Another visit to Huntington Beach State Park

Today, we went back to Huntington Beach State Park.  We decided to visit Atalaya, the home of Archer and Anne Huntington, who created Brookgreen Gardens.  The house was built in the early 1930s, and was used by the Huntingtons as a winter home until 1947.  All that is left today is the shell of the house, and the grounds. 

The house was built in the Spanish Moorish style, and had two inner courtyards separated by a covered walk.  Even in its current state, it is easy to imagine how grand the house would have been in its heyday.

 The walkway between the two inner courtyards. Ralph is peeking around the corner.

 

 The inner studio where Anne Huntington did some of her sculptures.

 

 The shower in Mr. Huntington's bathroom.  Mr. and Mrs. Huntington had separate bathrooms off the master bedroom. 

 

 The bathtub in the housekeeper's bathroom.  She was the only servant who had two rooms, a bedroom and a bathroom - each with a fireplace.

 

After touring Atalaya, we went back to the marsh area to see what birds were out.  Not much this time, compared to when we were there in March.  But I did get a couple of good shots.

 

 This egret was intently watching something in the water.

 

 He (or she - I'm not sure which) finally gave up and flew off.

 

 

 An osprey in the air with a fish in its claws.  I got this by accident.  I saw some smaller birds take off and was trying to focus on them when the osprey flew into my line of vision.  Just pressed the shutter release at the right time.  Not exactly in perfect focus, but still pretty good.

 









Georgetown and Brookgreen Gardens

Yesterday, we went to Georgetown to play golf and look around.  Unfortunately, I have come down with a horrible cold, and ended up not playing golf.  By the fourth hole, I was so tired, all I wanted to do was sleep (thanks to the cold medicine).  So after the nineth hole, Walter and Ralph continued on while I slept in the back of the card.  The best thing I did, because I woke up after two hours feeling much better.

We went into the city of Georgetown to walk around the historic section.  There had been a fire on the main street about a month ago, that brought down five of the old buildings.  It's now fenced off, and according to the townsfolk, will be rebuilt.  We were there, as it turned out, on an auspicious day.  The governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haley, was scheduled to make a stop and speak to the town about restoring the destroyed part.

 I actually got a few good pics of her speaking to the media and the public.

 

The area along the waterfront was quite peaceful, and afforded a number of opportunities for good photos.

 

 

 

 Some of the charred pier stumps.

 

 I took this through a chain link fence.  Unfortunately, there's a bit of blur from the fence in the bottom corner.

 

 The shadows on the pier boardwalk made an interesting pattern.

 

 

Today, we went to Brookgreen Gardens.  We had been there in March, and liked it, so this was an opportunity to go back and see more of the garden area.  We opted to take one of guided tours.  Good thing we did, as I learned something that I hadn't known before.  When Archer and Anne Huntington bought the Brookgreen Plantation, and turned it into a garden, they also bought the plantations on either side of it.  And that's how the gardens got to be so extensive.  They are actually three plantations.

 

Again, still waters made for some interesting pictures.  I couldn't resist trying to capture reflections in the waters of various pools.

 

 

 

 Water lilies were everywhere.  Some, like this, already opened up.  Others still waiting to bloom.

 

The last thing we did was take a boat tour along one of the old inland tidewater waterways to the entrance to the Waccamaw River.  The plantations in their heyday were rice plantations, and slaves dug out the cypress trees, dug ditches and dikes and planted rice.  In the early days, a slave working in the rice fields when they were first being planted would last about three months.  What a horrible life it must have been.  We saw a water moccasin in the water, but didn't get a picture of it.  It's remarkable how quickly a snake can move in the water.  However, alligators were around and I got a picture of a good sized one basking in the sun. 

 

  He's a biggie. Wouldn't want to meet him in the water.  I'd be gone in two bites, maybe one.

