Seabrook Island, or (My time In Paradise) Day 2 Part1

The beach called to me..... and mom actually. After a great breakfast, we ran onto the sandy shore. The surf of the sea rippled against our toes, and I and raced into the sea itself, allowing the sea to drench the bottoms of my jeans.

At Camp Christopher, they don't think up creative names for the places, fields and buildings. Our meeting place for example; it is called The Place. (Not joking) On the way over I had found, what our new guide Jen said was a Horse Shoe Crab Test. Right now, the very same test is on my back porch, letting the rain and sun to peel the sand from it. It has been two weeks, it still hasn't come off. On our way to the beach, we tried the leaves off the tooth ache tree. Chew the leaves, your mouth will numb. The native Americans used the leaves for, you guessed it, tooth ache! But that wasn't all of the strange trees here, one is called the Something -vomitous. Ummmm, take out the something. The natives would make a tea out of the leaves of the --- vomitous tree and after a few minutes, they would throw up. They thought that would cleanse them. Also, it was good if they ate something poisonous! Especially since there was no Poison Prevention company back then! ;)

We found at least twenty jellyfish on the beach! I touched two of them, and held one of them. Now I know you think I am nuts, but these Cannonball Jellys aren't venomous! But just warning you, don't touch any others you see on the beach, UNLESS a Naturalist is with you. We also found: a few hermit crabs, shells, dead man's finger coral, sea weed, driftwood, but what was very very cool was the sea oats.

Sea oats are protected by the government, because so many people enjoy using them for home decorating. Now, you can not pick them, unless you want to pay $250 or more. Each stalk is worth $250 dollars you see. But the neatest thing was is that for every one foot of sea oats above ground, there is six feet UNDERGROUND!! That is what holds the sand dunes together! Now, before you move on off of this website, I have to tell you about the dreaded, MUD PIT! Those of you who already know about it, just go and move on. The mud pit is off the beach a ways, so we tromped through a bunch of soggy sand until the guide said, "Now adults, if you want, you can take off through the dry route, " some of the kids tried to head that way but..."And one adult must stay with the children, yes, kids, you must go through the wet way."

The only non-wimp was.....(drum roll please) MY MOM!!! In the picture, (which is not the mud pit ) my mom is the beautiful cute girl in green <3>

esquary afterward, which felt awesome in comparison to the mud . I hung out on the lodge deck afterward, with my MP3 player and The Tale of Despereaux. We went on a nature walk after lunch, with our new tour guide TJ .He was really nice, and helped explain all the hard, college style stuff in simple launguge! The woods were on top of the used to be sand dunes! Besides seeing the beautiful forest, rotting logs, ext. I loved the rope bridge!

The rope bridge is actullly used when the rainy season comes, because the ground below is flooded! I have learned from personal experience, go barefooted, it is way easier! If you leaned to much, on one side or the other, you will start to tip , and not to say much, but it can be embaressing. The girl in gray is me! Mom took the picture.

Right now I will leave you at a cliff hanger, because this post is not supposed to be over yet,

but, I need to do something else besides be online all day! I will write more about day two,

ASAP!

Sea Brook Island or ( My Time in Paradise) Day #1

It was going to be fun, I could see that. It was going to be tough at times, I could see that. It was going to be an adventure, I could taste that! Mom and I were going to go to Sea Brook island, of the coast of the lower part of SC. We were staying at the Saint Christopher camp. The camp was very Eco oriented, and a nature haven. Mom and I would take classes with other groups for three days, sleeping in lodges or cabins. We got the lodge, a two story hotel-like building on sturdy, elevated poles. (Flood proofing) The lodge overlooked the estuary, the place where fresh water meets the sea. We often would take walks along the beach, seeing dolphins, jellyfish, shells and even horseshoe crab tests! The classes were awesome! One neat one was animal tracking! Our guide, Lucy, showed us how to track, deer, raccoons, squirrels, ext. Deer are very easy, because of their big foot prints, and the marks they make on trees. She told and helped us find ant lions. They live in a little tiny indention in the sand. The ant lion waits for an ant or other bug to fall in, and he will eat them up! While tracking, we saw a little green rough snake in a bush. Rough snakes aren't poisonous, so she let us pet it. But that wasn't all of our reptile adventures!

One of my favorite classes was an Amphibians and Reptile class. I personally thought that the corn snakes were absolutely awesome. Have you ever held a snake? How about a big one? If you have, and you naturally love snakes, you can explain the wonderful feeling, of it gripping close to your arms, plopping its head against your chest; what a experience! The salamander was my second favorite. It has a covering of mucus on its skin, so that way it won't dry out. However, the salamander didn't choose me as his favorite. Oh, no. He scampered all over my hands, (slowly) until I had to pass it on so that way someone else could have the little beast try to escape them too. :) They also brought out an alligator and a pair of turtles. (Hate those turtles, they kept urinating all over the place!! ) The alligator cried practically the whole time he was out of his enclosure. You maybe are wondering how can alligators cry. They make a noise like "Ennn Ennn" and according to Lucy, that is how alligators cry. I have to include a picture of Lucy and the alligator . WARNING: The picture looks terrifying for people who don't like baby alligators. Yes, it was a baby. But still, if you use flash, and a face recognition setting, it will look rather scary. Oh, I touched it. :)

Cats and Tigers

As any perceptive eye can plainly see, there are many similarities and differences between cats and tigers. Let's start off with some common ground. Both of them love to hunt and catch fish, which is common in felines small or large. Cats and tigers also have the same favorite resting spots. After a hefty meal of meat or fish, they both like to take siestas on top of high places. Besides that, they are great at hiding, climbing, jumping, sneaking, and stalking.

