Charleston. I love the laid back atmosphere of Folly Beach and the fact that the beach isn’t crowded. And it’s dog friendly!

Meerkat @ Riverbanks

Riverbanks Zoo & Garden: My earliest memory of going to Riverbanks is when I was five years old. My grandparents lived in Columbia, so we went to the zoo sometimes when we went to see them. They loved being grandparents, so we were incredibly spoiled by them, and they just seemed to take it up a level at the zoo. It’s also where we went on the last visit we had with them before they died, and it was one of those days that you can look back on as being one of the perfect days in life. Now, going to the zoo is something that I get to share with Nick, and I still love it as much as I did when I was a little girl.

Garden @ Riverbanks


Our House: Our house isn’t big or fancy (if we have a style it’s probably best described as informal), but I love it. It’s where we’ve chosen to build our life together, focusing on the people, ideals, and things that matter to us. I’d like to think (hope) that our house is welcoming. Entertaining family and friends at home is something that’s really important to me, and I always want anyone we invite to be comfortable and happy. Our house is also very pet friendly, and we wouldn’t have it any other way since the fur kids are such an important part of our lives. Coming home just feels right and safe; it’s where I want to be at the end of a long day. 

So what about you? What are your happy places?