The Other Side of a Summer Rain Shower

After work the other day, Hubby and I got in our boat for a one night get-away to Beaufort. We planned to leave late afternoon and arrive in the evening.  As we crossed the Charleston Harbor, we ran into some rain, but figured, "What the heck, it can't last too long." So we put on our rain coats and hunkerd down.  Truthfully, was not the way either one of us truly wanted to spend this time!  It could have been miserable, but we didn't let it bother us.   So for a couple of hours, yes hours, we motored down the Intracoastal Waterway to Beaufort in the pouring down rain!

Eventually the rain eased up and in no time, we were both dry again, and our adventure took a better course.  After our literal Rain Shower, we felt renewed and appreciative of the beauty around us.  The sun shined.

The dolphins came out to play...

The clouds were amazing....

Rainbows as broad as I've ever seen followed us...

The sun set peacefully through the trees...

What a journey!  The rain shower we trudged through was worth it to see all this - the pictures can not portray the depth of the beauty nor can words express how thankful and grateful we were to witness such unspoiled nature.

On the way home the next day, I really didn't feel much like being the camera bug, so I simply enjoyed the ride as we made tracks back home. Along the way we did see one of the largest sea turtles I have ever seen in person - very apprapo as my choice for Artbeads.com “Summertime” Facebook Gallery post includes a Sea Turtle Pendant!

I used TOHO Hex Raku beads to fashion the 'beaded beads', made the bail with TOHO 15/0 round Raku beads, and used Czech Bellflower beads, Tierracast Antique Copper star bead caps, TOHO 8/0 round frosted beads, Matte teal Lentils, Copper Accent beads from my stash and Teal Satin ribbon to tie it with.

An amazing trip I will never forget, inspired me to finish my Summertime piece, Sea Turtle.  I will always carry the vision of the Sea Turtle with me! But in the meantime, this creation will serve as a reminder of The Other Side of a Summer Rain Shower!

Beaufort, SC

I had quite a few pictures from Beaufort, such a lovely place! I thought this would be the best way to share our trip photos!

-Blanche

From the Ocean to the Mountains...

The past few weeks I have either been on vacation or taking a weekend jaunt off to places I love. Not much beading going on, but lots of inspiration for when I do get back to my beadwork! I have just returned form the North Carolina mountains, where I used to live, and was pleasantly surprised to find out I placed second in the Winter Rose Designs Jewelry Contest!

I will wait until they post, but I do love the piece I made and can't wait to see the other entries for the contest.

The week before the 4th of July, my hubby and I took our boat down the Intracoastal waterway to Beaufort, SC. I was writing about this trip last Thursday when the power went out on us...

So picking up the pieces and filling in with photos:

The last few weeks have been busy, busy, busy, and some, not all has been jewelry related.

Hubby and I took a boat trip before the 4th down to beautiful Beaufort, SC by way of the Intracoastal waterway. What fun we had!
Hubby has taken the trip before, so armed with a GPS route, it was quite an enjoyable trip. Beaufort is a - dare I say - a quaint little town, but I mean that in the best way.

We docked at the Downtown Marina (above)

Beaufort's Waterfront park is amazing!




Shopping, dining, and relaxing along the Waterfront was the quintessential getaway for us...

Nippy's was the first stop we made to re-fuel ourselves, and we found our way back there again because the food was soooo good! It's a shrimp-shack kind of place, no-fuss-no-muss, but the food hit the spot!



Will write more late about this excursion, as it merits much more...
(update 7/23/09)
Tabby walls are composed of shells and mix of limestone- read the except if interested. They are so beautiful! Charletson has very few of these, so it was a delight to see this long wall - it's my current desktop photo!