Angel Oak and Bohicket Marina

WHEN: April 21 & 27, 2013

WHERE: Johns Island & Seabrook Island, South Carolina

In an effort to keep up with these blog updates, I am combining what I originally planned as two posts into one.  The first part is on Stacie's and my first visit to Angel Oak, here in Charleston (Johns Island).  The second part is of my second 10K that I ran in April, also here in Charleston (on Seabrook Island).

Angel Oak - one of the oldest living organisms east of the Mississippi (estimated to be as old as 1500 years)

How does one fit it all in a single picture?

You can only truly appreciate its size in person

Approaching the giant, marveling at its sheer size

A family of four, to provide scale

Standing next to history

(This tree may have been 1000 years old when Columbus landed in America)

The arms of Angel Oak, stretching out as if to hug those standing beneath its canopy

I imagine Robin Hood (or some other medieval character) to be standing on or near the tree in this picture.

As is common with live oaks (especially one this size), the limbs grow out and towards the ground due to their massive weight.  Once the limbs reach the ground (acquiring needed support), they begin growing vertically again.

The limb on the bottom right is a good example of this growth pattern

This was the trunk's "thin" side

How cute is she?

After Angel Oak, we headed to Seabrook Island (our first time there).  It is about an hour drive from our house and a private island that some celebrities have homes on (Reese Witherspoon and Dan Marino come to mind, but there are others).

Bohicket Marina on Seabrook Island

Tiger Woods' yatch (Privacy) docked at Bohicket Marina during the PGA Championship last year

:)

Driving to Seabrook Island at 5:30am for the Bohicket Marina 10K race (April 27).  A pretty drive, especially at twilight.

Bohicket Marina Village

Taking a peak at the finish line

Beautiful sunrise on the marina

Pre-race warm up run around Seabrook

Clouds rolling in towards the end of the race.
I placed 9th overall but more importantly, I beat the rain!

The drive back in daylight

Post-race (May 2009, April 2013) - look similar?

I am still actively running but have no races planned until October, which will be another 10K.  I plan to run my first marathon on Kiawah Island in December and perhaps my 2nd marathon in January (the Charleston Marathon).  That seems like a long ways away and summer here is not a fun time to run, with all the heat and humidity.  Nevertheless, I better keep running if I plan on running 2 marathons back-to-back!