6 Apr 2014 - Charleston, South Carolina

A pair of Great White Egrets who got their nesting done early...there are 3 babies there!

The Angel Tree in Charleston, South Carolina

Some branches of the Angel Tree are propped up by metal rods, others just lay across the ground.

One 'bloom' of the Wild Wisteria

The Wisteria will cover an entire tree...or group of trees

The Rhododendrons are is full, glorious bloom.

After 3 wonderful days in Daytona, we decided it was time to hit the road again. Every time we go there we're reminded of how much we enjoy being at that beach. We got Sunrises in Daytona and Sunsets in Naples.

Mom and Dad loved Daytona and our very first trip there was with them. They would go by bus with a company that specialized in Florida trips...18 hours straight driving with quick rest stops for a glass of juice and a bathroom run...and took Wayne and I on one of those trips. My most vivid memory of that trip is walking down the beach with Mom and commenting to her that when the cute, extremely muscular guy walking towards me (with his girlfriend) got beside me I was going to turn around and take a photo of him. In true Bette form, as soon as he got within a few feet of us, she stopped and said to him, "My daughter would love to have a picture taken with you, okay?" I was mortified but didn't have any problem sliding up beside him to get my picture taken. I have no idea where that photo has gone but the image is ingrained on  my brain forever.

My trip to St Augustine was incredible, to say the least. Wayne opted to have a day to himself on the beach and I had no problem having a day to myself taking photos. I knew the Alligator Farm had a very good reputation as a research facility and had a boardwalk of sorts, where birds roosted but I really didn't think it was too big a deal. I got there as soon as it opened and was surprised it was almost downtown St Augustine. There was a photographer ahead of me who had a huge lens and he seemed to be in a hurry to get somewhere so....I followed him. We walked past a couple of albino alligators and some small monkeys in another enclosure and then we hit the boardwalk. The first thing I saw was a pond with some of the biggest alligators I've ever seen...anywhere. Then I heard the noise of and looked into the trees that were literally hanging over the boardwalk.

I've said a couple of times that I must have a good heart...as in healthy...because this was one more of those times when the shock would have dropped me if I did have a problem. The trees were loaded...loaded with birds and they were all wanting to impress a potential mate, or if they'd found one, help build a nest. The Wood Storks were pushing aside the Great Egrets for space. The Roseate Spoonbills were trying to wrestle sticks over the heads of Blue Crested Egrets and on and on. I couldn't even lift the camera to my eye for about 10 minutes until I took it all in. Once I started talking photos, I couldn't stop. There were some pairs of birds that I could have reached out and touched as they were all trying to build (or roost) in any spot that would hold a nest. It was magic and while I'm sure I'll get there again, I'll never have that first experience again.

The focus of our first stop was in Charleston, South Carolina....John Island to be exact....so that I could photograph the Angel Tree. I'd seen a photo of it in the Naples newspaper in a story about a local photographer Dennis Goodman who I'm hoping to take some photo lessons with next year. We did get to the tree, and I did get some photos but unfortunately it had poured rain most of the afternoon it was very dark. The tree is 500-1500 years old and although it is only 65 feet high, it has spread so much that it's shade covers 17,000...yes, thousand....square feet. The whole island is filled with these wonderful big oak trees and many of them still drape the long entrances to the old plantations.

While we were driving along Hwy 17 towards Charleston, I noticed that many of the trees and bushes were covered in a vine which had a beautiful purple flower that hung off the vine, almost like a bunch of grapes. Some trees were saturated in the vine, up the entire trunk and over every branch. Wayne stopped the and went to pick one and it turns out to be a wild form of Wisteria. In some areas an entire section of a wooded area would be covered. I think it's like a parasite--it eventually kills the tree but it sure is beautiful in the meantime! Between the wisteria and the Rhododendrons that are in full, glorious bloom (in every colour imaginable) it was a joy to be driving down this road, on this day.

I'm tempted to give in to my Civil War curiosity and head into downtown Charleston tomorrow. Fort Sumter is on a small island in the bay and is the spot where the first shot, that started the Civil War, was fired from. Then there is the Plantation/Garden area on the outskirts of Charleston. Or, I bet there are some fascinating old cemeteries......

Next stop is Corolla Island in North Carolina. There are still wild horses on the island which are descendants of the horses brought over by the Spanish. You can take a tour, or rent a 4-wheeler and try to find them on your own. I suspect we'll see if there's a 'photographer's tour' available  rather than flounder around on our own. Either way it should be very interesting.

That's what we've been up to. The traffic on I-95 North was at a crawl for miles and miles. We thought there was an accident somewhere up ahead until the lady at the Welcome Centre told us it was all the Snowbirds (American as well as Canadian) heading home from Florida. The woman wondered where the heck Florida put all these people?

Until next time, love and hugs to all. xx