Marco...Polo...

We’re back from Hilton Head, safe and sound, not to mention relaxed and refreshed. We were pleased to find that my parent’s gift had already appreciated 5000 times – yes, our week at the Sea Crest Surf and Racquet Club is going for $5000. I guess it’s because of the Heritage Golf tournament at Sea Pines or just the fact that it’s a popular spring break time, right around Easter. It was certainly spring break for the youngsters at the pool below our forth floor balcony. Marco Polo was a daily event and sometimes the parents even joined in. Who invented that game anyway? And why do children never become bored with it?

We packed up the car a week ago Saturday and began our trip to the beach. We loaded in a number of healthy snacks and before we knew it, we were experiencing that ever-present Overhiser automobile aroma. For those of you who have never traveled with apples in your car, you won’t know what I’m talking about – but do try it sometime! With many generations of fruit farmers on my paternal side, I’m sure that all of my siblings and cousins are well aware of this unique fragrance. In any case, it brought back fond memories of family vacations over the years.

Since we arrived in Hilton Head a few hours before we could check in, our first order of business was the outlet mall. And boy did we give them some business. I was excited to find that I easily fit into clothing two sizes smaller than what I had been wearing but the three pairs of shoes I picked out were still good old size 9’s.

In addition to our purchases, we also had an interesting conversation with a shoe salesman. He got to talking with Doc. B. about her Ph.D. and how he had recently decided to go back to school to be a respiratory therapist. He had experienced asthma as a child so he thought he might be able to empathize with the patients. He had already obtained a massage therapy certificate but he found that he couldn’t make a living doing just that. He mentioned that some of the classes he took in massage school caused him to no longer drink tap water due to all of the chemicals in it. After chatting with him, we headed to the restrooms and when we came back by the shoe store, we found our future respiratory therapist, former asthmatic, current non-tap-water-drinker out in front of the store smoking a cigarette. We smiled at him and I think I detected a little sheepishness in his return smile – guess we all experienced the irony of what had just happened.

While we were in the restroom, we were both astonished to overhear a woman initiating a cell phone call while seated on the toilet. It was all I could do to restrain myself from making specific well-known bathroom noises and/or flushing. I guess the ten year old in me was desperate to show herself. What on earth is with this inpatient society that we can’t even wait until we are finished taking care of business before we dial our cell phones? And who is really interested in talking with you while you are on the toilet anyway?

Okay, back to our trip. We checked in at the condo and were pleasantly surprised to see that our “unit” had been renovated! We found new flooring, countertops, appliances and paint along with a new disposal. And the thing we’d all been waiting for: a television in the master bedroom. Two of the four tennis courts had been resurfaced too. Otherwise, most everything was the same, even the lack of water pressure in the shower. We jogged every day and I think we even ran one day. We played tennis, and rode our bikes in Sea Pines. I finished two books while sitting on the deck near the beach. We made lunches each day and brought them with us to the ocean – very peaceful as usual. I only saw one dolphin during the whole trip, but one was better than none. We also found a new evening hobby – happy hour! There are several great restaurants that do cheap eats and drinks between 5 and 7. So that was our dinner some evenings. Overall it was a wonderful trip! Thanks mom and dad!