Beach Bike Ride

We figured that if we rode our bikes on the beach at low tide we could get all the way to the end of the island and back before the water cut us off on the return. We were wrong.

We did get to the end and were told by some people that we should turn around now or we wouldn't be able to get back. Did we listen? Nooo! We got off the bikes and explored the south end of the island and then tried to ride back. The islands in this area are barrier islands that protect the mainland from storms and erosion. This beach has been eroded by hurricanes so that dead palm and oak trees are laid over on the sand. There was one tree that was still standing tall but its roots showed that almost 4 feet of beach had been washed away. We had to travel around and thru these downed trees to get past. At low tide that was not a problem but as the ocean came back in, we lost our path and in places we were totally blocked. We ended up biking on a long abandoned road most of the way back to our beach.

After lunch we rode our bikes to the Hunting Island Lighthouse. Since the tide was up we rode along the road which also let us explore more of the state park. The lighthouse was built in 1859 but was destroyed during the Civil War. It was rebuilt in 1875 on the north end of the island. Since it was made to be taken apart so it could be moved if necessary, they actually did move it in 1889 when erosion threatened to topple the lighthouse. We climbed 167 steps to the observation deck where we could see about 40 miles out to sea and clearly see the south end of the island 4 miles south and other nearby islands that are over 10 miles away.

I was cold all day! The temperature never got above 51° and the wind was blowing. I wore a t-shirt, a long-sleeved tee, a sweatshirt and a jacket, gloves, head band and could not stay warm! Even the fire I built could not warm me up! By the time we finished watching a movie, I finally had a warm nose and toes. BTW we rode 13 miles on the bikes today.