Dream Trip 2009

Great Travel Moment

This Moorish Mediterranean style courtyard in a large 1930's era house named Atalaya, meaning "tower" in Moroccan Arabic, is at Huntington Beach State Park, South Carolina. The wealthy and very creative American husband and wife, Anna Hyatt and Archer Huntington, designed it for their winter home. The charming and romantic Atalaya is opened to the public as is Brookgreen Gardens, which Anna created with her own acclaimed works of large metal cast sculpture. This pristine ocean beach and fresh water marsh protected as a South Carolina State Park has RV and tent camping sites. The free rangeing alligators, a dozen or so always present and visible in the lagoons, are not the only star attractions. Over 300 birds have been sighted at Huntington Beach. We purchased fresh local shrimp and cooked down a very tasty gumbo over our campsite's hickory wood fire. East Coast pristine nature, history, culture and art!