tigers... they're greeeaaaat!

We're still on 'vacation' I guess you'd say... big J took his first whole week off this year; he hasn't done that in 3 years... I went into labor w/ little J on a weekend, so he only took 3 days off that week....we went to Texas last year, but planned it as a 4 day weekend so he only took 3 days off then... so I guess the last actual week off he took (outside of heart surgery, which doesn't at all count as a vacation) is when we last went to the beach 3 years ago!

We had a few activities planned for the remainder of our vacation week, and today we visited Tiger World. We all had so much fun looking at all of the species of Tigers, Lions, and other animals and reptiles they had. We were able to talk to many of the care givers of these huge beasts, and at one point happened to walk up right after one of the care givers was 'sprayed' in the face with a bath of urine from one of the largest Tigers... it was funny to hear about - but not at all funny for her.

Here's a few pictures from our little field trip today.

Above: This was our tour guide, this goose followed us everywhere the entire time... and Jesse was quite disappointed that he couldn't hug it. He loves to hug everything these days...

Ezra had a blast - his favorites were the macaw's and the bears.

Above: White Siberian Tiger - I didn't know this, but the stripes on tigers are like our fingerprints... no two are the same!

These macaw's (there were 4) were saying 'hello' so clearly, that at first I thought a child was talking somewhere near by!

Below: This was my favorite - this peacock (Indian Peafowl) flirted with us for a while, but would never let me in front to get a picture of the full spread of beautiful feathers. He hopped right up on the fence beside me where I was propped to take pictures of him.. I have a few closeups of his neck and beautiful blue color in the smugmug files.

Below: the Emu is not the most attractive of animals, but sure is friendly. I didn't realize that they can grow up to 6.5 feet in height, and can actually sprint up to 50mph if necessary!! These were really lazy, hanging out and socializing with the human guests that were visiting them...
Below: this Bengal Tiger was sleeping... (see the sleeping pics in smugmug) until Jesse tossed a rock at it.... at which time I'm pretty sure the Tiger saw Jesse as a potential snack. The Tiger never got mad, or growled; he never really showed any aggression - but the look in his eye read "little red shirted snack, don't toss another rock at me". (we encouraged Jesse to toss rocks at grass, and other objects that don't have sharp teeth)
Below: Mama bear, there's also a baby bear (in smug pics)
Below: this is the Tiger that pee'd on his keeper :) - when it happened, she screamed, which made me quiver inside thinking "oh no, something got loose" HA!
I took lots of pictures, and there's one or two of the largest White Siberian Tiger in at the facility.

Tomorrow, on to our last little outing...

tears of joy and sorrow

"Photos may give insight into our lives, but memories of those times is what keeps them alive." ~Unknown Author

Mike w/Nicholas and Haleigh holding our Jesse at 6 days old... Feb 2006

Today is 1 year since my brother passed away. Today began as a somber day, a day of realization that 1 entire year has passed without Mike in my life... I miss him more each day, and it's really hard to believe that a year has passed. In many ways it feels like a lifetime has passed without hearing his voice, and in so many other ways his death is still so fresh to me. I did my normal routine today, stayed busy... around 1pm my dad called me with a crackling voice. He wanted to let me know something good had happened. My cousin was due to have her first son on July 31, but had not had him yet... her birthday was August 4, mine August 5 and yesterday when dad called me to tell me happy birthday I asked him had he heard from Aunt Melody about whether Jen had the baby... and she had not had him yet.... I selfishly told him that I wanted him to be born on August 6 - even though we don't live close, and we have really lost touch with each other's lives... it would be so uplifting to hear great news on such a sad day for our family. My Aunt called my dad to announce that Jackson Everett Currin was born this morning .... and I'm miles away from seeing him, not even sure when I'll get to meet that little angel - but he made his debut on a quite a special day. Just one year ago we lost a treasure, and today the world gained one. I'm so proud for Jennifer and her husband - what a special adventure they have ahead of them...

time to rest our weary heads...

We had a great trip; made it home mid-afternoon. This trip was my birthday trip, and tonight we had a great birthday dinner at home. I'm posting the last few photos (very few), we gave the camera a break on the way home...

After a brief trip back through Charleston and North Charleston a stop at Olive Garden (for my birthday), we hit the highway for home... the boys were pooped! I'm glad to be home to sleep in my own bed tonight, I think Jesse was glad to be back in his too :). Above: One last photo of a work of art... St. Matthews Lutheran Church, Charleston SC Out of all of the buildings in Charleston downtown area, the churches stick out because of their steeples and arches and stained glass. Absolutely beautiful architecture.

