Thanks guys! That makes me smile! There are occasional alligators here, but mostly people say to look out for them, but don't expect them. And the poisonous snakes are primarily inland, which is a huge relief! The marshes and rivers are teaming with shrimp, fish, and blue crabs, and some people fish and shrimp and crab right off their docks. The local food is a combo of Southern comfort food, fresh seafood, and some Cajun influence. The architecture is typical Southern with a touch of Caribbean thrown in, and some beach house in what they call the Lowcountry, the marshes and rivers along the coast.
So we put an offer on the amazing house a few doors down from a gorgeous river (the one we were scheming over). We heard back yesterday that our offer was accepted! The property has acreage and a marsh view and a pine forest. There are little islands in the river, which flows down toward the ocean and joins a giant river and then goes into the ocean shortly afterwards. The entire region has strict environmental protections and is pristine and gorgeous. There are humungous old oaks filled with dripping Spanish moss in the area, too. And though South Carolina does get its share of hurricanes, they miss this area.
So I had a day of worrying about K, which was silly because she is ok about the move now. I think things were just moving so much faster than I expected that I had a day of, "Oh, no, what did I do to my kid?!" I am feeling happy and positive again, and have been helping S with all the garden stuff I can while I am still here. It's been unusually hot, so I'd better water tomorrow. Like you both mentioned in LaMa's diary, even good stress is still stress, so I am really tired out! But I can't wait to go paint and make the house our own. It's so turnkey, all we need to do is paint, and eventually swap out a few lights that aren't our style. If we really wanted to get fancy, we could replace a little tile work here and there, but I am tired of remodeling and going to so enjoy just moving in and enjoying life for a while! Oh, and it has a massive lawn that I want to put a decorative veggie garden in the middle of.