FOLLY BEACH, SC

Sunday, March 24, 2019. Staying at an Airbnb on a island eight miles from the beach definitely has its advantages. And James Island is a beautiful example. With narrow winding roads with names like Camp Road and Riverland Drive, the streets are lined along either side by trees that have grown to form a green canopy of leaves, almost like a tunnel, that twists and turns and follows the natural landscape of the island as it leads you to the ocean. Everything is laidback here. Downtown Charleston is only about 15 minutes away but the pace of the island makes you feel like you’re in a whole different time zone.

Needless to say, today wasn’t my first venture out to Folly Beach. (Yes, I’m taking full advantage of my proximity to the beach while I’m here!) Today was actually my fourth trip. But today was different. Today I began to feel like a “local”! The dudes at the parking lot across from the beach all recognize me now. And the cute brunette bartender at Snapper Jacks even calls me by my name! Yes, I’m starting to feel like a resident beach bum around here. Come to think of it, I’m starting to look like a bum!! I haven’t had a haircut in over three months, my beard has gotten scraggly, and my tan has darkened from all the sun I’ve had. It’s safe to say I’ve adapted to island life.

So this morning I grabbed my towel, my sunscreen, and my newest book, Harlen Coben’s “Six Years”, and drove out to Folly Beach.

I parked on West Indian & 2nd street, which is about four blocks from the beach – and FREE! Parking gets expensive on the weekends so I really lucked out with that spot. I donned my cool $3 fake wayfarers that I’d bought in Vegas last year when we went for my bestie, Lisa Cole’s, birthday (Shout out!!) and headed towards the pier.

Travel tip – recreational marijuana is legal in Las Vegas now! Just sayin’…..

On the way I ducked into Loggerheads Beach Grill to check the place out. They have a whole sea turtle theme going on with an expansive wrap around patio that has an excellent view of the surrounding area. A great place to kick back and relax with a ice cold beer or frozen drink.

After I finished my morning “Sunday Funday” beer I stepped across the street to the warm sandy beach. Folly Beach is the most popular one around Charleston. Accessible, clean, and family friendly but still has a relaxed feel with plenty of space to share. I arrived just ahead of the mid-morning crowd and spread my towel on the sand about 50 feet above the shoreline. The weather was comfortable. Sunny and mild. The surf was low, with two to three foot waves. I waded out and dove into the crest of a three-footer.

The water was F-F-FREEZING!!! It felt like I was in the Arctic Ocean! I’m talking heart palpitation cold! I’m talking involuntarily stuttering cold!! Numbness in your extremities cold! You feel me?? Waaaay too f#@king cold to be in the water cold!

So now I had a dilemma. I had entered the water all calm and cool looking, now I had to get out the same way. Imagine how I would have looked high-stepping out of the water, with arms flailing about, screaming “IT’S COLD!!” as I darted back to land. Definitely not cool, I can tell you that! I casually stood up, keeping my composure while trying not to shiver uncontrollably, and sauntered back to my beach towel like I was too cool for school.

Whew! Crisis avoided! I still looked cool! Maybe I should just lay out for a while.

I leaned back and rested on my elbows and let the thoughts in my mind begin to wander. I’m not someone who practices meditation, but I believe that sitting in the sand and staring out to sea has the same therapeutic affect. The ocean heals and restores. My earliest memories of the beach as a child, are standing at the shore and looking out to sea at the distant horizon. I would begin to daydream about what was on the other side. And I wanted to go there. I still do that today. I look out to that horizon. The sunlight reflecting off the ocean like shiny little disappearing diamonds everywhere you look. And I begin to daydream all over again. I want to dive in and swim to that vanishing point and see what’s on the other side.

I know, I know……more water!

I was stirred from my reverie by the sounds of children’s laughter. I hadn’t noticed that a vacationing family was setting up their umbrella and chairs few yards north of me. They had two young children. A precocious little boy and an adorable little girl. And I could tell from their exuberance that this was their first beach outing. The children were both overly excited and the parents were trying in vain to settle them down. It made me smile. Mom and dad were in for a long day!

For the next couple hours I laid on my towel just soaking up the sun and reading. Finally I got up and tested the water again. The surf was up to four foot waves now and after laying in the sun, the water didn’t feel as cold as before. (It was still pretty damn cold though!) I decided to go for a peaceful walk along the shore and “people watch”. I observed kids building sand castles under the encouraging eyes of their parents. Groups of teenage boys and teenage girls playfully flirting and giggling as they passed one another. Dogs running to fetch sticks as brightly colored kites floated in the sky above me. And of course there were plenty of insanely hot chicks walking up and down the beach and laying out too!

I pulled out my phone to check the time and realized it was almost four o’clock! I’d been at the beach longer that I thought! But I wasn’t quite ready to go home yet so I gathered up my stuff and headed to pier 101.

The pier seems to always have a good crowd. Today there was live music and the bar was packed with rowdy patrons.

I strolled to the end of the pier and watched the fishermen cast their reels for a while. The fish weren’t biting today.

I checked the time once more and begrudgingly made up my mind to start heading back. I don’t know why I felt sad that I had to leave, I can always come back next weekend. Or tomorrow. Or in the middle of the week! Or whenever I want!

I think the sadness came from knowing I’ll be leaving South Carolina soon. I’ve enjoyed staying here tremendously but Charleston is not my home. And there’s a lot of miles left to this trip before I make it back to Texas. I’ve already planned the next leg of my journey. (I’ll give you a hint: I’m going to learn A LOT about our nations history from that part of the country.)

So, yes, a few more weeks of work here in Charleston and then I’ll be back on the road!! It’ll be bittersweet because I’ve grown to really like it here. I’ve met some very special people, whom I will never forget. But it ain’t over yet!!

See ya’ again next weekend, FOLLY BEACH!!