Leaving Kiawah

Marshlands and Mom Continued

At the end of a nice little walk we came to an open pond area, quite large. Actually there was a street and on one side was a very large pond and on the other, a wild marsh land. On one side of the the pond stood many large white birds. Their nests were low on the bank making me wonder how long their life span could actually be with a group of alligators lurking below. The scene reminded me a lot of a place the Friedberg family took me to once in Louisiana, although it was less swampy here. (Mind you, nothing against the swamps...LOOve the swamps.) So, one can enter the pond area a bit on this little dock. I guess fisherpeople use it to catch fish or people like us use it to look further into the pond. The sun was setting in the distance and again, quite a pretty scene. After just seconds we saw an alligator on the side of the marsh and another quite close...in the same exact spot we saw one last time as a matter of fact. It was really hypnotizing to watch the gator smoothly creep through the water. It slowly swam closer and then stayed right under the deck watching us. Its body would crest the water and then all you could see were its eyes. It was actually quite cute and I would have liked to pet him/her if not for obvious reasons. Then it sat on top of the water again letting us get some good photos. The fisherman who was there later moved because he was nervous that the alligator (who had been watching him all afternoon) was going to take his fish away. (Perhaps the fisherman shouldn't have been feeding it his bait all afternoon then?) I'm no expert but doesn't it sound like kind of a bad idea to feed the alligator little enticing scraps? After that appetizer what's it gonna eat for the main course? I'm just sayin'... It was very cool to see it though, so prehistoric.

On the other side of the street there were marshlands. Again, full of white birds, herons, smaller little birds fluttering about, and small little crabs. The walkway was lined with ornamental grasses and small flowers. Again, how do they maintain all of this?? Beautiful scenery! Kiawah could really run with the tag line: Kiawah, it's beautiful.

Thank you auntie

I pity the fool who doesn't thank aunties for the cutest onesies ever made! This Mr. T onesie made for an adorable beach combing outfit, thanks Erica.

Memorable Evening

This evening my mom, Twila, and I decided to walk a few miles to the overlook tower at the Marsh Park, a little nature area. So, we headed off, covered in deet, to see the unknown. The trails in Kiawah are beautifully maintained. I’ve never see anyone ever working in the gardens and there is so much landscaping here… but never, how do they do it? That’s the kind of garden I need! So the trails are kind of like green way paths. They wind around golf courses, ponds, pretty houses, and small little marshy areas with “Caution: Alligator” signs posted right next to an inviting sitting bench. If there was ever an enticing view that I’d like to ignore it would be the one next to the “Caution: Alligator” posting. There are many different types of birds flying about and huge spiders with webs in the trees that expand feet in diameter. Occasionally a dragonfly or other morsel is hanging right in the middle. So we walked for a few miles and then came up to our nature trail head. The path inviting us forward was layered with pine trees and tropical foliage. Then, out of nowhere, a bridge ahead. When we came to the opening and saw the site unfold on both sides a tear came to my eye. For those of you who know me you are probably rolling your eyes. I was rolling my eyes at myself in my head but could not help the tear welling up in my eyes. So, as an aside, to be embarrassingly honest, there are two things that bring tears to my eyes. One is really pretty or cute things, like the site I am describing…and I'm not crying or anything but water will well up in my eye…it’s controllable but this time it caught me off guard-I didn’t know I was going to stumble on one of top ten prettiest things I have ever seen. The second thing, and this is the more embarrassing of the two, is…ahem, when I witness teamwork. Yes, it’s lame. And actually this one catches me off guard sometimes and actually makes me cry. It’s embarrassing because I will start crying for no reason whatsoever and then wonder why I am crying and then realize it’s because I am witnessing teamwork in action and I can’t stop…even though I am embarrassed and realize how lame it is. I have thought back to times in my life when I have started to get emotional and have pin pointed that a lot of those times were involving, well…teamwork. I have to think really hard about something else, like light bulbs, to distract myself. (The Olympics were the worst!) So anyways, now that I’ve got you really rolling those eyes, the site- it was breathtaking. Bright lime-green grass as far as you could see outstretched to the horizon, a sunlight filtering through clouds that makes you think of an artists rendition of Heaven, large Heron birds soaring gracefully across the landscape,and quiet all around… We walked on to the observation tower. There was another view of the marsh lands. It was simply beautiful. I could sit there every sundown for the rest of my life and not get tired of that view. Really pretty.