Below: The Shipyard where the Hunley Submarine is located - we went for a look today before leaving, only to find that they only offer guided tours on Saturday and Sunday. I should have researched that better!

Above and Below: two tired boys.....

warm sun on our faces...

We woke up, had breakfast and quickly made our way to a perfect little spot on the beach. The heat index and general humidity was up quite a bit so we wanted to go out early to avoid overdoing it with the boys. We spent the morning out at the beach, doing the usual...

Above: We brought a truck from home...and today - it came to the beach - I dug lots of trenches for the truck to roam....

Below: Jonathon and big E didn't provide too many photo ops... they splashed in the ocean the entire morning again!

Above: Jesse doesn't mind the sand - he loves it..so content!

Below: I love what this means... it means we're out to play barefoot in the sand and water!

Below: We finally managed to get our umbrella planted... and it never blew away this time!!

We returned to eat a quick lunch and let Jesse take a nap... I ended up napping too! Jonathon and Ezra went out again to let Ezra spend the rest of his saved money on souvenirs... he bought the oddest trinkets - but ok! After the nap we decided to drive around and then figure out what we'd do for dinner. Site see a bit while we decide... Above and Below: The Citadel Square Baptist Church - absolutely gorgeous architecture - and another beautiful steeple of Charleston. This church has a long history - and was founded in the mid 1800's.
Below: Gibbes Museum of Art - a true landmark of Charleston. Below: A beautiful home overlooking Battery Park & White Park Gardens. The park overlooks Fort Sumter the Charleston Harbor.
Below: The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist - I couldn't get nearly 1/3 of this beautiful building in the photo frame. We were driving right by it and the etched glass is just gorgeous. As you can see in the photo, passers by stop to look at the architecture and beauty. Here's a link to a full photo of the building I found on the internet.

Eventually we ended up being super silly - and eating at a different Charleston Crab House. Ezra loved it, and we decided to let him pick.... so we went to another one and it was just as yummy to me!

After stuffing our faces, we drove back to the beach villa, changed into sandals and went out to the Folly Beach Pier for a walk, then onto the beach for one last romp in the water. The boys enjoyed it alot, and it was just the best weather for a walk! Above: Another photo of the Arthur Ravenel Jr. bridge - it's just an amazing site. It was designed to withstand wind gusts of 300 miles per hour, and earthquakes at 7.4 on the Richter scale. It cost over $700 million to construct, and was designed by Parsons Brinckerhoff. Each diamond tower stands over 575 feet high. It's the largest single cable stay bridge in the Americas! Above: the handmade flowers I bought yesterday outside of the SC Aquarium... made by some young boys, sold for 2.00 each.
Below: our last stroll on the beach for this trip
My "8" looks ridiculous.... but this is what I do everytime we visit the beach.... make a scrapbook page like this.

Tomorrow we're leaving, but we've decided to make a couple of stops in Charleston before heading home... possibly The Old Exchange or Market Street at the Daughters of Confederacy Building to buy some local goods...I'm still planning to grab a handmade basket or two for bread!

All of our photos from today are uploaded.

wind in our hair...

This morning after breakfast we went out to the beach - around 930am. We bought Jesse some sand toys, a little wagon to pull them in, and a beach umbrella. All of which was pointless... except for the wagon. He loves the wagon. I spent 10.00 on all of it (CVS bucks rule) so I guess it's not a big deal. We couldn't get the umbrella to stay grounded, the wind was atrocious today - but it was nice since the heat index was projected to be 108. I got out the shovels, buckets, and sand toys - while he scoped out a nearby dump truck... at which time I was glad to meet Hayden and his parents. I never learned the parents names, but we sat and talked for 2 hours... Hayden is a spunky little boy who's 3 weeks older then Jesse. His parents are new locals, moved to Charleston from San Diego. Hayden brought a toy dump truck... Jesse loves them, and Hayden loved our wagon. So they traded off. After playing with each other's toys, it was a sad departure when we had to leave the beach to go for lunch. Jesse was not thrilled about leaving behind his friend and dump truck. We must find one of our own now... which is funny - because the same exact circumstances are how Hayden's parents bought his! HA! (now they're buying a wagon....hehe)

Above: Haydens dump truck - and Hayden is off w/ Jesse's wagon!

Below: Jonathon and big E spent the entire 2.5 hours in the water - so this is the only image I took photos of over and over of the two of them.

Below: this little bird hung out right beside me for a good while!

