I love this Erna Bombeck quote. “You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4th, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy and the flies die from happiness.” We left our chairs on the beach late afternoon so we can sit after supper and watch the fireworks from Harbor Town. We watched the fireworks on Daufuskie Island last night from our back porch, so beautifully reflected in the glistening water of the ocean.

I’ve eaten my last seafood dinner and key lime pie on the trip. I brought the piece of pie home tonight. I celebrated our last night out with a sea food platter. I’m stuffed to the gills. We’re heading home in the morning. We’ve had a glorious time and we all look like ginger snaps after a week in the South Carolina beach’s sunshine. The ocean is such a vital part of our earth’s life. Jeremiah 31:35 states, “Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun for light by day, the ordinances of the moon and stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar — the Lord of hosts is his name.”

Hearing the ocean roar as the shorebirds shout has been a highlight of the trip. I’m enamored with the brown pelicans. Today I noticed the markings on their heads looks like combat helmets. I’ve collected a few of their feathers as trophies to take home. The young snowy egret is dressed in his bright yellow shoes prancing around with the old great blue heron this morning, looking like a grandfather and grandson on a morning beach walk.

We’ve seen the power of the ocean as the tides rise and recede and we’ve seen the wildlife it sustains, the dolphins and the loud shorebirds. We’ve viewed Mother Nature’s magnificent watercolor paintings at sunset and we’ve watched the lightning strike and heard the thunder roll as the skies shed silver tears.

Now we’re off to watch the fireworks! Happy Fourth of July!