Wednesday, August 18, 2010

South Carolina 8-1-10

I can't seem to get this picture moved...so Ava it is :)

well, here's the first of many pictures from our vacation to St. Helena, South Carolina. We all came back with two arms and two legs...much to our relief after all of the shark bitings happening lately!! We did have some jellyfish incidents, with poor Aryssa getting the worst sting...but she handled it like a trooper and jumped right back in the next day...even held a shark! Overall, we had a pretty good time...some of us more than others...I, for one, could have happily stayed another week, but unfortunatley, I don't think the next renters would have liked that. I loved the area...and the house was awesome....butttttttt....I think once to SC will be enough for me. THat water is just WAY to dark!! You can't see a thing! And i bet you if you could, it would make some really great snorkeling...as many "things" as we saw during low tide ( i'll get to that in a minute) and just swimming in the water....i actually may have not gotten in if I could have seen. ;) That water sure was warm, though!!! It actually got so hot, the kids didn't want to swim.

For those of you who haven't been to SC....and maybe some of you who have, but in a different area...the tides there are CRAZY!!! I haven't been to a lot of oceans...but I have never seen anything like these. I'm awful with gaging distance, so we'll just say they were way, WAY out!! Everyday we were there they went further out and took longer to come back in...I think our last day..it was 2 or 3 before we could swim off the beach...but that night the water was up under the steps of the houses...NUTS!! We were able to find some cool stuff while it was out, though..but I would have liked to be swimming before noon!!

Anyway...these pictures are from our first day.....enjoy...others to come in the next couple of weeks!!

p.s. if you ever get to St. Helena...make sure you try Johnson Creeek Tavern...yum!!!! Everything we ate was delish ( and really you don't have any other restaraunt options ). I'm still craving their hushpuppies...and I don't even like wings, but they were yummy...and SO hot!! Jami eats them all the time and she said they were by far the hottest she'd ever had...and for you seafood lovers...they have plenty of that, too...just ask Payne who had a HUGE plate of snow crabs...twice!!

MY troop on the way down:




The Beach:
oh yay!!!!!!

ewwwwww....first taste of salt water..lolloggerhead turtle nest...Jami and I actually saw the "turtle people" taking care of a newly hatched nest and helping some of the babies to the ocean...we didn't see any babies, though ;(...which was my faultJami and I ran to the store and this is what we came back to :) Poor abbies were exhausted from that trip...especially Gavin...I think he only slept about 20 minutes the ENTIRE 14 hr. drive!!

After everyone got in a cat nap...we headed back outside....

ewwwwwww....our first jellyfish sighting

Emma & Aryssa and I stayed out a few minutes longer than everyone else....just to hang out on the beach and play in the sand
Emma :





Aryssa :




Aryssa & Dawson

HOUSE & LANDSCAPE