Golfing at Mosquito Plantation

This is Where Chubbs Lost His Hand!

From what I've heard, South Carolina has more golf courses per land than any other state, so while we are visiting Dan and Holly, Dan and I had to get at least one round in.  We played a course called Redbank Plantation, but as you can see by my post title, I think it should be renamed.  This is not to say that the course was bad (on the contrary), it is just to say that it has it's fill of mosquitoes.  The course cost $24 with cart and was a par 70.  It was very forgiving (I know I played at least one shot from a neighboring fairway), which is probably why I broke 90 for the second time this summer by shooting an 87.  Here is a list of other things I learned while golfing in SC:

1. Bug repellent is considered to be necessary golf gear.  Carry it in your bag at all times.
2. Pace of play is strictly enforced, not by the marshalls but by mosquitoes.  Address your ball and swing or suffer the consequences.
3. This golf course has hybrid mosquitoes.  They were huge and the bites itch worse the next day than they do on the day they happen.
4. A new hazard has been added called close to the swamp or long grass.  You guessed it, this is where the mosquitoes wait.
5. You can skip a ball across a lake.  No, I can't take credit for it.  Dan skipped the ball across the lake just off the tee at 18.  While I have witnessed and done this myself, it is always super cool to see over and over again.  
6. Alligators are on the course.  Can't say I saw one, but I did get this cool picture taken above. 

Thanks, Dan, for playing.  I'd play Mosquito Plantation again in a heart beat!

Magnolia Plantation

Day two of our South Carolina trip took us to one of the oldest plantations in South Carolina, Magnolia Plantation http://www.magnolia plantation.com/

It was gorgeous...and hot...very hot...but very pretty. We spend the first bit of time walking around the vast gardens. I've read in books about the gardens on southern plantations and estates but I've never witnessed any and to say that it was a big garden is an understatement. It took us at least and hour and a half to walk through and we didn't even start at the beginning. It was neat to see the tags on the different sections, one in particular that read "circa 1685" and wonder about the people that wandered these gardens back then.

Black Eyed Susan's, Maryland never leaves us.  :)

A White Ibis, they were all over the plantation

These nasty things were everywhere.  Golden Silk spiders, or Banana spiders as they are more commonly called had giant webs spun all over the place.  They are called Golden Silk Spiders because their webs are actually a yellow/golden color.  The ones we saw had bodies that were anywhere from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long.  Huge...gross..and everywhere.

Golden Silk Spider (a.k.a. Banana Spider)

From there we went on a swamp walk, also on plantation grounds.  Saw a couple alligators, more spiders, some turtles...typical swamp stuff I guess.

A few more pics from today:

Red Faced David, did I mention it was hot?

Pot Bellied Tree, Pot Bellied Brandon

Breanne found an owl feather at the little animal section they had.  They called it a petting zoo but there wasn't anything that you can actually pet.  She said to me, "There are lots of people who like to wear owl feathers in their hair, I'm one of them, I've just never had an owl feather before."

South Carolina Beach Day 1

Hello all,

We made to Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina yesterday to vacation and spend time with our friends Dan and Holly.  Today we made our way to the beach (Isle of Palms) which is only a very short drive from Dan and Holly's!  Last years trip to the beach was a little difficult as David was only 2 months old so Lauren and I took turns holding David while the other spent most of their time running down Breanne.  So we were a little interested to see how things were a year later. 

Despite the short trip to the beach, David decided to take a nap in the car.  It was a 5 minute power nap that ended as soon as we arrived on the beach, but we did get this picture:

This would be the end of his napping though, as David loved everything about the beach.  He played in the sand, he played in the water, he ate the sand, and he drank the water.  Despite showing signs of being he tired, he just kept on trucking the entire time.  He loves playing with the sand toys and splashing in the water.  It is so much fun watching him explore the beach. 

Breanne has also made some changes in how she is at the beach.  Lauren has been working real hard with her on her swimming and you can definitely tell.  In years past, I had to drag her out kicking and screaming to get her to out in the surf with me.  I have not spent this much time in the water since I was 13 and spending every moment I could out there.  Isle of Palm's beach is perfect for kids in that it is very shallow.  Even where the waves get bigger I could set Bre down and she could stand to give myself a break between waves.  She is very confident in her swimming and no longer afraid of the water. 

While we spent a little time building castles, it was hard to keep her away from the waves too long.  She also enjoyed playing with two squeaky frogs that she would fill up with water and squirt us with.  Of course, as she did this, she informed us that the frogs were peeing on us.  :)  Oh, to be four.

Having been at the beach for 3 hours, the kiddos began to tire.  Bre runs around so much she gets raw marks on her legs and has a hard time walking.  Today was no different.  David was fussy so we cleaned him off only to find an explosive diaper in the process.  It was time to go. 

David stayed awake for about a minute on our way home (another power nap) so when we first arrived back, we cleaned everyone else off before him.  After being taken out of his seat, we got this short video, showing how tired he was.

Currently, the kids are upstairs trying to nap (although believe it or not I can hear David still talking).  I have a feeling we may not hear for them for a couple of hours (or we might see them in 5 minutes).