I spent an entire day on the beach, mostly on my own, and absolutely loved it.

After being in quarantine longer than the majority of my family and friends, it was nice simply to see people again. Watching families bury a kid up to their neck in the sand, an overly enthusiastic dog running into the waves with his owner, or a little one carrying a sand pail and getting ready to build a castle brought even more joy to an already wonderful day.

It was one of the most crowded places I had been in a long time—and surprisingly, I didn't mind it at all.

Mostly, I sat and people-watched. I listened to music, somewhat read, and simply took everything in.

It felt like how things should be, and how I hoped things would be again.

But that's not really what I'm here to talk about.

This is about my adventure on Pinckney Island—an adventure on Hilton Head that brought me back to one of my favorite subjects: nature and wildlife.

Into the Wild

Tony knows me well enough to know that one of my favorite things to do is find new hiking trails, wander through places filled with trees, and look for whatever animals happen to cross my path.

So, on my first visit to Hilton Head, he wanted to find somewhere he knew I would enjoy.

Pinckney Island was his first choice.

I have to say, it was an amazing one.

I got to see so many wonderful things and listen to the incredible sounds around us—the birds, the crabs, and even the scurrying of an armadillo through the fallen foliage.

I never knew armadillos could sound so loud.





The views were amazing and I felt like I did when I was a child climbing the branches of trees, only these trees were much larger and much harder to climb seeing as how my body has changed a bit since hitting puberty. The feeling of being high in the trees was still the best, even if my balance wasn't.



I wasn't the only one remembering childhood.

Tony spent at least half an hour talking about growing up here, trying to swim to other islands from the overgrown beach where we were standing, and telling me about his own childhood tree-climbing expeditions.

That became one of my favorite parts of the trip.

We weren't only exploring somewhere new together. I was getting a glimpse into the world that helped shape him.

Thinking About the Next Generation

Looking at all the wildlife, I couldn't help but think about Dresdyn (my stepson).

I've homeschooled him since he was around 4 years old and one of my greatest wishes has always been for him to discover the world for himself.





Sometimes I look at something like that and wonder:

How can people see this and not really notice it?

It has always baffled me.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I've always believed that beauty is everywhere if we're willing to stop long enough to see it.

The wild places that once covered so much of our planet are becoming smaller. Development and commercialism continue to change the landscapes around us, which makes the places where nature is still allowed to simply be wild feel even more important to me.

Maybe some of that comes from how I grew up.

The Places That Shape Us

I grew up in the country, away from city lights, and I think it was one of the best things that could have happened to me.

I can't imagine living in a ghost town again, but I don't regret growing up in one.

Nature fascinates me, but people do too.

The way we learn to see the world is shaped by both nature and nurture. The environments we grow up in can matter just as much as the people we grow up around.

Tony and I were both fortunate enough to spend a lot of our childhoods outdoors.

It became part of who we are.

On this trip, I got to see a little of the world that shaped Tony. Someday, I can't wait to do the same for him.

I want to take him to the dying little town where I grew up. I want him to see the small fireman's park that holds so many memories for me and the Brazos River just down the road from Megargel.

Those places may not have the same kind of beauty I found on Pinckney Island.

But they're part of my history.

They're part of me.

One day, I'll get to stand there and see my little hometown through Tony's eyes instead of my own.

Maybe he'll see something completely different from what I see when I look at it.

Maybe that's part of the beauty of sharing the places that made us who we are.

One day, I'm sure we'll see.