 



 



Enjoying Myrtle Beach

Sunday, Walter and I and our friend, Ralph, played golf at Tupelo Bay.  We played there in March and enjoyed the course.  Our resort has a deal with a few golf courses in the area, including Tupelo Bay, that allows us to play for the cost of the cart only - no green fees.  What a deal!  The weather was great - about 21 in the sunshine.  The golf was okay.  I'm a bit rusty because I haven't played in two months.  Still, it's better than I had expected. 

 View from one of the holes.  The flag is off to the left, so getting the ball over the water is a must.

 

 Walter and Ralph debating their shots.

 





 In addition to the beautiful scenery, the course is home to a variety of wildlife - mostly water birds.  This egret was perched up in the trees.  I took this while waiting for Walter to tee off.

 

After golf, we decided to relax around the condo.  I took the opportunity to do a little exploring.  The complex is quite large, and at this time of year, because it is shoulder season, it was almost empty. 

 Our condo building.  We had the first floor unit with the door on the right closest to the staircase.

 

 The outdoor pool.  There is a kiddie pool and playground on the other side of the street.  There's also an indoor pool, and a huge fitness centre.

 

 For a bit of whimsy, my reflection in the pool.

 

 

Yesterday, we all went shopping at Tanger Outlets, then the PGA Superstore.  Walter found a new golf bag, something he had been looking for.  Then we went down to Springmaid Pier.  Lots of folks fishing off the pier, lots of water fowl, and jellyfish in the water.  That's right, jellyfish.  Just leaning over the railing on the pier, we could see them in the water.  Mind you, getting a good picture that was actually in focus was just about impossible.  I tried anyway.

 

I don't think anyone starts out fishing for sharks, but it's pretty hard to determine what's on the end of your fishing line until you reel it in.  As for the diving, one look at the jellyfish in the water should discourage any diving.  Those things can sting.

 

 The local bird life.  The black bird has quite the song. 

 The play of light in the sky had a certain celestial feeling.  Just a bit to the left, it was dark and cloudy, to the right there was blue sky and sunshine.

 

 One of the numerous jellyfish in the water.  Hard to catch in a picture, as they are below the water surface and move quickly.

 

 For those of us who remember Rowan and Martin's Laugh-in, Walter doing his Ruth Ann imitation, relaxing in a giant chair.  "And that's the truth."

There's one in every crowd. The birds all lined up looking over the water, except for the one on the end which found the boardwalk more interesting.

 

 Ralph trying his hand at a bean bag game. 

 

 

Today, we're off the Georgetown for more golf, and then a little sightseeing and supper.  The sun is shining, and the high today is 23.  Should be good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 



On the way to Myrtle Beach

We left home yesterday to travel to Myrtle Beach.  Our goal was to reach Wytheville,Virginia.  The ride down to Virginia was interesting.  We had changes in weather that we weren't prepared for.  New York State looked like this.  Typical for October.

  Nice foliage, beautiful oranges, yellows, etc.

 

Then came northern Pennsylvania.  What a surprise. We went from this.

  A little snow covering the ground, but not much else.

 









To this. 

  Definitely not what I expected.

 



To this.

 

  This was on the interstate near the turn off for Pittsburgh. Turns out, this is a snow belt area.  To my mind, definitely way too early for snow.  We had to slow down to about 40 miles per hour for a bit, until we got out of the snow area.

 

By the time we got to southern Pennsylvania, the snow had turned to rain, and the terrain looked more like fall than winter.

 

 The spots are rain drops on the windshield.

 

We encountered rain on and off through West Virginia, and Virginia before we stopped for the night in Wytheville.  At one point, we pulled off the road briefly to take pictures at a scenic overlook.

 

  This doesn't really do the view justice.  We stopped between bouts of rain, and quickly took a few pics.







 

This morning when we left Wytheville, it was a balmy 2 C.  But as we travelled farther south, it warmed up.  By the time we hit North Carolina, we had sunshine and increasingly warmer temperatures.  When we met our friend, Ralph, in Myrtle Beach, we were basking in sunshine and 15 C. 

