I promised more pictures from our trip to South Carolina a couple of weeks ago. Some of these have already appeared on social media sites (I'm milking this trip for all it's worth) but there are some never before seen photos as well.
We spent more time at the beach, but I did take quite a few pictures from the marshy area that we explored one morning, with its striking vistas and diverse wildlife.
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| The Palmetto is the state tree of South Carolina and they are everywhere to be found. |
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| Only "the little kids" (Teresa and Jojo) came with us on this trip. The "big kids" didn't come because their college or school years were already starting up. John XXIII Montessori Center doesn't start until September, so we're still partly in summer mode. |
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| It was Jojo's first time EVER at the beach. Did she love it? "This was the best day I ever had!" she said after the first visit. And it only got better. |
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| Along with the beach, we visited a swamp... uhh, I mean "wildlife nature preserve." Here are some sticks in the water, but look MORE CLOSELY! Is that a... a... a... ? Yup. ALLIGATOR! Just a little guy. And remember I have a good zoom lens so I was at a safe distance. I ain't no Crocodile Dundee! |
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| Dragonfly, zoomed way up close. |
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| Another dragonfly, from a different angle. We spent much more time at the beach than in the swamp, trust me. But the swamp just had lots of interesting subjects for the camera. |
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| There was beach bumming too, in the bright warm breezes. |
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| Tall pines in the woody areas right off the beach. |
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| These beautiful inland lakes are found in the southeastern coastal regions. |
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| This is the American white ibis, a fishing bird found on the southeastern Atlantic coast. Look at that long beak! Got close to this one with the help of the zoom lens. I love the reflection in the water |
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| I was happy to get a good look at this bird (and a good pic too). The anhinga has a neck made for catching fish and spends a lot of its time on the water in the coastal marshlands. This one, however, was in a pine tree next to a lake sunning its wings. Wow, what a bird! |
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| The Nature Preserve had these efficient and non-eco-invasive walkways that let us get through the swamp. |
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| Great towering magnolias: another basic tree of South Carolina |
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| Then we emerge from the trees to long stretches of sandy, sparsely populated beach. |
We_had three full days, along with two backbreaking daylong trips in the car. As hard as the trips were, however, it was worth it. And a note to my parents: we drove the Taurus, and it was about as comfortable a ride (or as minimally uncomfortable a ride) as I could hope to have in a car, as far as the contour and mobility of the seat.
We thank God, and all our friends (you know who you are!) who helped make it possible for us to have this little getaway. As Eileen said, the ocean is so large and peaceful that it lets your mind rest. As the busy school year begins for her, the mental rest was most welcome.
