Hello From Hilton Head

I arrived without incident (although accidents added 90 minutes to the drive), ate the food I made and pretty much went to bed. No walk, no exploring - I was toast.

My girlfriend arrived Saturday and left yesterday. Excellent visit, so much good conversation. I'm on the solo portion of the trip now. I tried to change up lunch with my aunt and uncle (my cousin had to cancel) so I could drive home on Thursday, but they couldn't move the day. Looks like I'm staying the whole week.

Here's a little recap of the trip.

Beach walking. Never disappoints in HH. Hard sand, miles of coastline. Interesting to learn that day to day the tide times were changing by 40 minutes. I never knew they changed that dramatically in a day. I've done 2 walks so far and hope for another tomorrow (but storms might be an issue).

Speaking of walks -- did a bike trail walk and a run day too. So many birds and Beware of Gator signs. No gator sightings though.

Blew off on the walk. Taking home
for Christmas decorating if it lasts.

Hello, big man.

Savannah on Sunday for a food tour. I forget how easy the drive from HH to Savannah is -- mostly back roads. The food wasn't great, but the tour group was so much fun. Best group I've ever been with -- we laughed and talked. Really nice time.

Only really good dish - shrimp and grits.
I couldn't eat the cream-based grits
but shrimp was excellent.

Funky town.

Hotel with tons of history.

Sidewalk pattern around cemetery
to keep spirits confused
so they didn't wander.

Group of 16 people.

People say you can see spirit orbs in pictures.
None in mine.

We went to historic Beaufort on Monday. Best day. This town is so charming.

Incredible meal. Smoked salmon, GF toast,
whipped goat cheese, pickled onions,
eggs and scallions.

My friend left yesterday morning and I headed back to Beaufort. Same lunch and finished shopping the town for Christmas gifts. I had a nice afternoon - shop owners are friendly and love to chat.

Yep, heading back to Beaufort AGAIN this morning for a 3 hour history walking tour and (you guessed it) SAME lunch. HH (and area) is a tough find for decent food. So much fried tourist style southern food. This lunch place is a gem in the area and it's a last chance (haha). I'm excited about the tour too.

I don't know what the rest of today holds. I got my monthly this morning so I feel crappy. Rain has moved in for the next couple of days. The forecast changes by the hour so who knows what will happen. Not sure if the tour will get canceled or if I can get a final beach walk tomorrow before meeting my aunt and uncle. 

I'm having a nice time, but last night I wished I could leave today. Typically evening blues. I bet they'll be back tonight too. I miss my family and I've seen/done enough this trip. A full week was a day or two too long. I hit the ground running when I get back home so a couple extra days in GA would've been nice. 

That said, my aunt and uncle are 80 and I don't want to miss an opportunity to see them so I didn't cancel. I'll be happy I stayed.

Hope you're having a good week. Later gators.