We woke up on day 3 of vacation with a lovely pink beach sunrise.
.
.
I have to say it’s not a bad way to start the day.
.
.
Our first adventure found us at Botany Bay Heritage Preserve. A 4,000 acre property, open everyday and free to the public. Originally two cotton and timber plantations, it’s now a haven for wildlife and a wonderful place to explore by car, on foot or horseback.
Upon entry, it’s all about the trees.
.
.
A mile long dirt road of nothing but glorious live oaks dripping with Spanish moss.
.
.
In spots they form a stunning canopy…
.
.
And it feels like you’re stepping back in time.
.
.
When I think of the south?
This is the image I see.
.
.
They truly are magnificent things.
.
.
Driving the loop trail through ruins and fields, we eventually found the water.
Next to the cypress wetlands was the Port Royal museum. We love small local museums run by resident volunteers and always try to support them when we can.
.
.
This local didn’t share any history with us, but he was all about a good neck scratch.
.
.
Not St. Augustine, Florida.
Nope. That’s a common misconception. The Spanish actually settled Port Royal first, but it was abandoned a few years later due to lack of funds.
.
.
This museum was tiny but filled with interesting things.
.
.
Megalodon teeth… that you can apparently scavenge for on local beaches. Sign me up!
.
.
15 million year old clam? That too.
.
.
The docent had absolutely no idea what this was, but I’m there for it as well.
We’d had a busy day, and since I had one more waterfront walk on the schedule for the late afternoon I tried to hurry the husband along.
I think you can guess how that went.
Just when I almost had him out the door, the lovely lady who runs the museum suggested he might want to look at some military photo albums donated by a resident.
.
.
Yes, they were interesting.
.
.
Filled with heart warming pics…
.
.
As well as the horrors of war.
.
.
Most were taken during WWII and Korea. And while I appreciated her sharing them with us, I wasn’t as thrilled with the hour long conversation that followed.
Vacation time is limited!
Schedules must be kept.
As the sun was going down, I finally dragged him out of the building and we headed for the boardwalk.
.
.
Tiptoeing through the seagulls we made our way forward.
.
.
It’s a popular fishing spot next to the marshes and offers a long stretch of easy walking with a viewing tower.
.
.
Of course it was getting dark and the wind had ratcheted up to a howl which made it less than comfortable.
.
.
We only climbed to the first level of the three level tower…
.
.
The higher you went… the stronger and colder the winds. One quick picture and I called it good.
.
.
The sun was setting and we needed to get back on the road.
.
.
As you can see, our giant rental beast dwarfed all the other vehicles in the parking area.
Our home base for the anniversary trip was a two bedroom condo at Wyndham Ocean Ridge on Edisto ( Ed-iss-toe) Beach. Mid way between Charleston and Hilton Head…
.
.
It’s a quiet, laid back mostly residential beach community without all the tacky water parks and touristy crap cluttering most southern coasts. It’s the undiscovered country and that’s just how we like it.
When we arrived at the resort and checked in, we were given a unit on the golf course. We travel through our timeshare so sometimes it’s a crap shoot where we’re placed. But seeing that my husband has the gift of gab and makes friends easily, we were quickly reassigned to one of the deluxe units in the best area. (Me dropping the 40th wedding anniversary bomb may have had something to do with it as well. 😉 )
If it hadn’t been January, in the height of the off season this wouldn’t have happened. The Bay Point association is the primo spot of the entire resort and people book them two years in advance.
.
.
The peninsula itself is Edisto Beach with private homes all around. The areas in green are the resort and it was a crazy set up. One second you’re on the resort, the next you’re on a private road. As you can see by my arrow we were right at the tip on the water.
.
.
Our condo was in the middle on the top floor, which in reality is only the second but you have to climb 4 flights of stairs to get there.
.
.
It was clean and spacious.
.
.
With a decided seaside decor.
.
.
It was newly remodeled with carpet that looked like waves.
.
.
And had a pretty sweet view from the bed.
.
.
And speaking of views…
.
.
One look out the balcony and I was a happy camper.
.
.
Off season with an entire beach to ourselves. It doesn’t get much better than that.
.
.
Second bedroom. No, we don’t use it… but if you book a two bedroom unit you get two baths and that my friends is the key to a long and happy marriage.
.
.
Master bath. This was mine in case you were wondering.
😉
.
.
We settled in and unpacked.
.
.
Very pleased with our South Carolina home for the week.
Maine is a coastal state and has a rich fishing heritage. Lobsters are our mainstay but we also harvest scallops, crabs, oysters and numerous deep sea fish.
The men who work the ocean are a hardy bunch. Strong, stoic, and weatherbeaten. They also have a quirky sense of humor.
So when a local apparel outfitter started a big catch contest giveaway and asked fishermen to submit pictures, you know it was going to get interesting.
Here are a few of my favorite entries.
.
.
This is the son of a friend…. with an extra large lobster roll.
.
.
In case you ever wondered what scallop dragging looks like.
.
.
And that is one monster scallop!
.
.
I believe this is a Mahi…
.
.
I have no idea what these are, but they’re definitely plentiful.
.
.
This is your typical – man with fish – proud catch photo.
With chemicals and plastics and oil spills… and though the waters off the coast of Maine are cleaner than most, I’m afraid even they’re showing signs of the pollution.
I live in Maine and have lobsterman friends. They often post pictures of the weird and wonderful blue and orange lobsters they haul up in their traps. The colors are rare but occur naturally as a mutation of genes.
But lately?
The pictures have taken a darker turn.
.
.
Mutations are being found.
.
.
And this doesn’t bode well for our oceans.
.
.
This last one is not only disturbing , but downright creepy.
River's world..... 