Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Sky Top Orchard- October 2010


First stop....fresh, warm, apple cider doughnuts....mmmmmm

Off to explore.

Where are those darn apples?  Unfortunately a hot summer forced many of the apples to ripen earlier than usual, so most of the apples were already picked from the trees. 

Found a bird's nest!

World's smallest apple :)

The bamboo forest at Sky Top.  So calm and fun to explore.

Who's the most gorgeous chicken around?  Oh....it's me, of course!

Sweet bunnies.


I love pink lady apples (above) and honey crisp (already ripe and sold out).


Falls Park, Greenville

 Most of the fountains downtown were colored pink during October in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Looks like cotton candy with the longer shutter speed.
The view from under the bridge over the Reedy River.  I love the curve of this suspension bridge.
Slightly downstream from the bridge.  Lots of big rocks for sitting, climbing, and exploring.
                     



Should've brought the tripod :)

Beach trip- Sept.2010

Most of these pictures are from the marsh side of Pawleys Island. We usually spend a fair amount of time kayaking on that side, as well as in the ocean. My parents like to float with the current in the marsh, but that creeps me out ( dark water + concentrated area of various sea life= HECK NO!) .   I usually float along inside the kayak and act as the "drink wench."

Some satisfied drink customers...look out for that shark
Pretty little blue boat

The view back towards Pawleys Island from the end of the Johnson's dock





These adirondack chairs have a neat story. As you can see, they are sitting up in the dunes which is a big "no-no" along the SC coast. The dunes are an important part of beach ecology and there are signs everywhere warning of fines for playing in the dunes. These chairs are on the "Point" of Litchfield Beach, directly across a little waterway from Pawleys. Under the chairs are three or four large ziploc bags containing notebooks/journals, reading glasses, bug spray, sunscreen, pens, and various laminated newspaper articles. Someone placed these chairs here and left an empty journal with a first entry telling why this point was meaningful to him/her. Since then the chairs attract curious people and when they discover the meaning of the chairs they sit down and add their thoughts. I don't know how many years the journals have been here, but this is the first year that I've noticed them. This Point really is a peaceful place. The closest house is probably a quarter mile up the beach. When the tide is low there are sometimes huge tidal pools, great shelling potential, and an abundance of bird wildlife.  Peaceful.

The required kayak and marsh picture.


See ya next year, Pawleys.


Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Riverbanks Zoo

For Father's Day, I met my parents at Riverbanks Zoo.  It was a hot, hot day and most of the animals were very mellow. It was a fun day!

 

Rainbow Falls at Gorges State Park, NC



This was a great hike with lots of little break off trails down to the river.  The river itself is full of huge boulders that are great for climbing, jumping, and exploring.  At the top of the waterfall there was a great swimming hole with a sliding rock!  We didn't have swim gear for this trip but it's definitely worth a trip back.  I have pictures of that area but I'll have to upload them another time.



Boone, NC and Grandfather Mountain

Back in June I got to take a long weekend and decided to head to the mountains. We ended up staying just north of Boone in an adorable little cabin beside a creek. 



I visited Blowing Rock where this amazing man was painting beautiful pictures!  I was lucky enough to stop by on a day when they were having an art fair and a book sale.  Two of my favorite things!

I also took a drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway, which is always breathtaking.  I stopped by Grandfather Mountain and a few other places.