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!

Vacation!

It’s hard to believe that I’ve been vacationing on Hilton Head Island for 25 years. Thanks to mom and dad, Doc. B. and I now own one week there every year, for the rest of our lives. Or until we decide to gift it away like my parents did. They polled their four children to see who was interested in this early inheritance. Thankfully, since they owned just two weeks, there were only two of us siblings attracted to continuing the family tradition of a trek to Hilton Head every April. So now my middle sister and her husband own one week and we own the other.

Back in the early 1980’s, there was a big time share sales job done for (“on”) all of the snowbirds in the Midwest. Clearly people bit at this opportunity as even to this day, the parking lot at the Sea Crest Surf and Racquet Club, our fair condo, is full of cars with license plates from Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, etc…. In fact, I’ve been seeing some of the same faces every year for the full 25 years. I remember when we first set foot on the beaches of HHI. I think it was incorporated into a family trip to Florida. I took to the Island from the first day. I was drawn to the quaintness of Coligny plaza, where our timeshare was located, just one block from the beach. There were three pools we could access as well as a deck overlooking the beach. Through the years, some things have never changed. For example on the sunny days, we read and relax in the sun, ride bikes, go for beach walks, or get in the pool/hot tub – that still is pretty much the same. I do however cover myself better with sunscreen and a hat. Back in the day, we’d get fried to a golden crisp – now we know better! The rainy day activities have however changed. I’ve gone from playing Ms. Pac Man at the ice cream shop, to hitting the tanning salon, to shopping. This year it wouldn’t surprise me if we ended up doing yoga in the condo on bad weather days. Hopefully we won’t need those indoor plans!

The condo is by no means a showplace, but it’s comfortable, large and familiar. It has two bedrooms and two bathrooms and can sleep 8 if needed. It has the basic kitchen utensils, TV and VCR/DVD, and it’s clean. Our “unit”, as we lovingly call it, overlooks one of the pools, the hot tub and the “Wren’s Nest” where there is the office, laundry and an activities room. And if we didn’t want to ever get back in the car once at the condo, we wouldn’t have to. Within walking distance is a grocery store, Red Dot Liquor stop, movie theatre, shopping, bike trails, tennis courts, the beach and some excellent restaurants. We even have a non-tourist bar hangout that we enjoy, thanks to my sister and her husband finding “The Lodge” a few years back. This is a great place to relax, enjoy a dirty martini (vodka of course), and chat with the locals.

This year our first stop is going to be the outlet mall for some new clothes. I’m at my lowest weight in the past ten years and while it feels really good, most of my clothes don’t fit. So for a treat, Doc. B. is taking me shopping! Hopefully she’ll let me stand in the dressing room while she picks things out for me to model. My sisters did this for me one time and it was a lot of fun – almost as much fun as the one year we all went to Hilton Head together and they died my hair a nice shade of pinkish-red, or was it burgundy?

SIDE NOTE: The trip to Hilton Head and back will take approximately the same amount of time as Doc. B.’s weekly drive to and from work.

Only at MARTA

Doc B. took me to the Inman Park Marta station this morning, just like she does most mornings that I’m on time. If I’m running late, I walk to the East Lake Marta station closer to our home. By being chauffeured to the Inman Park station, I have fewer stops to make on the way to work and trains come through there more often. Plus, I get to work quicker which means I can leave sooner!

On the way to Marta today, the skies turned very dark and opened up with rain. Doc B. tried to get me as close to the station entry as she could so that I wouldn’t have to get totally drenched. As I gathered my belongings and got ready for the run through the rain (yes, that would be run, not jog), a woman came running up toward the car. She was rather large, kind of “butch” as one might say and had on what looked to be those all white painter’s clothes. She had a few teeth missing but had a pleasant smile nonetheless. As I was getting ready to open my door, she opened the rear passenger door. Katrina and I were just about to yell at her when the woman realized she had made a mad dash through the rain to the wrong vehicle. She apologized and said she thought it was her boss’s car. She ran back under cover while Katrina and I collected ourselves.

It was clear that the woman had made a mistake and was probably just as embarrassed as we were worried about what she was doing. It’s kind of funny now, and wasn’t really all that scary in hindsight. I wonder what I would have done had it been a large man with missing teeth. I think I would have been freaked out for the entire day.