This was The Turtle's second year at Hunting Island, SC. We arrived just before Christmas Day, 2014, in a pouring rain that could have hydroplaned us into the marshes on either side. When we got to Hunting Island State Park, it let up a bit. I checked out my reserved site only to find a sea of puddles. The Turtle is no puddle jumper, I thought. Let's see if we can get a spot closer to the ocean and nearer to my friends, Carol and Jim, who were traveling from Athens, GA pulling their brand new Lance trailer. As fortune often has it for The Turtle and I, there was one spot left. And what a spot! Only a few feet from the churning ocean. If we are going to get wet, then let it be by something more majestic than a soppy pond! All of the above photos were taken from The Turtle's windows. The rain did not stop until Christmas morning (first and last photos).
There were many breaks in the weather those few days before Christmas, but the view from inside was nothing short of a miracle. And the miraculous is really what the season is about. Nature provided this for us. There are no seasonal reminders except for the poinsettia in the foreground of the Turtles back window view. And as the days progressed and receded like the ocean, I was to find many more miracles awaiting me. Including the raccoon that ate our appetizers, while Carol, Jim and I were enjoying a fire made from dried palm fronds.