So, Twila couldn’t really appreciate the views and was getting hungry so we quickly headed back. My mom got a call so I sped ahead with Twila to give her some privacy. On the way back two large deer crossed our path. One of them lingered back around and watched us for a moment before disappearing back into the woods. The sun was quickly going down and our light was faded by the time we rounded the corner of our street. And as I walked back to our front door, pushing Twila in the twilight, having had a nice relaxing evening with my mom and daughter, I looked down at her sleeping and it dawned on me…I had a moment…this is my daughter, wow. I’m her mother. Wow. How lucky am I?? Really lucky. I was thankful-for that moment, the realization, the evening with my mom, being here with Doug and having some time to enjoy each others company, for being a mom, HER mom….it was a good evening. The moment was enough to bring a tear to the eye.

Jellyfish and Juggling,Marshlands and Mom

It was a beautiful morning walk. We had the entire beach to ourselves... well, us and the hungry birds. We had hoped to see some dolphins but alas we did not. On our walk we saw over turned Horse Shoe Crabs, some different kinds of Jellyfish, and a few shells. I remember there being a lot more seashells on previous visits but that made the few we did discover even more exciting. The Crabs were interesting to look at and reminded me of that movie Predator. The jellyfish took me back to the time my mom and I were visiting my dad in Barbados. I was stung by a Portuguese Man o' War. You know, until very recently I was calling them jellyfish. In fact, I always believed I was stung by a jellyfish giving birth (mainly because that's what my dad told me after I was stung). Anyways, now I know that to be false. The PMoW is actually not a jellyfish. It's actually not even just one single animal but a colony of 4 different kinds of beings. I guess that's why it hurt four times more than any other sting I have ever had! Anyways, upon seeing the jellyfish along the shore I was intrigued by their beauty while being terrified of having one touch my skin. (Consequentially I had to throw a few beers back to feel a little more comfortable entering the water.) So, we walked along the beach 'til it hit 10am and then Cinderella had to go back indoors. I never knew that babies cannot wear sunscreen until 6mos. of age...does something to the skin, scary. So we headed back and my mom wanted to stay with the baby awhile while Doug and I enjoyed the beach. Win-Win all around. So we had a bit of time relaxing inside and then went to cook in the sun a bit.

It was so great getting to spend some time with Doug and not worry about the baby. It was a lovely day, warm water, some frisbee throwing...just a lot of not much. Doug attempted to juggle. I really enjoyed just spending some time with him. After a few hours of that we came back to get mom and Twila and head on out to see one of the ponds and marshes. I hoped to see the little alligator that we had seen the last time we were here. Oh, did I mention how sweet she was when we arrived? When we entered the house mom and T. were playing on the sofa...just hangin' out and practicing some sitting. We were greeted by smiles from the both of them. I'm loving it. Next entry-Marshlands and Mom continues.

The Next Morning

Ahhhh...

And off we go to meet the ocean

Yes, back dating my entries again...I know, I know. But my mom's been in town and the tales of Kiawah are worthy enough to share (mainly because of how cute it was to introduce Twila to the beach).

So when we arrived we headed straight to the beach. It was twilight, a little windy, and still a bit warm out... In other words, it was perfect. You know, I can't really imagine exactly what is going on in Twila's head some times. I know her moods via her expressions but I some times wish I could know what thoughts were passing through her mind.

How crazy is it to see the ocean for the first time? To stick your feet in an unknown texture and then have them sucked into the sand as the hugest bath tub you've ever seen rolls over them and away, over them and away... It's gotta be...well, I don't know...I was going to say "crazy" but that's not the right adjective...how about "amusing"? No, not strong enough..."amazing"? Um, well, I am blank. It obviously impressed her as the ocean's waves created noises and moved the light around like she's never seen before. But I suppose that the wind in her hair and the sand at her feet was just as unique as anything she's done or felt for the first time. And so, she was giddy! She was content as we walked out to the water. She wasn't fearful but instead seemed captivated. Her eyes widened a bit. She continued looking up as I bent over to place her toes in the water coming onto shore. She lifted her feet for a second (maybe the water was too cold) but then very quickly she put her feet back in curiously. Then she splashed her legs up and down excitedly like when she's excited about anything-the leg pumping thing kills me every time! Then the water went back out to sea and the shore sucked her little toes into the sand-she LOVED that. It was a lot of fun.