After walking around Fort Moultrie we also took the opportunity to see the local beach on Sullivan's Island.
Sullivan’s Island is a two and a half-mile long barrier island near the entrance of the Charleston Harbor. It is home to a little over 2,000 residents in half as many households. Residents enjoy the small-town charm and relaxed lifestyle that the Island has to retained since first being settled in the 17th Century. We are well known for our pristine beaches, award-winning restaurants, and close-knit community. Sullivan's Island was settled in the late 17th Century by Captain Florence O'Sullivan while he was stationed as a lookout. It has a strong military background having been the site of a major Revolutionary War battle, The Battle of Sullivan's Island, as well as being involved in the first shots of the American Civil War.
--from Sullivan's Island website
Did you know that the island was involved in the American Revolution?
This is also where the nickname "The Palmetto State" came from.
We started walking through the grass towards the beach.
When we got close we were able to see the expanse of sand on the shore. You can see a 360° view here.
The kids were excited to be able to walk around on the beach.
However, we didn't get into the water.
I think this was a jellyfish that washed up on the beach.
Before too long we headed back towards the car.
We could see Fort Moultrie off to the side.
There was another marker with some more history of the island.
In August 2018 I had the opportunity to take a work trip to Naples, Florida. While there we went to the beach one evening and I was able to experience a wonderful sunset.
I grew up in California, so to me it seems quite natural to see a sunset over water. For my wife however it is profoundly strange, since she grew up in Virginia and she and my in-laws are accustomed to the concept of a sunset over the ocean (once we got up really early and drove out to Virginia Beach to see such a sunrise). Thankfully Naples is on the western coast of Florida and thus is next to the Gulf of Mexico, so locals and visitors can enjoy ocean sunsets instead of strange ocean sunrises, ;-).
The trip was a short one, but we did have one night free with gorgeous weather and several of us decided to head for the beach to see if we could enjoy the sunset. We arrived and parked and since we didn't have sandals several of us just removed our shoes and went barefoot.
We were just a group of adults, but it was nice to see that life jackets were provided for kids.
I enjoyed the feeling of the sand on my bare feet.
The sun was just starting to set when we arrived.
If you looked down the beach it still looked pretty light.
I walked up and down the beach collecting shells as I watched the sun sink towards the horizon.
Eventually I stopped for a while just to appreciate the colors--trust me, these pictures as bright as they are don't do the view justice
I did however take a high resolution video as the sunset and find it relaxing to watch it again while hearing the waves crash on the shore.
The colors kept changing and I kept taking more pictures.
We even saw some dolphins just off shore.
Finally blue started to predominate over the orange glow previously seen.
Then not too long after that most of the light was gone.
I ended up with a good collection of shells to take home to my daughters--especially ones with holes as one daughter wanted to make sure she could string them into a necklace.
You can view a few more pictures from the evening if you check out the complete album.
