Sunday, February 10, 2013

Marcy's Travel Blog- Alligators, History, and Sunshine- Oh My!











Waking in the morning with sunshine coming through the window was a wonderful thing! Ah!


Over our morning coffee our hostess, Deb, told us we were going to "Sullivan's" Island for the day.










On our way out of Isle of Palms, Deb points out what looks to be a log under a tree- in the shade. "That's George", she said. "Or use to be, until I saw her babies! Now I call her Georgette!" What she was referring to was an alligator, sleeping in the shade of a willow tree. Look closely. Can you see her?




 Jan and I got out to take a closer look, and maybe take a picture. There's two reasons we didn't get closer. Alligators can run 30 some miles per hour! The other reason? We had no idea when her last meal was!




Jan spotted three of her babies, two which hit the water as she approached. The third she got a wonderful picture of. Since this one was small, and she was wearing tennis shoes, the likelihood of her loosing a toe was nil.











Turtles often sun themselves here on Isle of Palms. In the evening little deer come out to feed, though it's always too dark to get pictures of them. After our alligator visit we took off for Sullivan's Island.














The bridge connecting The Isle of Palms to Sullivan's Island looks like a huge sail boat in the distance!










Sullivan's Island has quite a history, both during the Revolution and the Civil War. Below are signs telling of the history. One is about the Revolt against the British, the other concerns the The H.L. Hunley, a Confederate submarine who successfully downed a Union ship, but then it also sank.


Sorry for the poor quality of the photo! But--you get the idea.







We wandered the site of Fort Moultrie- which was first in operation in 1776, then called Fort Sullivan. The Fort is a type of bunker, giving the impression of a large hill with brick all around.












Across the bay is Fort Sumpter- hardly visible on the horizon in the picture, but really not that far away. Jan and I took a few moments to walk around the beach area, looking for shells.












Our next stop was Patriot's Point, where the aircraft carrier "The Yorktown" is docked. I took a picture of the ship in it's entirety.













 Then a closer picture of the aircraft! (for my son Steven- thought he'd enjoy seeing those)

















We passed "Stella Maris Catholic Church" that was built in 1873.


















The lighthouse you see to the left looks nothing like the light houses of New England. This lighthouse was built in 1962, and is called "Charleston Light".




















We were ready to eat! We headed back to the Isle of Palms. Our hostess and wonderful tour guide brought us to "Morgan Creek Grill", a restaurant that offered a wonderful view of the marina there.


















Back at the condo, Jan and I decided to walk the beach, collect sea shells, and watch the sun set. It was a lovely day, filled with Laughter, History, and Sunshine!















Join me tomorrow as we wander downtown Charleston and see what we can see!

Life is an adventure, and one never knows what's around the corner!



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