On Friday, October 23, Dr. Simmons led the intrepid eleventh grade American History class on a field trip to historic North Island in Winyah Bay.  After meeting at school, everyone drove separately down South Island Ferry Landing to catch the boat over to the barrier island.  The guides for the trip were Jim Lee and Jamie Dozier of DNR. 

Jim and Jamie very ably navigated the DNR boat over to the pier on North Island, then led the group to the top of the lighthouse (120 spiraling steps).  According to local historian Elizabeth Huntsinger, the North Island Lighthouse is the oldest lighthouse in S. C. (Interestingly enough, it was the last to be automated). From the top of the lighthouse, Kingfishers could see the entrance to Winyah Bay between North and South Islands.

After climbing up in the lighthouse and enjoying its splendid panorama, the group crossed the island to get to beach, where they ate lunch.  They packed up and walked back to pier.  By 2:30, they were back on the mainland hot, sandy, and thrilled with their adventure.  Georgetown used to be the third largest port on the east coast of the U.S. and the kids got a real birds-eye view of how shipping traffic used to enter our port.