Life on Paws and Wheels

Simba and I visited and hiked through Vereen Memorial Historical Gardens in Little River, South Carolina , a beautiful Lowcountry preserve where wooded trails and long wooden boardwalks wind through more than 115 acres of coastal forest, wetlands, salt marsh, and small islands along the Intracoastal Waterway. Despite being only a short distance from the busy attractions of the Grand Strand, the park feels surprisingly quiet and secluded. With approximately three miles of nature trails and boardwalks , Vereen Memorial Gardens turned out to be an ideal place for an easy hike with Simba. Much of our walk took us beneath a shady coastal forest before the trails transitioned onto boardwalks extending across the tidal marsh. Eventually, we reached the waterfront, where overlooks provide views across the Intracoastal Waterway and boats pass through the surrounding coastal landscape. The natural scenery alone would make Vereen worth visiting, but there is considerably more hidden throughout th...

Simba and I visited the Mary E. Morris Shipwreck on Oak Island, North Carolina , where massive weathered timbers preserve the story of a three-masted schooner driven ashore by a powerful hurricane more than 130 years ago. Today, the surviving pieces are displayed at Shipwreck Park, but these aren't timbers from a reconstruction or replica. They are remnants of the actual vessel that wrecked along this coastline in 1893. The story is especially fascinating because the Mary E. Morris essentially disappeared twice. After the hurricane drove the schooner onto the North Carolina coast and broke the vessel apart, shifting sand gradually buried much of the wreckage. For generations, the remains were largely hidden beneath Oak Island's beach until another hurricane arrived more than a century later and unexpectedly exposed substantial portions of the old wooden ship. What began as a maritime disaster in the 19th century therefore became an unusual archaeological discovery in the 20th. ...

Simba and I visited the Kindred Spirit Mailbox on Bird Island, North Carolina , one of the most unusual and surprisingly meaningful landmarks I've encountered during our travels. Hidden among the dunes beyond the developed shoreline of Sunset Beach, the mailbox contains notebooks where complete strangers have been leaving their thoughts, dreams, fears, memories, confessions, and personal stories for decades. There's nothing particularly elaborate about the landmark itself. It's essentially a mailbox standing among the dunes with a few benches nearby, overlooking a quiet stretch of the North Carolina coast. What makes it special is what's inside. Open the mailbox and you'll find notebooks filled with handwritten messages from people who made the journey here before you. Some entries celebrate love, marriages, children, and new beginnings, while others describe grief, loneliness, illness, heartbreak, uncertainty, and people who are deeply missed. Reaching the Kindred ...