Contemplating Our Return Before We Leave

Monday, March 28th – Myrtle Beach to Poinsett State Park, South Carolina – Day 48

I woke up feeling better. Gen was still feeling a bit rough. We packed up while the kids played. We went by the nature centre and the kids handed in a poorly done scavenger hunt. I had started the scavenger hunt two days prior but the previous day the kids didn’t want to do it and I did not feel like forcing them. You had to read signs posted around the park and then answer multiple choice questions. We finished the questions in the morning but a lot of them were wrong. The kids donated $1 and received the badges. Normally, I make sure they are completing every activity to the best of their ability because they shouldn’t be rewarded for anything less. Even John answers the questions. But we gave ourselves a pass for this one.

At Myrtle Beach they have cabins that you can rent. They cost $150 - $170 a night American. We looked at renting them for March break next year but didn’t end up deciding.

To earn a South Carolina Junior Ranger level three (yes, we are really into this) you need to visit at least four state parks. We headed to Huntington Beach, about thirty minutes down the road, for our second stamp. The park contained the ruins of the house of a famous sculptor, Anna Hyatt Huntington. It was a Moorish inspired house with a huge central courtyard and rooms in the outer ring. Her sculptures focus on animals and are exquisite. We only saw pictures but there is a huge open-air museum of her work across the road. It requires paid entrance so we will do it next time we are in Myrtle Beach; the entrance fee for the house was $2 a person and that inspired debate.

When we finished walking around the house (or in John’s case running from room to room), we ate a lunch near the play structure, the kids finished junior ranger activities and Gen and Mary checked out the beach. The kids received South Carolina Junior Ranger level 2 qualifications!

The rest of the day was dull. We drove to Poinsett State Park which was the very close to our next destination, Congaree National Park. I made a pretty delicious Chana Masala, the girls did the dishes but broke some glass bowls in the process, and Mary tripped over a metal fire pit in the dark (luckily her gymnastics training kicked in and she did a triple lindy before landing on her feet).

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