Day 7, the last full day of our southern anniversary vacation started like the previous 6… with a card.
.
.
This trip was our gift to each other so I opted for a card a day instead.
I’m thoughtful that way. 😉
.
.
It also started with the malfunction of my very last can of (the now reformulated and totally awful Aussie instant freeze… may a pox fall upon their houses and render every last one of the executives bald) hairspray.
Oh, the horror!
With my drastically unsecured hairdo, we headed out that morning to buy a thank you gift for our neighbor who was caring for Lord Dudley Mountcatten in our absence. On the way out of the store I chuckled at the appropriate license plate of the elderly owner.
.
.
And speaking of moss…
.
.
We decided to make the most of our last day and return to the Botany Bay preserve to fully explore Boneyard Beach at low tide.
.
.
Passing under that gorgeous canopy of trees again on the way in.
.
.
It never got old.
.
.
Our previous two trips to the beach were shortened first by loss of daylight and then by rising tide.
We hoped for better viewing this time.
.
.
I know the pictures don’t do it justice…
.
.
But you have to trust me, this place was amazing in person.
.
.
.
.
Even with bad hair and high winds.
.
.
The skeletal remains of all those trees made it feel like another planet.
.
.
Or maybe this one after some kind of Planet of the Apes scenario.
.
.
.
.
Look…
.
.
My husband smiled, so you know it was special.
.
.
I swear if I lived in this area I’d be here everyday…
Returning to the condo after Boneyard Beach, we met the nightly herd of neighborhood deer.
.
.
They wander the area at will, not the least bit scared of cars or people.
.
.
Southern deer are much smaller than the ones we’re used to seeing up north.
To me these are basically large dogs.
.
.
We wondered where they slept in this area… it’s a beach after all, crowded with houses and very little undeveloped woods.
Did I mention we had dolphins in front of our resort twice a day? Two hours before high tide and two hours before low. They follow and drive the fish and we loved seeing them frolic.
Of course every time I tried to film them they stopped. Pay close attention here and you’ll see one break the surface.
.
.
And speaking of sea creatures, Edisto Island is all about the turtles.
.
.
Brightly painted and prominently displayed.
.
.
Some of them were quite creative.
.
.
On the main drag?
.
.
The sand seemed to be gaining ground.
.
.
And every time we drove by this rental house? We laughed.
.
.
Oops. Major parking dimension miscalculation there.
.
.
Another balcony selfie, slightly squinty as I was looking into the sun.
I’m not sure my vocabulary contains enough adjectives to properly describe how sublime Boneyard Beach at sunset can be….
.
.
Mysterious.
Spectral.
.
.
Otherworldly.
Striking.
.
.
Wondrous.
Captivating.
.
.
Preternatural.
Glorious.
.
.
Exquisite.
Magical.
.
.
In other words… fan-flippin-tastic!
We really didn’t want to leave but the tide was rolling in fast and there are warnings everywhere about being trapped, so we headed back down the marsh land path.
.
.
Where the sunset was also pretty sweet.
.
.
As we left, I knew if we had the time I wanted to come back at low tide and walk the whole beach.
Since we still had a little daylight when we got back from Charleston, we decided to go back to the Botany Bay Preserve and check out the beach we didn’t have time to explore on our first trip there.
.
.
It’s a half mile walk from the parking lot…
.
.
Through marsh land with some pretty funky driftwood.
After showering off the sand from our beach walk and spraying my second hairdo of the day in place, I planned on spending the day at the resort since no one in their right mind goes out during a bad storm.
No one but my husband who refuses to waste a vacation day that is.
Here’s a little glimpse of the neighborhood right beyond our door. In the rain…
.
.
As we headed over the bridge from Edisto, the sky did not look promising.
.
.
But my husband was determined in his quest.
.
.
Antiquing for my man is like the U.S. postal service…. Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night will keep him from shopping for crap.
.
.
I told him he could only buy what would fit in his suitcase. Thankfully this did not.
As usual I saw some ridiculous things…
.
.
Fur trimmed sleigh?
.
.
Ah, the vomit clock.
A time honored treasure.
.
.
Its little demon hand beckoned…
But I ran for my life.
.
.
The husband has a weird obsession with vintage wooden advertising yard sticks and was bound and determined to come home with these… even though I assured him they wouldn’t fit in his bag.
.
.
Southern self help book.
.
.
7 sticks of butter? This makes a wonderful last meal before your arteries snap shut and your heart gives out.
We wandered around the store until the storm got bad enough that the owner wanted to close. Husband bought his yardsticks and a few other small items including this….
.
.
No, he doesn’t cook. But it definitely qualified as quirky.
.
.
In particular this recipe – which was so wrong, it was right.
.
.
My only purchase requires a bit of explanation.
Last Christmas our state lottery ran a commercial about the joys of regifting. (Don’t roll your eyes, we’ve all done it.) The ad was a huge hit… funny and heartwarming and everyone loved it.
Take a look.
.
.
So when I turned the final corner of the store and saw this sitting on a shelf?
.
.
I knew it was $8 well spent and couldn’t wait to see my girlfriend’s face when she opened her gift.
.
.
Store closing around us and bad weather moving in, my husband wanted to go out to lunch. Not surprisingly everything was closed because, ya know… mini hurricane.
.
.
Lunch was at Hardees. And I use the word lunch loosely because whatever that sandwich was it didn’t resemble food as I know it. 🤢
When I finally dragged the other half back to the resort, the pelicans were turned to the wind ready to ride out the storm.
.
.
It’s hard to tell, but the wind was really howling. Watch the palm tree in between the buildings on the upper left.
.
.
The afternoon and evening of Vacation Day 4 was spent playing gin rummy (with a deck that had all 4 jacks)…
.
.
And eating a box of this…
.
.
Which I’d never seen before… but heartily enjoyed. Beer + cheese + pasta = happiness.
.
.
Winds were 65 mph.
It was a long noisy night….
.
Where there's only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous.
River's world..... 