Student Selections from Beach Journals, May 2006
Caitlin M:
- I am glad to be done with the physical part of kayaking, but I am going to miss being here. The animals and plants I've seen are amazing. I have never experienced anything like this before. I can understand why writers would choose this area to write about.
- I have developed an appreciation for the outdoors. I am amazed by the books we have read. Each author was able to talk about what they found in South Carolina so eloquently and accurately.
Tracy R:
- I think the most touching part of my day was the trip up the rice canal. To imagine the entire thing being run by slave labor seems very unreal, despite the truth behind it. It is a period of history I find fascinating, and this trip may be the closest I get to understanding the entirety of the slave era. Sometimes, as much as we understand a situation from classes and books, there is no way to comprehend unless you can actually look for yourself.
- I will remember these places for the rest of my life. I saw things in a different way, and I am so grateful for this chance.
- Continuing on, we came to the boneyard beach. The pictures are amazing enough, but to see it in person, I fell silent as if in an actual graveyard.
Christi S:
- I feel like possibly this trip could be a springboard to better things in the future.
Sara S:
- The week was good and the people even better. It was so nice to actually see the mansion at Hampton Plantation and the swamp. I could not imagine a better kick off for the summer.
Jeremiah B:
- I enjoyed my trip to the swamps and beach of South Carolina. I treasure the memories of man-eating alligators and playful dolphins and everything in between that I witnessed and experienced. We made an amazing transition from the swamp to the beach and from the modern world to the primitive life in the wilderness. I made a lot of new friendships over the last two weeks and learned a lot about myself and my short term goals and plans. Escaping the high tech modern world for a week can help you focus and evaluate your life.
Benjamin K:
- Once I had taken the time to think about the things I'd seen and witnessed, my sense of place was greatly heightened. It made it much easier to transplant myself into the stories I read and made them much more enjoyable.
- My favorite experience was being on the beach of Bulls Island. It seemed much more natural than anything I'd seen. There were no jetties, no piers and no boats.
Christina M :
- This trip has helped me discover the concept of “island time” the way Jan DeBlieu speaks of it in her book, Hatteras Journal. I woke with the sun and had no idea what time it was this whole trip. My circadian clock has been tuned. Now I will lose it once I return to State College.
Jason J:
- What we all shared was using the waves to delve inside our souls and to use our small boats as mighty vessels for self discovery and reflection. We moved forward, some of us friends, some of us not, but all of us sharing a bond built of sand and salt, campfires and kayaks. Once you experience the South Carolina coast, once you breathe the air and taste the marsh and swamp on your lips, it becomes permanent press and it doesn't wash out.