Atlantic Ocean – Valerie's Voice

A Few More Photos

I want to post a few additional photos from our road trip in the southeastern states.

The beautiful Pineapple Fountain in Charleston, South Carolina.

Special artwork using paint and sweetgrass, on display in Hyman’s Seafood restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina.

We were surprised to see this bobcat one morning in northeastern Florida.

These fun boats caught our eye. The boats shaped like cars were docked at an outdoor restaurant where we ate in Clearwater, Florida.

We tried boiled peanuts for the first time, and liked them. We ate at Hyman’s Seafood restaurant. The Hyman family has been at the same location for over 121 years (five generations). It started out as a Wholesale dry goods store then changed to Hyman’s Seafood in 1987. The restaurant has a great reputation.

Some “funky birds” in a park in Dunedin, Florida.

In Myrtle Beach we tried fried green tomatoes, for the first time, and liked them.

Sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Colors of California

We had a dazzling time observing all the colors during our few days in California.

Sun rising over the mountains, at the exact minute it was scheduled!

Lemon trees, lime trees, avocado and clementine trees, o my!

Gary an I on this rocky beach on the Pacific Ocean during low tide.

A lone tree on top of the cliff overlooking the ocean.

A fun hint of blue on our toenails to remind us of the ocean water and blue skies

We went to fly a kite and the wind took hold.

Lil’ Toot’s captain took us on a harbor cruise.

We decided to take a road trip from Charlotte to the Atlantic coast over the weekend, just to see the ocean. (I’m always drawn to water!) We left Saturday morning and drove four hours to Myrtle Beach State Park in South Carolina. The state park offered a nice sandy beach on the Atlantic Ocean, with a wooden pier, hiking trails, an activity center and more.

Beautiful clouds and sunshine over the Atlantic Ocean.

We arrived in time to eat our picnic lunch on the sandy beach. The weather was great…77* and sunny. The grandkids enjoyed playing in the water and the sand. Gary and I enjoyed the sunshine, and watching the grandkids have fun.

We walked out on the pier, and later in the afternoon we planned a hike.

A wonderful quote to start off our hike.

As we started our hike, I was excited to read a nature quote on a sign at the beginning of the trail, and I thought to myself…this will be a fun hike. As we walked a little further, I started slapping mosquitoes, as did everyone else. As we continued on, we were attacked by mosquitos…so we turned around and walked back out of the woods. So much for a hike in this state park.

On our drive east to Myrtle Beach on Saturday morning, we noticed fields that looked full of snow clumps…and discovered it was cotton. On our way home the next day, we stopped at one of several cotton fields we passed.

We got out of the car and walked through the rows of cotton and got a good look at this interesting crop!

Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus Gossypium.*

It was a quick trip, but a memorable one.

*Wikipedia

California Coast

We walked along the Atlanta Ocean in January, and five weeks later we walked along the Pacific Ocean. We spent some time with our older son and his wife and two children on the California Coast. It was lovely, sunny, and in the 60-70’s. Here are some photos from our time there.

We grabbed a blanket, with coffee in hand, to watch the sunrise every morning.