Cripp Fritters... I mean... Fripp Critters!

Fripp is also a wildlife conser-
vatory. This means that all the native South Carolina animals a free to roam and do as they please. There are over 400 deer living on the island. This one just appeared under our deck one morning.

And the geckos are everywhere! This one crawled from one side of our deck, under the screened porch door, through our porch and out the other screen door! Didn't even stop to ask if we wanted to switch our insurance!

I already told you about the dolphins but this is amazing. They swam right up to the side of the boat begging us to take their pictures!

In addition to the Snowy Egrets and Herons, we saw this beautiful Cardinal in the tree off our deck. He was a small reminder of home as we have 2 pair of cardinals that enjoy our birdfeeders back in NY.
We were also treated to a turtle nest inventory. Fripp is also a habitat for the Loggerhead Turtle. Our neighbors were members of the Turtle Patrol and they help keep dogs and other creatures away from the nests. Another part of their work is to inventory the nests when the mother lays the eggs and to keep track of how many of those eggs actually hatch and make it back to the ocean. This little ghost crab likes to eat turtle eggs and he was found in a hatched nest. The nest that we were checking on had 108 eggs-- 99 hatched, 1 dead, and 8 unhatched. Unfortunately, we did not get to see any baby turtles.

Fripp Island

Onto the next big leg of our Southern journey-- Fripp Island! This is our second trip to the island that have fallen in love with. We arrived Saturday afternoon and had burgers on the grill after unpacking. Later that night the welcoming committee arrived looking for hors d'oerves from the hostess platter (i.e. the grease from the grill).... a baby raccoon.

The next day we headed for the beach.... and the next day.... and the next day... you get the idea. Ten days of beach bliss. Aaaaah....I can still hear the waves lapping at the shore, the cry of the seagulls, see the shimmer of silver mullet, smell the fresh salty air, feel the warmth of the sun on the sand...aaaaahh. The kids enjoyed splashing in the lagoon and then we trekked over to the sand bar and the "real" waves. They had so much fun body surfing and getting knocked down!



We went on a dolphin cruise one afternoon and it was quite momentous! We saw hundreds of dolphins including a mama and her baby. The captain also had several critters in a fish tank aboard his pontoon boat....shrimp, minnows, sea pork, and a hermit crab. Also freely roaming....er, crawling about the deck was the biggest horseshoe crab I have ever seen! Doesn''t Scott look like something from Alien? I told you that thing was monstrous!






While we were at Fripp, we celebrated Scott's birthday. I attempted to organize a surprise party for him, but it slightly backfired when I began cleaning that morning (if you know me, I'm not the best house keeper ...or cook for that matter!). He suspected something was up, but didn't know what so the surprise was pulled off in the end. Scott's Marine buddy and his family arrived for an afternoon and BBQ
and then Aunt Jen and Uncle Dave came for an evening of Margaritas and birthday cake! It was such a wonderful day and I am glad that I semi-pulled off the surprise.

This was the sunset we saw on the first day. About 1/4 of a mile up the road from our beach house was this Sunset Lookout. Every evening folks would gather under the pavilion to see the most spectacular sunsets you have ever seen. A fitting end to a wonderful vacation.

Colonial Williamsburg

This was a major stopover for us. We spent 3 rather hot days in Willamsburg and saw nearly everything there was to see. We ate in the taverns, went on a ghost tour, and saw plenty of redcoats!
We even sat in on public speaking events with Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington and LaFayette.
OK, OK, OK I guess now would be the time to regale you with my Patrick Henry story. When my husband (a big-time history buff) and I were dating, a conversation came up about Patrick Henry. I responded, "Oh he's the one who was hanged for treason, right?" (I was thinking of Nathan Hale) To which my husband cried in disbelief, "Give me liberty or give me death?!!!" Now my children even tease me about this episode; I am doomed to remember Patrick Henry for the rest of my life. I digress...
The townspeople reenacted the reading of the Declaration of Indepen-
dence, which was cool as I have never read beyond the first sentence, I think. We got to meet Patrick Henry's sister, who was dressed to the gills in high 1700's fashion in 90+ degree heat.
Heather got to learn a traditional dance and was in her glory. We dined at Mr. Shields' Tavern and were delighted when Mr. Shields himself appeared and told jokes while we ate. He called Heather a 'gigglepuss' which caused her to giggle even more! After stuffing ourselves with a fantastic dinner of homemade potroast and meatloaf, we met our tour guide outside. The ghost tour was really cool! We heard stories about the employees of Williamsburg who had experiences with the paranormal.
The Prentiss Shop has a ghost that is believed to be Mr. Prentiss himself, who enjoys lifting game boards off the wall and flinging them at workers and customers alike! Others had seen shadows and silhouettes in the upstairs windows of taverns that had been locked up for the night.

Yorktown Battlefield

This was a quick stop on our trip. We spent the morning here surveying the last battle of the American Revolu-
tionary War. Again, I'm not a history buff, but this was rather interesting.

Our tour guide was a Russian student studying American History. She knew her stuff...more than I ever learned in high school!

Marine Corps Museum

This was our first major stop on our trip. The Marine Corps Museum was like nothing I had ever seen before. There were dioramas
from every major battle that the Marines participated in. I am in no way a history buff (I'll tell you my Patrick Henry story later), but I enjoyed this so much.
I'm not sure if it was seeing my kids explore the history or the look of content-
ment on my husbands face as he photo-
graphed the second flag raised at Iwo Jima that was on display.

We ate lunch in Tun Tavern, which is the "birthplace" of the Marines in 1775 (no, we were not even a country yet!).
If you are into American history, you have to see this!









There was a Lego structure of the Iwo flag raising. If you know anything about Michael, you know he was in his glory!



When we returned to our hotel, we found this Hummer in the lot. Scott was thrilled!

Surf's up, dudes!