Showing posts with label Island Hopping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Island Hopping. Show all posts

Thursday, August 14, 2014

SC Coast

When a sweet friend of Michele’s offered to let us use her beach house while we were visiting SC, I wasn’t immediately sure we should go.  After a little thought we decided that it would be good for the boys to experience east coast beaches.  After all our time in the Bahamas is finite.

The boys were thrilled to go to Fripp Island and we had a really good time.  We were sad that Allen didn’t get to go on this trip with us.

Get ready for photo overload!

I love the marshes we went through on the way in.

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OK I do not have a picture of this but… here is the story!

We got in mid afternoon and after we unloaded the car we went for a walk on the beach.  The part of the beach we entered on was very narrow and within about 90 seconds of setting foot on the beach of SC we saw a SHARK!  It was swimming right along the edge of the water.  The same edge of the water we were walking along.  We’ve lived in the Bahamas for 4 years but we see our first shark in SC.  Go figure!

It didn’t stop these boys from heading straight into the water.  We didn’t exactly have a consensus because mama and Aunt Chele did not want to go in that water.  You can’t even see around you!  Yes I am spoiled!

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But still it was about a 3 foot long shark. Right there!

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The boys were really interested with all the boys who were skim boarding.  Jackson talked to a boy on the beach who let him use his board.

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It took him a bit to get his balance.  He said, “I thought I would be good at it because I am good at skateboarding and paddle boarding.  This is hard.”

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They quickly talked me into buying them one.  

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Jackson took about 15 minutes of trying and trying again before he had it down pat!NIK_8082

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Miller has quite an unusual technique—kind of a cartwheel/squat combo.

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No matter what their technique they look a million times better than me because I’d be on my face the first time and then never get up again!

Jackson and Miller loved spending lots of time with their Aunt Chele.

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And her puppy, Maggie too!

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We got to explore the island a bit.NIK_7854NIK_7898

They aren’t used to actual waves (small waves) and had a blast playing in them.  They have no idea about undertow and strong currents, so I had to stay out there with them most of the time…{shudder}NIK_7963

While on the beach we could always see the shrimp boats and pelicans close by.NIK_8011

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Jackson really wanted this magnet.  He didn’t care if it was appropriate or not!

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On our last day the weather was absolutely gorgeous!   When it is low tide the beach is so wide.  By high tide there is no beach in some places!

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A beach boy’s gotta do what a beach boy’s gotta do!

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So now to the exciting part.  The wildlife!  As soon as we got to the island {we saw a shark} we began seeing deer.  They were quite prolific.

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The last night we were on the beach and Miller dropped his peach in the sand so Chele threw it up near the dunes.  It didn’t take long for these guys to get that juicy treat!

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Our nature boy loved every second of it!

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There was also an alligator in the pond right behind our house.  The house had a little sea wall to keep the gator off their property.  We saw him quite a bit while we spent time on the deck and porch.

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He was close.  One evening the boys were playing soccer out on the deck when the inevitable happened.  Their soccer ball got kicked over the side of the deck.  The gator wasted no time capturing his “prey”!

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Bye Bye soccer ball!NIK_8049NIK_8050NIK_8051

The next day Michele was walking her dog and the fool saw the ball on the edge of the pond.  So she thought it would be a good idea to get the ball out with a net.

Amazingly she didn’t end up a gator snack!  The ball wasn’t popped but it did smell!

All too soon it was time to head back through the marshes and head back to the Upstate.

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It was such a nice trip.  IMG_3505

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Independence Day- Bahamas Style

We spent Bahamian Independence Day with some of our favorite Bahamian friends….s well as friends from Switzerland and Chile.  Unfortunately Allen had to work and then go to the official events, so he didn’t get to come with us.

We headed out of our neighborhood.  These boys do not look like they are having fun, but they really were.

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And so were we…

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As soon as we got to the beach, the boys did their thing….

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And so did we…P7062192

Later in the day the clouds were amazing.P7062202

Not too long after this we saw a water spout off shore.  {A water spout is a tornado over the water.}  Fortunately for us we could see it from a safe distance.s

The lovely clouds turned into a lovely sunset.P7062227P7062229

One day I hope that they will look at these pictures and see what an amazing life they have lived here.P7062233

The sunset made an amazing day even more special.

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This special friend of mine is moving away soon.  When we come back from S.C. they will be gone.  It was a bittersweet day since we knew our time was limited.  However, that is a post for another day.

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To end our amazing day we all piled back in the boat with tired, hungry, salty bodies and headed back home.  And went through a thunderstorm.

As they say storms can’t last forever.  However I hope our memories of this amazing day will last forever!