Folly Beach

On our way back from Jacksonville, we stopped at Charleston to visit with my sis and her family.  They had rented a house on Folly Beach and had a spare bedroom.  Lucky us!!

Flying over Folly Beach on the way to Charleston Exec Airport. 

 On the porch of the beach house getting ready to go for a walk on the beach.  Note Eaven's cute blue hair.....makes him easy to spot out in the surf!!

Beautiful, flat, wide beach.

The boys lagging behind.

And you may have already seen these photos on Facebook, but I thought they were cute....

Something must have been awfully funny!!  Great start to a relaxing few days in Folly Beach!

Boat Shopping

We flew to Jacksonville, Fl to look at another boat.  This one is a Leopard 40.  I believe this will be the model we buy.  Seems the perfect size - roomy and will fit nicely in our slip in Oriental.

The owner/seller gave us a very nice tour of the boat.  This was the first boat of all our "shopping trips" that we couldn't find much wrong!   Unfortunately, the owner called and said he had an offer on the boat - and we're not going to get in bidding wars.  There is another one for sale - in Trinadad!  We might just go get that one now that we have narrowed it down to a particular model.  So, progress!

Tribute to a faithful companion

Yesterday  we learned that Buddy and Sharon's lifetime pet and family member passed away unexpectedly.

Sad day.

She was almost 15, but the loss for them still hurts. Rest in peace, Capi dog.
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Butterfly

We've been seeing alot of these beautiful butterflies lately....aren't they gorgeous?

Hot!

It's been hot.  I mean really, really hot here!!  We've been sweating it out down in the hangar working on the Avion!!!

Green tomatoes!

The only red tomatoes I have so far are the big grape ones....but my regular tomato vines are teaming with fruit.  It's just green so far.

So, I made the best of it with some fried green tomatoes!

Strangely, I had a can of wax beans - but no kidney beans in my pantry.....so I made some "2 Bean Salad".   Added some coleslaw and this was our light dinner!

Hiking at Jordan Lake Dam

Went for another "conditioning" hike this morning at the Jordan Lake dam.

Scenic overlook.   Beautiful day but hot, hot, hot!!

Made 7 mile circuit - to the other side of the dam!  Then home to work on the Avion!

Lunch

Just working on the Avion.....we come to the house mid-day for a light lunch. 

Perfect for the hot weather!

Hiking

We did a 6 mile hike at Jordan Lake - early in the morning to avoid most of the heat!

Disturbed this lovely black snake on the trail!

Lovely views....but is sure was warm, even in the shade!

Avion

Yeah....you'll have to go to the Avion blog to see what we've been up to!

Little Avion work

Go check out the Avion blog for a little bit of work we did in the crazy hot weather!

Veggies!

Dick and Lindy were out of town so they told me to help myself to some of their garden produce!

I spotted a gnawed cucumber....

And I found the culprit!!  Moved him out of the garden....

My "haul"....

Nice and fresh for dinner!

More Ocracoke July 4th Festivities

Very busy day!!!

The annual sand-sculpture contest was underway on the beach.  The contestants were allowed to use anything that was found on the beach.  They all started at 9:30AM and were to finish by noon.

We walked the beach a little early - so some of the sculptures weren't quite finished.  This one is an "Expecting Mermaid"--the sculptress proudly modeling her baby bump as is her mermaid!  Weird but cute. 

All things nautical.....an Ocracoke Octopus.

The Ocra Croc - several used seaweed to decorate.

The Ocra-man - we think one leg may have been taken by an Ocra-shark.

The Ocra-croc mostly finished.

And more detail on the Ocra-pus as noon approached.

My favorite - the Ocra-frog.  Hard to see since they're still rushing to finish - but the frog's long tongue ends with a fly that he has caught made of black seashells.  Very Cute.

And a terrific Blackbeard!   Lots of the contestants wore red-white-blue outfits.  Very fun and free for everyone!  Don't know the winners of the contest yet - I'll report back.

 Next up in the afternoon was the annual parade.  The sky looked threatening, but the rain held off until the parade was thru!

The requisite start of the parade - law enforcement and the fire trucks!!

And about half the population came out in the decorated golf carts!!

This was the Manning - Hutson entry!

And a lone bagpiper!!

All good fun -  most of the participants threw candy to the kids.

The local young adults - we've seen this same group other years.

They really go all out -

All manner of patriotic decorations abounded. 

And a great multi-partisan political entry!

The local garden shop!

Not sure about the theme here!  But they were enthusiastic!

Always cheer on EMS!

And the end of the parade is always the (messy) horses - haha - so no one has to walk thru their poop!

Told ya it was a busy day!!

On to the Manning - Hutson rental house for the fish fry!

Good to see the guys hard at work!

Rich with the tub of fish they caught yesterday, ready to go downstairs to the fryer.

And Jeannine and Cynthia having fun with the other "fixin's".

Yummmmy - you can't beat fresh fish.

And here's my plate - what a grand way to end a wonderful July 4th!!