Cypress Gardens.

As many times as I have been to Charleston, this was my first trip to Cypress Gardens. You recognize this scene from The Notebook, don't you? Pure bliss.

 

Everything was sweet and serene, except for one little detail - did I mention the fact that we were surrounded by alligators? I might be exaggerating a little bit, but I was ready to turn my paddle into a defense spear if one came too close - and my definition of too close is less than 50 feet away from me. Therefore, we rowed in circles a couple of times, when I refused to put my oar in the water. That thing could have been chomped to bits, and I would have been left with nothing! Like I said, I'm exaggerating...but it didn't help that the swamp guide had a sense of humor, telling me that alligators only eat twenty-something year old girls wearing cardigans. Bully!