The Gazebo - Charleston, S.C.

 Each and every day time escapes us little by little. This trip took Sweetie and I down memory lane. Last time we were here Cory was almost 2. I haven't been able to place my hands on the picture that Sweetie took of little Cory and I 12 years ago. Come to think of it... I should have taken another one with him here this time. However, all I could think of was allowing the boys to explore it on their own. Letting each have time to enjoy it.
Cory walked around and pointed out the writing on the ceiling of the gazebo. "Nice Place."he said. Young man of many words..
His brother Brian, ever the entertainer...well the gazebo could be nothing else but a stage. I was thrilled to capture him dancing his time away!

We spent enough time in the park to watch a wedding party arrive and use it for their ceremony.  The whole process was rather quick as they were outta there in about 30 minutes or so.
The late afternoon shadows were creeping in as they rushed off to take photos all over town.
We also got to enjoy watching pelicans dive into the water after fish in the bay. Beautiful weather of low 80's and a slight breeze helped us during our walk about time.
It was a beautiful afternoon.

The Battery - Charleston Harbor

Ah! The Battery.  When Sweetie and I lived in NC, we would come to Charleston whenever we could. Once we brought Cory. (more about that in a later blog).
The huge battery surrounded by water holds many boats and a few cargo ships on the day we are visiting. Folks are milling around some having picnics, another a group of students on a field trip. Catching bits and pieces of the history lesson they were getting was informational.
It's hard for my mind not to wander when I'm in such a place. I believe if I lived closer I would use this as a place for inspiration - a place to write.
The grand trees with the ever present hanging mosses, the silent cannons, the statues of past leaders, history whispers to ya if you listen hard enough.

The boys enjoyed climbing trees, playing around the cannons, and were quite agreeable to allowing me to photograph them. This will truly be one of my favorite memories to look back on. Nothing electronic, just time spent together - laughing and playing. Sigh!

Rainbow Row's Iron beauty

These are just a few of my favorite gates. I have taken many pictures, too many to share on here... but enough to give you a sampling of the beauty of Charleston.

Rainbow Row, Charleston, S.C.

Wow! To say that this is one of my favorite places in the world, is an understatement. Just walking the streets of downtown Charleston I marvel at the architecture and historic beauty. The colors are vibrant and the stories from the locals are equally rich. The cobblestone streets, the horse drawn carriages, cannons, the battery, and the wrought iron! I am fascinated with all of it!

Isn't this beautiful? I'm relaxed just looking at it!

Photos on the beach....Summer 2012

Shark fishing - Part 2

Our guide, John was a lot of fun! He grew up around boats, and shared his story with us as to how he got his own boat and business. It was a good lesson on hard work paying off.

For the first batch of bait we let him handle the super slimy squid. Honestly those things were so icky that I didn't feel bad about hooking them at all.  It didn't take long for us all to put our own squid on the line. (even Sweetie)

It didn't take long for the first bite..a small tug, then the game of giving slack and slowly winding the string back in.  The first catch for Brian was a stingray.

Then came the sharks! Wow! We had fun. Mostly we got babies...but then Cory, Sweetie, and I got some that were more than two feet long and three-five pounds!  Catch and release! Three hours went by fast! We even got to meet a dolphin named Nick. What a great day!

Shark fishing- Part one!

Shark Fishing..

So, we decided that we would splurge a little on our vacation and plan one big activity while we were visiting Hilton Head, S.C.
That one activity: SHARK fishing!
The boys and I were so excited, we couldn't hardly wait! Sweetie well!  He was wondering what his family was so excited about.... see he doesn't like fish...he doesn't touch fish... he doesn't even eat fish. So, when his family suggests this activity, he was outvoted. Ever the trooper he got us to our destination. A little company tucked into some oak and maple trees thick with hanging moss. Coming through the tall metal gate, one is greeted by the owner, a fisherman tanned by hours in the sun. Motioning toward a small picnic table under a canopy of sorts he handed us a clipboard with some maritime rules and regulations.
The next order of business was gathering the chum. Chum we found out is a parts is parts mixture of ick that is thrown out into the ocean to attract sharks to the area.  (Are ya excited yet?)

I found out the boxes of chum are so nasty smelling that they keep them frozen! Several boxes of bait (which we later found out was squid) were loaded onto the small boat. We were blessed as we were the only group on the boat!

It didn't take long for us to really enjoy just being out on the water! We got to see the HarborTown Lighthouse, and a party boat! This boat sells ice-cream and beer to anyone who pulls alongside.

DO NOT FEED the ALLIGATORS!


On a recent trip to Hilton Head, SC we got to experience alligators. There were signs everywhere asking folks to "Please don't feed the Alligators."  This pond was in front of our grouping of condo's, so we looked for this guy every day. Most of the time he spent sunning himself, he didn't growl or move toward anyone that got near him.
This is as close as our traveling gnome would go...

Playing in the Atlantic, Hilton Head, S.C.

The Atlantic Ocean.
Our family has visited the Atlantic more than any other ocean. It's funny how the beaches along the eastern coastline of America are different. This beach was flat. Meaning unless we dug into the sand, we had no problems with it.
We learned all about high and low tide and when to go catch a wave and when to go looking for shells.
On Hilton Head, in the early morning when it was low tide at its farthest out point, we went out to the beach with high hopes of scoring some shells.
It was pitch black out there except for a few stars. Armed with flashlights we spooked many crabs scurrying back and forth on the beach. We found several small broken shell pieces, a pair of goggles, two pairs of sunglasses, and a toy turtle.  We walked quite a bit of the beach before we all agreed there wasn't much there. We headed back to the condo, and back to bed!