Pinckney Island Resident

I went hiking in Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge today, next to Hilton Head. Here's one of the locals, a pretty good sized gator who has been swimming in a pond coated with algae. He is hauled out almost next to the trail around the pond, and I and another guy were contemplating whether we should continue on the trail or let the gator have his turf; sympathy was leaning toward the gator, but a couple seconds after I snapped the picture he did an abrupt u-turn and dived back into the lake. Just as well. I reckon he was a bit ornery; it was a cool day for these parts, about 65 with a breeze, so the gator probably was not as energetic as usual.

Hilton Head is pretty and there's a lot to do, but it's heavily developed in an exclusive style; lots of private roads and limited public beach access, especially free public beach access. When you're used to California, Hawaii, and Australia, where most beaches are easily and freely accessible, it's kind of a hassle when it's otherwise. Still, I can walk to a 12 mile long beach from my resort, and that ain't bad.