Life on Paws and Wheels

Simba and I visited and hiked Palmetto Islands County Park in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina , a beautiful 943-acre park filled with maritime forest, tidal wetlands, marsh islands, boardwalks, nature trails, and classic Lowcountry scenery. Located just outside Charleston, the park feels surprisingly removed from the busy historic streets and attractions nearby. Instead of old buildings, monuments, and city traffic, we found shady forests filled with palmettos and Spanish moss, wooden boardwalks stretching across wetlands, tidal creeks, wildlife habitat, and miles of peaceful trails. Palmetto Islands County Park was designed as a nature-oriented park where visitors can explore several relatively undisturbed marsh islands and the coastal environments surrounding them. With both paved and unpaved trails, it's an easy place to spend several hours wandering through the natural side of the South Carolina Lowcountry. And, of course, Simba got to hike the trails with me! 🐾 🌴 943 Acres o...

Simba and I visited the Sullivan's Island Lighthouse on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina , one of the most unusual-looking lighthouses in America. Officially known as the Charleston Light , its towering black-and-white exterior looks dramatically different from the traditional brick and stone lighthouses scattered along much of the East Coast. There is a good reason for that unusual appearance. The Charleston Light belongs to an entirely different generation of lighthouse construction. Completed during the 20th century using steel and aluminum rather than traditional masonry, it incorporated modern features including an elevator and an extraordinarily powerful electric light. Commissioned on June 15, 1962 , the approximately 163-foot tower replaced the historic Morris Island Lighthouse as the primary navigational light marking the entrance to Charleston Harbor. More than six decades later, it remains an active aid to navigation and one of Sullivan's Island's most reco...

Simba and I visited Osceola's Grave on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina , the final resting place of one of the most famous Seminole resistance leaders of the 19th century. Located just outside Fort Moultrie's sally port , the small fenced burial site is surprisingly modest considering the extraordinary history surrounding the man buried there. Osceola became nationally famous while resisting U.S. efforts to remove the Seminoles from Florida during the Second Seminole War . After nearly two years of resistance, he was controversially captured by American troops while meeting under a flag of truce, imprisoned, and eventually transported hundreds of miles from Florida to Fort Moultrie. He would never return home. Only about a month after arriving on Sullivan's Island, Osceola died in captivity on January 30, 1838 , at approximately 33 or 34 years old. His grave remains beside the fort today, bearing the words “Osceola, Patriot and Warrior.” Simba and I stopped to see thi...