But, before you fly to Africa to exchange Kitty for a tiger, you might want to hear this. You need to know that these two are NOT alike in a ton of ways. One thing that is very different is their sizes. You will never be able to tolerate a five foot long, tiger laying on your bed, unless you sleep on the floor. Oh, and please buy a swimming pool, or a lake, or a beach house, for a tiger loves swimming! Yes, Kitty only liked the water in her dish, but your new tiger friend loves water so much, its feet are webbed. (Although I don't think you want to check up on this. They are rather fussy about their paws.) Another difference is food proportions. Unless you want to drop your bank account on pounds of gazelle meat , I suggest you send your tiger back to Africa ASAP.

My No-labor Labor day!

My morning started out with a jar of fish. The fish came from the Middle Tyger River which flows behind my yard. Armed only with some string ,a long stick, a canning jar, and my sister's bug net, I headed through the woods and to the river. The mosquitoes hadn't been awakened yet, so I had an hour or so till the nasty things awoke so I knew I would have to hurry unless I would like to be eaten alive. I attached the string to the stick, and the string to the net's handle. I waited until I could reach the "fish". Specks really. I finally saw one worthy enough to catch and plopped it into my jar. After a while, I added four more to my catch. I happily head to the house with my new pets.
"Are you sure they aren't tadpoles?" Dad asked after observing them for a few seconds. "Tadpoles are bigger. And they don't have fins. What do you want for breakfast?" she said busily searching in the kitchen closet.
"Muffins!" I exclaimed showing mom some muffin mix. "Could we have a picnic by the river?"I asked showing Livia the fish .
After mom agreed, Livia and I played marbles upstairs. She loves small things and marbles are especially attractive. Maybe it's because of the variate of colors. Maybe it's the smoothness! All I know is she loves marbles.We played the old-school method, The ones you hit are the ones you keep. Livia hates to throw the shooter hard , so in the process she loses because she barely touches any at all. I was doing beautifully when my friend Skyler came over. Livia is good to leave me alone when friends are here , so I had Skyler to myself. Mom called Skyler and me down for breakfast, when I remembered we were going to have a picnic. Skyler liked the idea, so Livia, Skyler and I trooped outside. After we ate, (A Pina Colada shake, blueberry muffins) we explored for a bit outside until the mosquitoes drove us over to Skyler's house. Wii gets boring, if you play all the easy levels, so we went back to my house where we set up a Playmobil village. We used lime green poster board for grass, brown construction paper for mud and my own hand-painted pictures for scenery!
By then , we had to go eat and Skyler had to go home. Dad took me to Frankies fun park and did a few laps on the go karts. Livia and dad shared a car, but I drove alone. Luckily for me, I had driven before so I was able to withstand (and beat!) dad's fancy driving. As for Livia, to put it in Dad's words "The faster I went the happier she was!" I wish Labor day rolled around more often don't you?

Grandma is here! YEA!

My Grandma from Kentucky has come to visit us. Last night we divided perfume samples and had an ice cream cone! Today, we are starting the morning by making a big peach pie! YUM! I love my Grandma!

The Beacon, the Best Fast Food Place in South Carolina!

An old Beacon sign glowing brightly, a man with a loud voice calling orders, two ice cream scoops (counted as one) - this you find, only at The Beacon.
The Beacon is located on John B. White road in Spartanburg, South Carolina. When you first drive up, you see the familiar sign, a large parking lot, and a long ,long restaurant. Army flags are displayed patriotically along the sides of the building, and a greasy smell comes from it. You enter into a long hallway, displaying pictures of the notable heroes of the Beacon: John B. White Jr. himself working the counter, an employee who hasn't skipped a day of work in forty years, another guy working at the restaurant at the age of ninety, and last but definitely not least, C.J, the famous "caller" who is blind, but certainly not disabled by any means. He sits by the counter, listening patiently to your order, and then with a loud voice he calls out your order.

The food is certainly not healthy , but it is good! I was also amazed to see how much food is slopped on the floor! A man regularly comes through with a giant shovel, scooping up the food. Even though the restaurant may not be sanitary, it still has plenty of customers!

The ice cream is absolutely delicious! It is soft and creamy, and they have many flavors: Cookies and Cream, Super Duper, Birthday Cake, and many more!
So the next time you want to go to Sonic, go to The Beacon. You will be glad you did!

On a rock I climbed part 2

"I made it!" I cried happily at the top of the mountain. "Go around here." said one of the leaders. Then I saw why. "Whoa!!" I whispered and grabbed my camera out to snap a few pictures of the view. We could see trees down below a long ways with fog spreading everywhere. I sighed, wishing I could go closer. Soon though, the leader showed us the equipment and let us peek over the edge. Then he let us go with Pastor Ryan to start climbing. We had to put on itchy harnesses. I was the first to help my friend Arinne climb . She began to climb, while I held her up with a rope. It took a long while because she got really scared. But I got scared worse.
When I began to climb I went pretty fast. Then I got to a hard spot. It took me awhile to be able to start again. I found a little lizard up there too. I soon started to get really stuck. I was 60 feet off the ground, and then I totally freaked out. I started to cry, then I noticed a leader up a few feet ahead of me. He helped me up and helped me calm down.Then I started to go down again. It was sorta scary, but I soon got used to it. I tried to go up another cliff but I couldn't do it. So instead I helped my friends rock climb and Rapieled mostly. It started to be scorching hot. I was so so tired, but soon we began to pack up. I am glad I went rock climbing, because this is a experience I will not forget!