Isle of Palms, South Carolina

Murray with Rainie's Parents Martha & Bill

A Living Star Fish

Starfish in the Water

Real Live Clam

Sand Dollar

Today we had a 50 minute drive over to Isle of Palms which is NE of Charleston (see map). I have marked out route in light green so you may need to click on the photo to see it magnified. Rainie's family rented a huge 5 bedroom 4 bathroom house just 2 houses back from the Atlantic Ocean. We couldn't resist wandering down to the water's edge and it was fortunate we did, as we got to see a star fish in its natural environment - I thought they were smooth, but they are almost furry to touch. Next Rainie came up to me holding a live clam she had found - another first for us to see one alive.

Rainie's nephew then found a sand dollar for me. I had heard of them, and in fact we do have them in Australia, but I have never seen one on the beach, or at least, I wasn't sure what I was looking for - I thought it was a formation of packed sand. Hmm, it is actually a marine animal, related to the sea urchin. When found on the beach without it's usual furry/velvety fine spines, it usually means it is dead.

While we were walking along the beach it was a wonderful sight to look back to the line of houses as they were magnificent. You would need a healthy bank account to live in this area. Mind you, I wouldn't want to be living there during a hurricane - right on the coast and in the line of fire. In September 1989 Hurricane Hugo with winds of 140 mph (225 kph) with a storm tidal surge 15-20' above mean sea level. Scary.

As we walked back through the bushes to the house, what looked like a green water snake crossed our path. I was too busy calling Murray to have a look at it to take a photo before it disappeared into the undergrowth! Apparently they don't hesitate to bite, but are not venomous.