Amelia the Model

Here's one photo that I processed from one of my two photo shoots with Amelia. No condensation problem with this set (it was too early in the morning to be muggy so the camera remained clear).

We are right by the main road into Kiawah. When cars went by, they got in the picture, so we had to listen for cars and time the hair flip just right. The wood is a the end of walkway down into the marsh. I'm standing in yukky marsh and getting eaten by multitudinous bugs. And these bites last for days, but it was worth it. I love this picture.

Last Day

We didn't do much after the painting. Some slept while others snap-chatted and watched TV. It rained pretty hard, but not hard enough to stop the golfers.

That's the view from our back porch. While we watched some golf mostly we watched the jumping fish in the pond. And we commented every time we saw one jump. It never got old.

We took one last bike ride to the beach. I definitely loved Biking on the beach. (That's not my bike.)

Jord took one last swim. (That is Jord.) 

Goodbye Kiawah, we had fun. 

Sunsets and Sunrises

I spent a lot of time chasing the Golden hour only to be disappointed by the cloud coverage. No sweeping sunsets this trip.

Here are some attempts. Some are just too late but I'm certain they would have been bad if I had gotten there earlier!

Learning to Paint

We had a painting lesson at Mingo Point today. Tina Mayland was our teacher. She was great—patient and funny and just a pleasure to spend time with.

It's four hours of standing. So it is a bit tiring. And we did a photo shoot in yet another dress before the lesson. So we were there an hour early. The photos from the shoot look amazing in camera and I can't wait to see them large! 

Here is Amelia's painting. I was painting up to the last minute and now it's wrapped to travel so I'll have to take a picture later. 

We Swore Off Biking

I must admit, I had a little chaffing from yesterday's ride and wasn't too thrilled about getting back on a bike. Luckily today was kayaking day. We drove an hour to Horseshoe Creek. And met Ralph who took us on a personal tour. Just beautiful! Ralph was a great guide. He literally wrote THE book on kayaking in Charleston.

We did about 2.5 miles in the kayak. All my rowing didn't help a bit. So much more shoulder action to kayaking! But it was cool in the shade and not a bug to bother us but dragon flies. 

Amelia took better pictures than I did. She had the Lumix. She likes selfies. 

Since we had to get up so early for the trip, everybody took a nap in the afternoon. I used the jetted tub in Granny's bathroom for a nice relaxing bath. 

In the evening we tried a photo shoot on the beach. I forgot about the condensation problem in humid areas so we had some technical difficulties. I can't show you my shots because I didn't bring that camera cord. But here's one I took on Amelia's phone. They might be the better pictures! 

You might be wondering about the balloons. On our way back from kayaking, I stopped for the balloons. I thought they would be a nice prop. I probably didn't need to get helium filled ones since the wind blew them around so much. We lost two in the wind. A storm was brewing, you can see it in the back right. 

Wednesday-Bike Riding Day

I started the day at 6 am on a quest to find a sand dollar. They say the best point is at Sam's Inlet, which is all the way at the end of the island. So off I go.

I saw a pelican flying. And lots of beach birds. And very few shells. Which makes all the sand very soft even the sand in the ocean since you are never stepping on shells.

It was cloudy and yucky out. And I almost gave up on the sand dollar when I spotted something buried in the sand.

I was so happy to find it and starving. So I headed back. That was a three hour trip.

The kids slept in and after lunch we headed out for the farthest tower.

We stopped to take pictures of the huge houses.

Little did we know that we were going to see even bigger houses. I mean these things certainly have bathrooms bigger than my condo. 

We got a little lost and wound up on the other end of the island which is just starting to be developed. We played in Ocean Park which was beautiful and devoid of people. 

The kids weren't happy to be another two hours from home. But we soldiered on. There was some grumbling and a little dissent in the ranks but we did make it home - four hours after we started.

After helping Granny with her puzzle, we decided to stay in for the night and miss the open air movie.

Beach Day

It rained last night so we didn't go to the oyster roast. Today was bright and sunny so after my long, lone bike ride,  we spent the day at the beach. Yay for the Lumix underwater camera. No fears taking it into the ocean.

HGTV Dream Home 2013

No trip to Kiawah would be complete without seeing the dream home!

If you're not staying past the second gate, the only way to see it is to bike there. So we stopped there on our way to Marsh Island Park. That home is tiny compared to all the others in past the second gate. Tiny!

The tower at Marsh Island Park was nice. There are three towers on the island. We've been to two so far.

Amelia likes to do jumping pictures on wooden walkways. I don't know why.



And no day is complete without a trip to the grocery store. Amelia and Mom acting like frogs.

Storm Out to Sea

I thought a panoramic photo would best show the storm rolling in.

Surprisingly, the storm stayed out to sea. But it is still cloudy here this morning.

Biking on the Beach

Biking on the beach is my new favorite thing. So cool to bike and hear the waves. I've never biked on a beach before. Here's Amelia and Jordan. Amelia made me take pictures while biking. I almost hit her several times.

And here are some fun sunset photos probably over processed because I am doing them on my tablet. 

I am typing this on my back porch at night. It's pitch black and the tree frogs are crazy loud. 

Angel Oak

We were a little too early to see the Angel Oak, but we were able to look at it through the fence. We weren't alone, a lot of people didn't know that it opens at 1 pm on Sundays.

On the beach

My mom took this shot of me and my niece and nephew on the Kiawah beach. It's a really nice beach.

Kiawah in June

This year we decided to go to Kiawah Island in South Carolina. It is breathtaking. What an amazing place. I haven't seen much of it but what I have seen is just amazing.

Here are a few pictures.