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 to see people again. Watching family's bury a kid to the neck , the overly enthusiastic dog running into the waves with his owner, or a little one with a sand pail ready to make a castle, brought even more joy to my wonderful day. It was one of the most crowded places I have been in a long time and I actually didn't mind it.

Mostly, I sat and people watched and listened to music, somewhat read, and took things in. It felt like how things should be and how I hope things will be again...

That's not what I'm here to talk about though. This is about my adventure on Pinckney Island .This adventure on Hilton Head brings me back to my favorite subject : Nature and Wildlife.

Tony knows me well enough to know that what I enjoy doing is finding new hiking trails and other areas with trees to explore and animals to look at. So on my first visit to Hilton Head, he wanted to make sure to find a good place that I would enjoy and this was his first choice. I do have to say it was an amazing one.

I got to see so many wonderful things and hear the most amazing sounds of all the birds, and all the crabs,and the scurrying of armadillo on the fallen foliage (I never knew they 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 that enjoyed the trip, Tony spent at least half an hour talking about his childhood and trying to swim to other islands from where we were on the overgrown beach, as well as discussing his own tree climbing expeditions of the past.

Looking at all the wildlife, I couldn't help but think of my child. I've homeschooled him since he was born and my greatest wish has always been for him to discover the world.



We both share the love of documentaries and he's always telling me that he wants to see somewhere or something. The little crabs, the alligator, even the kayak group brought him to mind and I can't wait for him to explore the place the next time I visit the place.

I spent a lot of time with Tony, sharing the past happenings on this trip and we hung out and just remembered experiences that shaped who we were.

Some things,however, were just for me. Early in the morning I watched the sun rising over Pinkney while he was preoccupied elsewhere. We were there as long as possible. Seeing the way the light on the trees made various shades may have turned out to be the most gorgeous view of the entire place.



How can people see this and not really notice it? This always baffles me. What kind of world do we live in?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I believe that the beauty of the world is all around us.

The wild that was once all over the planet is becoming smaller and smaller.Commercialism is taking over.

Growing up in the country, away from city lights is probably the best thing that happened to me. Never could I imagine living in a ghost town again. I don't regret it though.

People are just as amazing to me as nature.

The way we are taught to see things in the world is a mixture pbetween nature and nurture. The environment in which we grow up in is just as important as the people we were exposed to as children.Tony and I were both fortunate enough to spend lots of time outdoors as children. It is part of what shaped both of us.

I truly enjoyed seeing the world that shaped him and can't wait to take him to the dying part of the town I grew up in,to the small fireman's park that holds so many memories for me, or to the Brazos river just down the road from Megargel.

They may not hold the same amount of beauty as I felt the Island did,but they are part of my history.

One day, I'll see the view from his eyes of my small town that I still consider home. Maybe he'll see it in a much different light than me. One day I'm sure we'll see.

Written by: Amber Bingham