Yikes!! There are sandworms crawling out of my ear. I quickly wake up and find my darling Punky giving me an ear wash. "Punky", I squeek, trying not to wake Tina, "Go back to sleep. It's 7:00 AM and 34 degrees out." Punky licks my face and say, "But Dad, the sun is out and I've got to pee!!" Okay, okay, I'm up already.
Eyahhhh, she's right, the sun is out. There's no wind but it's still very cold. I think we'll turn around and head back to Florida - heh, heh. Oh well, on with the long pants, tee shirt, flannel shirt, etc., etc. Grab some doggie bags, hook up the leashes and out we go. Oooops, back in and grab my gloves. It really is cold out!! Since we are heading for Myrtle Beach tomorrow, today we're going to drive out to Folly Beach on Folly Island then check out the Caw Caw Wildlife Interpretive Center. First things first, breakfast and some household chores. I applied for social security online yesterday and was tentatively accepted. But to continue processing my application I need to go to the Everett office and show them my birth certificate. Yeah right... So I called them up and was told by a staff person to go to the Charleston office and have them fax a copy of my passport to the Everett office. So I go back online and get directions to the Charleston SocSec office. Since it's on the way to the beach it looks like everything is going to work out fine.
Arriving at the Charleston SocSec office I went in and took a number. The place was full of people waiting to see a staff person. An hour later I was called to one of the windows and explained what I needed to do. He took my SSN, looked up my application, made a photocopy of my passport, put some notes on the copy, said he'd make sure it was faxed today and I was out of there five minutes later.
The temperature was going up and it's now 1:30 PM. It took about 30 minutes to drive out to Folly Island and find a parking spot with beach access. There aren't a whole lot of people on the beach when we get there so we decided to take the dogs with us. In the five minutes it took to get down to the water and walk a little way towards the pier, the wind brought our body temps down to about 60 degrees. I thought I was ready to be put on a slab in the morgue. Man it was cold... no wonder there were so few people around. The dogs ran and played, going into the water, dragging their leashes through the waves and sand. Of course I neglected to bring a towel so after a fifteen minute romp it was back to the car sand and all. Tina was driving so I could sit on my hands and warm up. Such fun!!
We gave up on the beach idea and headed for the interior taking the back roads. It really is a very pretty area with rural farms, lots of woods and a couple of country stores. We stopped at one and picked up some great beefsteak tomatoes, strawberries and a few other goodies. Then it was back on the road, crossing several rivers finally arriving at the Caw Caw Interpretive Center. Caw Caw was once part of several rice plantations and home to enslaved Africans who applied their technology and skills in agriculture to carve the series of rice fields out of cypress swamps. Today this is a huge area with six miles of trails, over a thousand feet of elevated boardwalks through swamps, across grassy dykes separating canals, watery fields of rice and dry fields where corn was planted. At one time there were a house, several large out buildings and slave cabins. Today nothing remains except some foundations and corner posts. 
We decided to do one of the easier walks that would take us through the swamp then out past the rice fields and back to the interpretive center. The ranger did let us know that there had been several sighting of a mama alligator at one spot on the trail. We took a map and headed out to the trail walking down a wide tree shaded lane, eventually coming to the start of the swamp trail and boardwalk. This is a really cool section as we were really walking right through the middle of the swamp. Eventually we came out of the swamp and into a huge open area which gave way to a series of rice paddies separated by an eight foot wide dyke. 
There is a lot of water on both sides of the trail but it is obvious that these were cultivated fields at one time. Off to the right in a marshy area Tina spotted the alligator, sitting on a submerged hummock so she could warm her back and cool her belly at the same time. This was about a five foot gator, probably twenty feet away. We took a couple of photos as we passed then continued along the trail. Suddenly Tina gave a gasp and pointed ahead. I looked where she was pointing. There was a seven foot alligator lying crossways on the trail. Hmmmm, methinks we have a small problem. Tina takes a couple of pictures from about fifty feet away and urges me forward to have a talk with ally. I'm not too sure about all this. When I get about twenty feet away, I pick up a piece of dried mud and gently toss it at her. It lands right at her jaw and bumps into her. Nothing. Not even a blink. On the other side coming towards us about 150 feet away is another couple out for a hike. The guy motions us forward and hollers to just walk past the alligators tail. Sure. Okay. Easy for him to say. Oh well, she doesn't look hungry.
So I slowly walk past her tail while Tina waits to see if I am to become lunch for a gator. Surprisingly I get past with nary a glance. She must figure Tina's a better option. I crouch down and take a picture of Tina coming slowly towards the gator and urge Tina to walk past so I can get a shot of her passing. No luck. With a burst of speed, Tina was past so quickly I never had a chance to click the camera. Oh yeah, just before Tina ran the gauntlet, the alligator started hissing at her and some baby gators down in the weeds started to squawk. No wonder Tina moved so quickly - heh, heh.Once past the gator, we visited with the couple who mentioned an eleven footer up on one of the dykes up ahead. They didn't get too close to it and didn't recommend that we look for it. By this time it was nearing 5:00 PM so we walked out to one of the bird viewing stations above one of the canals. As we passed over a small bridge Tina spotted another small gator swimming towards us. We headed back to the dry trail and finished our walk without further excitement, got to the car and drove home.
To see all of today's photos click on:
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