Beach Getaway

beach at Sea Pines

The end of August we traveled with two other couples in our neighborhood to Hilton Head, South Carolina. We were able to get a decent weekly rate on a house owned by the son of another neighbor here. The house was large, including five bedrooms and an in ground pool. It was located in what I would call the second row, meaning one house separated it from the beach. There was a paved path to the beach, making it easy to get there.

It was quite hot, so for me spending a lot of time sitting on a beach was not appealing, especially considering all the skin cancer I have had. So we only went to the beach for short periods, staying under an umbrella. We kept our beach walks to morning or later in the day. 

We enjoyed eating out in the area, though we did cook at the house a fair bit. Our first night there the sunset view from the restaurant was amazing.

beautiful sunset

We also were able to play pickleball one day, which is always a bonus for us. Jim and I had to come back on Wednesday because I was hosting a ladies group in the community that night. But it was still nice to get away for a few days, though we decided we will not do that in the summer again. It's just too stinking hot!

On Island Time

Folly Field Beach

Last week I drove to Hilton Head Island to meet up with a good friend from St. Louis. Diane has a timeshare on the island, and invited me to join her. When I picked the week I wanted to come, I did not realize that it was going to be Easter week. Hoo boy, was the area ever crowded! Traffic was heavy on my drive down and very stop and go once I got close to Hilton Head.

While the weather could have been better, there were still plenty of activities to keep us busy. With all my skin cancer, I'm not one to sit out on the beach anyway. Though I do like to walk it in the morning and evening to catch the sunrise/sunset colors on the water.

Folly Field Beach sunrises

A weird occurrence that I have seen every time I have come to this area is the abundance of jellyfish on the beach. Since they are not really fish, it is more appropriate to call them jellies. Usually I have just seen one jelly here and one jelly there, but this time there was a large grouping of them on the beach by our condo. I guess that jellies travel in "blooms", and they can be washed up on shore together. I wondered what happened to them once they are on the beach, and then in the morning I saw seagulls eating them. Turtles also like to consume jellies. The circle of life...

Folly Field Beach jellies

It was wonderful to get away for a week and spend time with Diane as I only get to see her every couple of years or so. It was a rejuvenating time for both of us.