Exploring Edisto

Monday morning we headed back out onto the beach for some more sun. Well, I have to be honest and say we really got a lot of sun on Sunday. I kept the kids good and "sunscreened" but forgot that I don't get a good base tan while running anymore and only put sunscreen on my face. Yep, that's right, my shoulders got fried. When will I learn? The girls also got a little more sun on their shoulders than one would like as the three of us went back on the beach Sunday during naptime for the boys and I didn't reapply very well on them. Aloe Vera seemed to do the trick and we all got protected again on Monday.

As you can see below, Mary Fran had a major breakthrough and waded into the receding tide holding tightly to Pa Pa's hand. She was so excited and really learned to like it. Ward ventured into the water as well, holding my hand, and was stomping on the waves in no time. Didn't get any pictures of that for obvious reasons. Evie is thumb wrestling with Uncle Grayson on the side. She won the series.

Up on the porch Mary Fran found a new trick. She's pretty inventive!
Tuesday we decided to give our skin a break from the sun and go to Botany Bay Plantation and ride through. Well, we get there and find out it is closed on Tuesdays. I'll remember that next time. We were on our way to a "museum" down there when we came past the Edisto Island Serpentarium. Yes, it's what you think. They built it about 10 years ago and I remember thinking, "That'll never last." Shows you what I know!

We decided to give the Serpentarium a try and are glad we did. It's a little pricey but after going through it all, I'd say it's worth it. We arrived at just the right time to look through the snakes indoors before the "Snake Class" at 11.

We also got to look at the turtles and tortoises as well as 2 of the 3 areas where the alligators are housed (all of this is outside, of course). There are probably a total of 25-30 alligators there. Yes, there big as you can see.

Glad for the fence, I must say.

It was then time for the Snake Class and we settled down into the little "auditorium" if you will. Our instructor showed us the non-venomous snakes first. It was really neat and she had some great facts for us to learn. I'm trying to remember all the different snakes we were shown, so if I mess up naming some, please forgive me. I think the one above is a garter snake because I remember being quite surprised it was so big!

Here we have a king snake. Remember, "Red touches black, friend of Jack. Red touches yellow, not a nice fellow." Found out this guy gets his name because he can eat things that are 2-3 times his size!

These would be two different rat snakes. Great to have around barns.

And now onto the guys you don't want to meet in a dark alley. The first venomous snake we were introduced to was a water moccasin. Yep, goose bumps for me.

Next guy was a diamond back rattler. Yep, he rattled.

She got us all pretty good when she put her stick up and pretended to handle this one with her bare hands. That's right, he's plastic. See the red touching yellow? That would be a coral snake. Definitely don't want to meet one of those without several inches of plexi glass separating us.

Yes, Evie is holding a snake. She's the only one of our brood wanting to do that on Tuesday. This would be "Wilson," the Burmese python. Say hello...

After the show was over, we looked at the other outdoor areas we had missed and then went to the alligator feeding. Chicken was on the menu. They were huge and sinister. Again, thankful for the fence.

We had a great time at the Serpentarium and spent the rest of the day resting and hanging out at the house. Wednesday we played on the beach again and Mary Fran and Ward enjoyed the water. Mary Fran even got to the point that she would stand and play in it without holding anyone's hand! She also had a first in that she found a shark's tooth all by herself! Woohoo!! She, Evie, and myself made a beautiful drip castle while the boys slept and then we cleaned up and waited for my good friend, Lauren, to arrive. She was my maid of honor and I hate to say the last time we saw each other Evie was 2 months old. We had a great visit and you can always tell your good friends because after a long absence you just pick right up where you left off.

We did have some drama when Ward's nose started running that afternoon (signaling a cold coming on) and he began with a tight cough. I had brought all his inhalers down and we upped some doses but by 11 pm he was running a 101 temp and at one point coughed so much he gagged and threw up. He made it through the night OK but our plan of spending the night in Columbia on Thursday night to break up the trip was nixed. Thankfully, I had done a rotation with a PA in Hollywood (30 minutes away and on our way home) who met me at her office Thursday morning to check out our boy. His lungs sounded awful but a little Albuterol in the nebulizer opened him up a good bit. After that, we hit the road and made the straight 6+ hour trip home stopping once for lunch. Did I say my children are troopers? Ward was doing much better by then and I talked with our pediatrician to set up a game plan. He was up a couple of times Thursday night but by early Friday morning was sounding almost normal. Praise the Lord!!! I didn't even have to start him on the oral steroids and that is more of a blessing than I can write here. To say we were exhausted would be an understatement but much rest has revitalized us and it's been soooo good to be with Drew again.

With all that said, we did have a wonderful time at Edisto and are so appreciative of Dad and Brenda inviting us down. Now, if we can just get Mary Fran to hold the snake next time...