Home Part 2...

After a week of resting I had some wonderful friends come to visit me in Savannah. I met Kat and her twin sister Elizabeth when I first started at Edisto Beach State Park. Kat was also a ranger, but shortly after I got there she moved to Chester State Park.

Me, Kat, and Elizabeth

They met me at my mother's boyfriends house for a beautiful afternoon in the South Carolina Lowcountry. We spent the afternoon on a boat ride. We visited monkey island (yes there are actual monkeys there), glimpsed Edisto and Hunting Island, and saw some cute little dolphins. Then we had a wonderful Low Country Boil. This for those of you that don't know is a wonderful mixture of spices, shrimp, corn, potatoes, and ours contained sausage. 

Tybee Lighthouse

Then we headed back to Savannah to spend a wonderful day on Tybee. The sun was out and some more of our friends were coming into town for the wedding. So that night we had a cookout with all of them at the house that they rented. 

Pat and Little Noah

Friday was time for the rehearsal and dinner. We had a lovely time at dinner at North Beach Grill then headed to Bennies for Karaoke and some time with family who had just arrived. It was so nice to spend some time on Tybee again.

Saturday was wedding day. It was a beautiful ceremony full of so much love. I didn't trip walking down the aisle and I made it through my speech! My little sister made an absolute beautiful bride and brought everyone to tears with the amazing vows that she wrote. I am so happy to have gained more family that day, I gained 2 new big brothers and a wonderful new little sister! Preston and Sarah are so great for each other and I wish them nothing but the best.  

  

Me, Rebekah, and Ashley

Tristan at Fort Pulaski

Sunday and Monday were our last 2 days in Savannah. Tristan and I said our goodbyes to all of Preston's family and then did a little exploring. Sunday we went to Fort Pulaski on Tybee Island and a wonderful walk on the beach. We found some great shells for our shell collection and watched a beautiful sunset. 

Tristan with a Horeshoe Crab

On Monday we visited the 4-H center where I used to work and said hello to all the staff. We also played with some of my favorite cuties. Tristan got to hold his first snake (Monty the python), we visited with Zoe (my sea turtle baby I took care of when I worked there), and played in the touch tank. It was great to get to introduce Tristan to all of the cool animals that we don't see in Alaska. 

After the 4-H center we headed to the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge. We spent about 2 hours driving the 3 mile road looking for wildlife. We found so many alligators, even a mama and some babies. We also spotted tons of birds, once again Tristan was so excited to see all the wildlife that was all new for him.

Savannah NWR

Tuesday we headed to Myrtle Beach, because no trip to the east coast is complete for me without a stop over there. Tristan had some amazing SC BBQ, which was the one thing on his list of things he wanted to do. I'd say he enjoyed it since we came home with 3 bottles of sauce. 

Pitcher Plants

While in Myrtle we spent some time with Ann and Scott. We visited Lewis Ocean Bay Preserve and found venus fly traps, pitcher plants, and the Red-cockaded woodpecker. We also spent time at both Myrtle Beach and Huntington Beach State Parks. 

Venus Fly Traps

The Venus Fly Traps turned out to be Tristan's favorite part of the whole trip! Which I understand, they were so cool to see in the wild. Plus they don't grow anywhere else in the world other than in Carolina Bays in North and South Carolina. 

It was so nice to visit with my friends in Myrtle and to be around the park for a few days! I have missed all of them. It was so wonderful to show Tristan all of the things that I love about the area! We got to help out with the Amazing Race which is still one of my favorite events that the park puts on. Who knows...maybe we will even compete in it next year! 

The SC tree at MBSP

After the race we headed back to Va. We spent a couple days at home visiting with my dad and other friends and family. Thank you to Gayle for the fried chicken and pineapple cake. We also spent an evening with dad narrowing down the boxes to bring me here in Alaska. 

Finally on March 9th we got on a plane and headed back home to Ketchikan. I had a wonderful time back on the east coast. I'm so glad I got to do so much and see so many people. But we were very happy to be back home in our sleepy little Alaskan town. Thank you to everyone who made my trip home so great! 

Atalya at HBSP