A Walk near the Water

I admit it, I was actually bored yesterday evening...amidst the cluttered to-do list of the century. So, I loaded the kids up and headed for the waterfront!

We stopped on Bay Street first, and sat on the hill watching the boats. I captured a sweet moment between Zoe and Ian.


Then, we had to move on because...well, it was a hill, and Zoe was in a roaming mood! We ended up walking near the docks for a while, spotting boats out on the water (to Ian, they do not count unless they are not moored at the docks).


I love the swings near the water. We spent a lot of our time sitting, swinging, and talking. Mostly, Ian wanted to know why all the boats were not out. He said all of the people should get on their boats and go. When I explained that some people live on their boats, and might not want to go anywhere at that very moment, he decided to take over the lesson. "Mommy, boats are for GOING on the WATER, not for living in." Reassuring him that some people do indeed live on boats he conceded, "Oh, you're right. But, they should go."


Much of our time was also spent running around the pavilion area. Zoe chasing Ian, Ian chasing Zoe...Mommy chasing both kids! I love how quiet it is on a week night. We had the entire grounds to ourselves practically! (All the other kids were on the playground, where I figured we would eventually go).


Zoe spent most of her time running around crazily, or power walking. The remainder of the time was spent trying to pry the shells from the pavement. She's persistent, I'll give her that one.


I really wanted some good pictures because the lighting was so gorgeous, and the kids were having so much fun. This is mostly what my "roll" consisted of with Zoe. She is a lady on the move.


When I tried to get pictures of Ian, he would stop and talk with me about things. Mostly, about money. He had the extra change from the meter, and he was very concerned we should go back and put more in it. He kept pulling his money out of his pockets to count it, and reminding me if we didn't put money in it, we would get a ticket.


Our afternoon was also filled with sly smiles that were eerily similar.


I love their smiles. All of them.


The highlight of the evening ocurred just as we reached the playground. There was a man shrimping off the sea wall. Both kids instantly decided this was much better entertainment than the aforementioned kid-zone. They both climbed into the swing to watch, very excited.


Patiently, the shrimper cast out his net...


And brought up just a few shrimp every other time or so. I was not expecting them to be so big! Many of them were thrown back, because he said they were still having babies. We all learned that shrimp are quite feisty, which was why he left them on the pavement for a moment before going to throw them in his 5 gallon bucket. Several times, we saw a simple flick of the tail launch one up to a foot in the air. We also learned that these particular shrimp have "horns" on the front of their head, which are to be avoided! (We did not have to learn this the hard way, no shrimp handling today).


Zoe got bored after a while, but was very happy to climb up and down the benches. Ian elicited several smiles from the man as he asked questions and eagerly observed. It was so relaxing and interesting to watch him work. The setting sun was a gorgeous backdrop for a perfect evening.


Although we have lived in Beaufort for over a year, this was my first sunset on the water. None of the photos are retouched (except the last, 2 points of exposure/brightness), it was a magnificent sunset! A beautiful end to a blessed day near the water.




I can't help but stand in awe of God's beautiful creation. Sunset is simply a more powerful time of beauty as the light changes and does its dance of color across the water. In moments like these, I am thankful for my gift of sight to see my beautiful children and experience such beauty as this...day-dreaming of the hints of Heaven's splendor. :)

He spreads out the northern skies over empty space.
He hangs the earth over nothing.
He wraps up water in his clouds.
They are heavy, but they don't burst.
He covers the face of the full moon.
He spreads his clouds over it.
He marks out the place where the sky meets the sea.
He marks out the boundary between light and darkness.
The pillars of the heavens shake.
They are terrified when his anger blazes out.
With his power he stirred up the oceans.
In his wisdom he cut the sea monster Rahab to pieces.
His breath made the skies bright and clear.
His hand wounded the serpent that glides through the sea.
Those are only on the edges of what he does.
They are only the soft whispers that we hear from him.
So who can understand how very powerful he is?
-Job 26:7-14