South Carolinaward to Adventure!
HILTON HEAD ISLAND – I am in South Carolina for a few days while Miriam is at a conference.
The trip here, in a rented Hyundai Sonata, was surprisingly comfortable. That’s a good little car. It has every luxury, and appears to get incredibly good mileage. We made a brief stop in Savannah for lunch, then arrived in South Carolina around 4:30. This area differs from coastal Florida in a number of ways, though the most immediately obvious is the presence of trees, which is striking, considering how many hurricanes come through here. Every shopping center and parking lot is wooded, and, in fact, the shopping areas are set back from the road, so you see unobtrusive signs along the street, in front of a wall of pine and oak.
The hotel is nice, if sprawling. The hallways are long and the pool area covers a giant swath of land in the middle of the complex. The balcony of our room looks over a pond with a fountain, and at night the frogs are very active. The lobby is handsome, with elaborate wood paneling and millwork, and as I write people are enjoying complimentary lemonade and some other drink with whole strawberries in it. This morning I attempted to get started reading Robinson Crusoe, but the splashing and cavorting of the guests at the pool, and the sound of the waves was too distracting for me. I have been watching the swimming events from the Olympics on television.
Last night we went for a lovely walk along the beach, and it took us quite a distance north from our hotel. The shore in front of the hotel had a goodly number of bathers, but a short distance up the coast it was practically deserted, and there were all manner of birds and bivalves and crabs.
The weather today is surprisingly cool, in the mid 70s, I’d say. It feels like Florida in the winter, since it’s also a bit overcast at the moment. In a few minutes we’re going into town to have lunch and look at some old antebellum houses.
I foolishly forgot the power supply to my laptop, so I can only use this computer for as long as I have charge. If I don’t write again until Wednesday that is why. The most unfortunate aspect of my absent-mindedness is that I won’t get to edit the photographs from the wedding I shot in St. Augustine last month. That will be my top priority when I return to Gainesville.
Filed under: Animals, Recreation, Travel on August 11th, 2008
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