After lunch, Jesse and I napped. While we napped, Jonathon and Ezra went for a walk on the Folly Beach Pier, and to a few gift shops that are right on the little Folly strand (will take pics of that tomorrow). Jonathon took some pictures on his iPhone - I will post those once we upload them.

When naptime was over, we left for the SC Aquarium near Fort Sumter and Patriots Point at the Charleston Harbor. It's totally a tourist hangout - but we went anyway. The kids enjoyed it, Jesse got in free - so it wasn't too terrible. The majority of the pictures I took are trashed, because of the indoor aquarium tanks causing flash to bounce back in photos, I couldn't get the camera settings just right - so there are very few photos indoors. The otters were my favorite during the tour, the kids loved the fish and sharks. There was a sea turtle that was easily 4 feet long. The boys both bought a small souvenir in the gift shop before we left. On our way out of downtown Charleston, I took a few more photos of historic sites, as well as a picture of a container vessel on it's approach to the Port of Charleston.

Above: Cargo vessel approaching the Port of Charleston. We've been watching "America's Port" on National Geographic channel since the series began - and seeing this vessel, along w/ the port itself, made it so much more realistic for me to understand the enormous capacity these cargo vessels have. Also - to imagine what it must be like to guide one in to a port.

Below: St. Phillips Episcopal Church steeple. Another of Charleston's well known historical steeples... the church was established in 1680 and is the oldest Anglican congregation south of Virginia.

Below: The Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon

Once we completed our Aquarium tour, we left, and I bought some handmade woven flowers from some kids on a park bench outside. I will have to take a picture of those - I forgot too! The kids looked to be young teens, and a few younger then that - each flower was 2.00. There are also basket weavers sitting on Meeting Street in Charleston, I plan to go pick up a basket or two for the house before we leave. We headed out to dinner at Charleston Crab House - it's a local favorite, so I was ready to try some more of the yummy eats. I had crab cakes and she-crab soup again. The crab cakes were light, fluffy and delicious (totally not our normal "diet" - so it was a super treat) the she crab soup was not as good as last nights in my opinion. Jonathon thinks I'm silly for wanting seafood 2 or 3 nights in a row - but this is literally the first time in 3 years that I've had anything but grilled salmon (we do that 2 times a week at home) when it comes to seafood - so if I'm going to stray from our Mediterranean diet, I think one vacation out of 3 years is not a big deal! Tomorrow night I want surf and turf!! Then it will be back to our normal routine of chicken, fish or turkey and lots of veggies.

Our day was relaxing, not rushed, and just right. It's around midnight, both boys went to bed around 10, and I'm getting tired now. I just finished the upload of photos from today to our smugmug photos site! Goodnight~

sand in our toes....

I'll keep up blog posting at night, we're sharing a king size bed w/ Jesse, so I'm beside him while he's sleeping. We have not had him sleep in our bed yet at home, but on vacation - we make it a point to make him feel safe and secure. So this is what we'll do! I'll upload pics and update the blog while he snoozes. He sleeps ALL over the place! He sleeps very soundly. We'll get kicked in the face on this vacation - for sure. Doubtful that I'll sleep sound.

We arrived around 3pm today; unpacked, then headed out to Charleston for dinner. The place we're staying at is a small villa 1 block away from the ocean. Above: small family room

Below: master bed (where I am right now, HA!)

We ended up at Hymans Seafood... where we sat at the table that Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick sat at...we didn't know this was part of the deal - but it was interesting to know about he celebrity appearances at this little dive.Above: people waiting to eat at Hymans Seafood

Below: where we sat - someone famous once sat also! Just a neat little part of eating there... their she crab soup is divine. The meal was pricey, but that's what you get for being a tourist. We brought our own stuff for breakfast/lunch and plan to have dinner out.

Their pretty spiral staircase...
After dinner, we drove around a bit and looked at historical houses and then returned to the beach for some time in the sand/water before sunset. It is Jesse's first time ever! He loved it!! Even drank some ocean water after a few waves...



I posted all pics and a couple beach videos on our smugmug site - just send me an email for the password if you don't already have it. Since I'm the human bed rail for now (he still sleeps in his crib at home)... I'll be here posting nightly while Jonathon watches something in the living room...he's a night owl. I'm watching TV very quietly while I'm posting. It's been a great day, and tomorrow we plan to get up and head out the the beach early - before it gets too hot for our boys to enjoy it. Then after a lunch and a nap, we'll likely head out to the Charleston Aquarium.

to the beach we go

Folly Beach Pier, Folly Beach, SC

We're on our way out tomorrow. Can't wait to get there!!