Charleston Area's Premiere Holiday Light Display

Last night, we went to the Holiday Festival of Lights at James Island County Park. The festival has been going on for 24 years and this year began November 8th and ends December 31st.

Note: If you plan to camp at the park during this time, be sure to make reservations well in advance. I wasn't aware of the festival and attempted to make reservations last week for this week and it did not work out.

There are over 700 light displays visible from the comfort of your vehicle as you drive through the winding park roads. There is also a place to park and walk around. We saw a sand sculpture, gingerbread houses, and some light displays that you can't see from the road including a one that blinks to music - my favorite. There is a carousel, train, and climbing wall that require the purchase of tickets. Several large gas fire places are available to warm up and roast marshmallows - $2 marshmallow kits are available at the concession or bring your own. Other concessions are also available. We avoided the Santa Gift shop and Sweet Shop, but they make a nice addition.

Admission is $15 per car (15 passengers or less) seven days a week. Monday through Thursday, if you donate a nonperishable food item, the entry fee is $5 off.

My kids loved it and it put us all in the holiday spirit.

Related articles

• Festival of Lights opening on SC coast (charlotteobserver.com)
• Festival of Lights opening on SC coast (thestate.com)

The Angel Tree

We are staying just outside of Charleston, South Carolina this week. On our way home from seeing the H. L. Hunley, we decided to take a detour with no particular destination in mind. We ended up in Johns Island, SC where we started noticing signs for Angel Oak "this" and Angel Oak "that." All of the sudden I was reminded of a NPR story that I saw a month ago about the development threat to a huge oak tree that has been around for hundreds of years called the Angel Oak. After a quick internet search on my smartphone, I realized we were in fact in the vicinity of that Angel Oak and set it as the new destination in the GPS. 

My husband had not heard anything about it and was particularly surprised when we we drove up. This sprawling live oak (Quercas virginiana) tree has branches the size of tree trunks; many of which are braced with supports. (If you were over 400 years old, you'd need a cane or two as well!) It is a thing of beauty and history. Just think, it has witnessed not only the founding of our nation but the colonization of a continent. 

Related articles

• Remembering the Past: Charles Towne Landing (shannafern.com)
• H.L. Hunley: The Civil War Submarine (shannamama.blogspot.com)
• Charleston Area's Premiere Holiday Light Display (shannamama.blogspot.com)

RV's on the Fort Fisher to Southport Ferry? Yes, but....

After spending a week catching up with friends in Carolina Beach, we took the Fort Fisher Ferry to Southport this morning. We figured that after the 6-hour Newfoundland Ferry crossing, this 30-minute ferry ride would be cake. And, it would have been perfectly uneventful except that the ferryman flagging us during loading nearly had us clip the pilothouse with our awning. Thankfully one of the other ferryman was paying attention and halted our forward movement. We had to reverse and get over a bit more to clear the structure. 

It was $15 because our rig is over 40 feet in length (it's $5 for autos). We probably saved that much in gas, however, and got to enjoy a nice boat ride to boot. We even spotted some dolphin or porpoise during our Cape Fear River crossing.

Our kids enjoying the ride!