 

We have a lovely two bedroom suite at a local hotel for tonight before we get our condo tomorrow.  We celebrated the start of our holiday by having supper at Bonefish, one of our favourite restaurants in |Myrtle Beach.  Then back to our hotel to relax for the night.

 

  Walter and Ralph relaxing after supper.

 

 



Pictures from our bayou adventure

This was definitely the highlight of the trip for me.

 Steve, our guide.  He was terrific.  Gave us lots of opportunity for photos, and lots and lots of information about the bayou and alligators.

 

 The bayou itself it beautiful, and deceptive.  It's easy to become disoriented and get lost.  And it is quite dangerous.  Although not deep - most areas are less than 6 feet deep - there are plenty of alligators.

 

One of the many residents of the bayou.

 

 

 Another alligator - this one trying to pass as a leaf-covered log floating in the water.  Didn't fool me - much.  When I first saw him, I didn't see the head, just the body.

 

 One of my favourite shots.  In some places, the water was so still, it was hard to see where reflections began.

 

 A bonus for me - this bald eagle was sitting on a light pole, not too far from the dock for our air boat.  What a beautiful bird.

 

 And finally, we got to hold a baby alligator.  This little one was only 11 months old, and about a foot long.  The teeth were sharp enough, though, to inflict some serious damage, so Steve showed us how to hold the baby so that he could not bite.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pictures from Oak Alley

  Oak Alley Plantation, originally called Bon Sejour, as seen from the road.  It was used as a location in Interview with the Vampire, and Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte, among other films.  It was built in the late 1830s.  It survived the Civil War undamaged, but became economically not viable, and fell into disrepair.  At one point, the main floor was being used as a cowshed.  It was bought in the 1920s by a couple, who then had it restored.

 The view of the 'oak alley' from the gallery on the second floor.  Imagine looking at this every morning from your bedroom  window!  Beautiful!

 

 The dining room.  I don't know if you can see it from the picture, but the cutlery is all set upside down to show the silver marks on the backs of the knives, forks and spoons.  This was a Creole plantation house, and Creoles used to display their silverware this way to show their wealth.  The harp like structure over the table is a fan.  A slave would have held the rope, standing unobtrusively in the corner, and swayed the fan back and forth during the meal.  Most evening means were lengthy affairs, of up to two hours duration, so I'm sure the slave would have been rather tired when it was all over.

 

  The master bedroom in the house.

 

 

 

Pictures from New Orleans

 Street scenes at dusk. 

 

 The French Quarter is great for walking, particularly the lower French Quarter (it's more residential).  Only 13 blocks wide and 6 blocks long, we quickly learned to get around the area without a map.

 

 Jackson Square, with the St. Louis Cathedral in the background, is the dividing line between the Upper and Lower French Quarters.  Upper means upriver, not upscale or more affluent.  No one talks about east or west, or north or south.  It's all upriver or downriver.  That took me a while to get used to.

 

 Having a good time with one of the costume from a street entertainer.

 Gas lamps everywhere.  They are always burning, and in the evening add a soft, romantic glow to the buildings.

 

 The Beauregard-Keyes house, just up the street from our hotel.  General Beauregard lived here for 18 months after the Civil War.  Later, the author Frances Parkinson Keyes bought the house and lived here.  It was is a restored to what it would have looked like in the late 1860s and early 1870s when Gen. Beauregard lived here.

 

 Enjoying jambalaya at the Coffee Pot Café. This place was recommended on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.  The jambalaya was delicious.  Worth the visit.

 

 The Garden District has beautiful Victorian-era houses.  Definitely the $$$ section of New Orleans.  One of the houses that several people on our walking tour wanted to see was the Manning House - apparently significant if you follow American football.  I had to ask my son Chris who Peyton Manning was.  The picture below is the house where he, and his brother (also a football player) grew up.