Growing Up

As hard as it is to say, our little Peanut is growing up. 

We had such a great time on the beach together during our recent trip:  hunting for shells, laughing at the antics of the dogs chasing seagulls on the beach, giggling at the funny little sandpipers, and trying to spot dolphins as they appeared and disappeared in the waves closer to shore.  It was wonderful.

Reconnecting is always nice. 

Being able to do so away from the day-to-day rushing is so much better.  Not having a myriad of distractions and an endless "to do" list of things that need to be done right now lurking in the background makes having those longer conversations or quiet walks along the shore or in a nature preserve or any number of other wonderful things we were able to do while we were away so much more meaningful on so many levels.

It got me thinking about how we might better do that on a weekly basis at home as well.

Sunset on Hilton Head Island

Our last day of vacation truly was magical.  The Peanut and I got up for a sunrise walk and saw some dolphins out frolicking in the surf:  a momma and her young one trying to catch a little fish and having a lot of fun while doing so.  The Peanut was spellbound, as was I, as we scurried along the beach trying to keep up with them.

It was gorgeous and I have plenty of pictures to share with everyone once I get time to get everything re-sized for the blog.

Taking On The Jellies

This is the underside of a moon jellyfish. 

I love the transparency of everything on this, down to the tiny hairlike tendrils drifting out from all over as a fringe at the edges.  It's an amazingly graceful creature to watch -- just mesmerizing.

Turtle Time At The South Carolina Aquarium

While we were in Charleston, SC, we spent two days exploring their aquarium.  One of The Peanut's favorite things was getting to spend some time up close with the sea turtle in their big aquarium.

She absolutely loves sea turtles, and was thrilled that we could make a donation to the South Carolina Aquarium's sea turtle rescue program.

The above shot was taken on our first visit, while The Peanut and I were standing next to their big tank window gazing at all the fish and sharks.  The sea turtle decided to come down and swim around right in front of us -- serious fun! -- while The Peanut just stood there staring at her completely mesmerized.

Here's a closer view of the sea turtle -- she cooperated and came in even closer while I was snapping a few pictures:

Up Close With Jellyfish

While we were in Charleston, SC, we spent a couple of days at the aquarium there.

I managed to snap this shot after turning a corner and becoming mesmerized by the jellyfish tank for a while.  The first day that we went was a Sunday, the weather was gorgeous outside, and we had the aquarium almost all to ourselves -- which meant we could stand and gaze upon these beautiful jellyfish for as long as we wanted.

There were maybe 7 or 8 of these types of jellyfish in this particular tank, and there must have been a current in it because they kept cycling up and down.  It was like a sort of slow-motion ballet, and absolutely mesmerizing.

Aren't they gorgeous?

I forget what type of jellyfish this was, but their color was just amazing against the bright blue of their tank.

Bird Brains

I snapped this picture of a great egret when we spent the day at Sea World in Orlando during our  recent vacation.  Isn't he just gorgeous?

I wish I could have captured how the sweep of tail feathers in the back sort of billowed in the breeze that day, because it was really lovely as it shone snowy white in the sunlight.

I always confuse these beautiful birds with their smaller counterparts, the snowy egrets, no matter how many times I look them up and no matter how bright yellow their bills are compared to the darker color of a snowy egret's bill.  They are my birding faux pas every single time I try to identify one on the fly, what can I say?

In any case, these birds have got a whole routine down pat at Sea World.  You can tell when it is about to be feeding time, because suddenly snowy and great egrets begin to creep around on the rocks and ledges surrounding whatever tank is about to receive some glorious fish bits.

They also appeared to be super smart.

Dolphin Joy For Everyone

When I mentioned we had a lot of fun, up close time with dolphins at Sea World on our vacation, you just knew I had more pictures, didn't you?

We had such a blast during our slightly more than an hour behind-the-scenes up-close tour.  The Peanut got some serious dolphin time, and loved every minute of it.  And we got to watch her enjoy herself the entire time, which may have been even better.

Here's another up close shot of a friendly dolphin: