Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.

Henry David Thoreau

What a Difference A Day Makes

Monday & Tuesday
November 18 & 19, 2013
Hunting Island State Park
South Carolina

 

MONDAY

 

It was a totally cloudy morning this morning.  The sun rose behind the clouds but it was still beautiful over the  water.

 

At the beach 028

 

 

Eventually David comes out and we take  a short walk on the beach.  It’s still cloudy but I have faith it’s going to be a great day coming up.

 

IMG_3151

 

 

On our way back I notice that the really nice shell identification sign is quite dirty so I get my cleaner and spiff it up.   Looks much better now.

 

Move to site 87 005

 

 

Over at Edisto we got a huge bunch of fresh Kale from Kings family farm.  Now I love Kale with onions and garlic braised lightly in a pan sprayed with Olive oil.  We’ve had that several times.  But this was a LOT of kale so we decide to make  some kale chips and I pull out my fabulous dryer. Just tear the leaves up into chip sizes and dry them as is or rub them with salt and stick them on the trays in the dryer.  How long depends on how humid it is.  8 hours here I’m betting.

 

Move to site 87 001

Move to site 87 002

 

 

Then it was time to hit the beach.  It has turned  into a gorgeous day on its way to a high of 80.  What could be finer on a day in Carolina???

David is quite engrossed in the slave narrative he bought at the printer’s  in Colonial Williamsburg.  It’s entitled Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs.  Jacobs published it in 1861.  It’s the tale of her escape to freedom at the start of the Civil War.  I plan to read it as soon as he finishes.

I have recently heard that a movie, 12 Years a Slave, has been made from another slave narrative of a free black man from the north on a trip, to Washington DC I think, being stolen into bondage and after some harrowing times making his way home to his family again.  I’d like to read that book too before seeing the movie which apparently has gotten good reviews although not unanimously from the black community.  Have any of you seen it?

 

Great place to be engrossed in a book.At the beach 002

 

 

But right now, I’m interested in trying out the water temperature.  It’s a big beach  and  a bigger ocean.

 

At the beach 003

 

At the beach 008

 

So fine!!

 

At the beach 009

 

Off go the shirt, hat and sunglasses.  Time  for a November swim.  David’s not interested in joining me.

 

At the beach 011

 

At the beach 017

 

 

For me, there is nothing like being in, on, or by the Atlantic!!  I like all water of every kind.  But the Atlantic is definitely my water of waters. 

 

At the beach 021

 

 

That’s my day and as the sun begins to drop and it cools off, I put on my warmer clothes and pick up my book, Thomas Merton’s Seven Story Mountain and stay by the water until dinner time.

 

At the beach 025         

 

After taking the pictures David goes back to the coach to work on the “door problem”.  It seems that lately the entry door to the coach needs to be SLAMMED or it won’t fully close.  He says he has a plan.  We’ll  let  you know tomorrow how it goes.   Has anyone else had and solved this problem??

 

 

 

TUESDAY

 

What a difference a day makes.  The high on Monday was 82 and the low 65.  What a day!  But this morning the winds are howling and it is 46 but it feels like about 36 when I go out to catch the sunrise which is beautiful no matter the weather.

 

Sunrise 006

 

Sunrise 023

 

The waves are whipping.  Can you see the spray flying?

Cold Tuesday at Hunting Island 002

 

It actually gets grayer as the day goes on and is way too windy to be on the beach.   So we hang around the coach doing this and that.  I read blogs, post comments and  work on various spring/summer scenarios for getting David to Yosemite and Arches/Canyonlands/Capitol Reef and stopping by to see my father in Brighton Colorado.  Amazing that you have to consider travels and possible reservations over 6 months in advance.   Any advice gratefully received.

 

Cold Tuesday at Hunting Island 007   

After lunch we want to get out and think perhaps we can hike inland but it just feels too bitter outside.  So we go over to see the visitor center where the resident alligator must have also thought it was too cold as she was no where to be seen.   I forgot to take my camera so these two pictures are from their website.

 

Hunting Island VC

 

It’s a nice compact visitor center with a lot of information on the history and natural history of the park on information boards around the room.   While we are there a ranger comes and asks if we would like to see the film on the establishment of the lighthouse and the park.  Of course we would.  So we spend 20 minutes rehearing all about the creation and move of the light house and this park as one of the first CCC created parks of South Carolina.   Good film – do see  it.

 

Hunting Island VC1

 

I’ve been having some trouble with my lower back and what I thought was sciatica except that the pain runs from the middle my right sits bone around and down the front of my leg to my knee.  Sitting at the dinette booth on the computer for too long and in those chairs for 20 minutes is about all I can  handle.  They have an hour film scheduled a bit later on the CCC which we both want to see but I don’t think I can sit any longer so David takes me back to Winnona where I lie flat on my back while he goes to see it.  When he returns, He says it was great and  I was  sorry to have missed it.  

 

First my trigger thumb and now this ‘whatever  it is’.  I seem to be falling apart right before my very eyes lately.  BUT I can still swim and hike.  Not so sure about kayaking and biking right now.  But I think whatever I did will heal itself if I just take it easy.  Life is still good!!

19 comments:

  1. Yes, it's always a new ache or pain, but as you say usually they go away in time. Maybe another swim in the ocean will cure everything.
    Sounds like an ambitious itinerary you're working on!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I, like you, love the water. I must admit it has been many years since I have swum in the Atlantic. I think we need to spend some time on the east coast of Florida this winter. Vic prefers the calmer waters of the Gulf. I have noticed that I am less tolerant of cold water than I was in my youth. It's fun to see you enjoying the water.

    Sorry to hear about the physical challenges. It does sound like a muscle strain. I find ice the most helpful with these types of aches and pains.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Those pictures of you and David sitting in chairs reading books, is that practicing for getting in line early at Best Buy for the Black Friday sale? Its all over the news, you'd better hurry up or you'll miss out.

    Of course, you could park Winnona in the lines with all the tents and wait for the sale in style... ;c)

    Glad you got in a nice ocean swim, won't be too many more swims in SC soon with the winter weather coming. I guess that's a good excuse to head further south.

    Hope all your down the road plans fit together well. We're lucky to know what we're going to do tomorrow.

    I'd look at adjusting the door's striker pin on the door frame. An Allen wrench to loosen it up, move it out slightly, tighten and see if it helps. It may take a few tries moving a bit at a time to get the door to close nicely.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh boy, planning the trip west. Well I can usually offer a reasonably priced FHU for friends at the North Rim plus there's lots of boondocking in the adjacent NF.
    As much as I enjoy looking and listening to the ocean I don't care to swim in it. I like my water very warm.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm so cold right now I can't even think about going swimming! I read the Seven Storey Mountain many years ago, and then read a few more of Merton's books. The books about slaves (and Indians) just makes me too sad.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm getting pretty excited about you heading West. I hope you make it as far as Portland. I grew up never turning my back on the ocean. but I love beach combing. I've lived in Astoria, Bay City and Tillamook Oregon and love all of them.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I was swimming at the same time in the same ocean only my water temperature was 80 degrees;o)) There is no way I would be in the water up there!!!

    As we get ready to head that way...I am dreading watching the temperatures go down, down, down. Here's hoping this colder stuff gets out the way and the rest of your stay (and our time) in South Carolina brings warmer weather!!

    We'll be at Walkabout on Monday night if you are close by...give a shout:o))

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm a Thomas Merton fan, but haven't read that one. Will have to check it out. I agree with some of the others...I love being around the ocean whether gazing, wading or walking by it, but not sure I want to be IN it at the end of November. But you sure look happy!

    ReplyDelete
  9. No way would I be swimming in the water up there this time of year. Makes me cold to think about it. Sorry you're falling apart. :) I know what you mean about having to make reservations so early. I hate making plans, especially that far in advance.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I wish it was a tad warmer here in FL. Not so much yet! Still shorts, but only in 70's, and looking for cooler temps next week.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hate those pains which seem to appear from nowhere and make you wonder, what the heck did I do to have that to happen! You're so active that it will probably go away soon…sounds like sciatica almost…looking forward to hearing any reviews about about 12 Years a Slave. I'd like to see that..Good for you for swimming in the ocean!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I finally had to have both thumbs "fixed" It is good to have them fully functional and no pain. If that continues, see a good hand specialist.

    You looked as if you were having a ball in the Atlantic. We enjoy the Atlantic, the warmth of the Gulf and the beauty of the Pacific. A favorite? Just depends on what I want to do.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love reading your blog. You have such a zest for life. I hope your back problem is minor and goes away on its own. I am "mall walking" (haven't been in a mall in years). When I would do the aquatic therapy for two hours and feel no pain at all, I'd get out of the pool and have a terrible time getting to my truck. My problem is standing and walking--too bad I'm not a fish. I decided that what doesn't kill me might fix me so I take a full pain pill before I leave and I'm up to 3 very painful miles in the mall, now. My goal, at this point, is to try to make laps without sitting to relieve the pain). Once I get going, I can actually walk at quite a clip. The latest MRI didn't show anything wrong with the surgery so I'm thinking it HAS to be muscle maybe tightened over a nerve. I think I'll have to do it daily for a while before I see any results. This getting old ain't for sissies. (I didn't do myself any favors the other day...I decided to get a change of scenery and go to the second floor of the mall--oops, up on a down escalator doesn't work--good thing it wasn't the other way around). I'm aching, today in parts other than my back, but I know those aches will go away.)

    Love that you swam in the ocean in November! You go, girl!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I am so thankful that you plan these treks for us. It is an extremely difficult and challenging task and you do it so well and take us to so many fabulous places. I love them all. You are a great travel planner!

    And you do a nice job on cleaning the occasional park sign too. That was very thoughtful. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Oh you are such a toad! Putting up pictures of you swimming in the ocean! It was lovely yesterday but today it's chilly and the wind is whipping around. Tomorrow it is going to be delightful with a high in the 30's. I do not like this one tiny bit I tell you. The sunrise photos are lovely but you are still a toad.
    xxxooo

    ReplyDelete
  16. Lucky duck - swimming in November! I want Kale chips when I come next month - less than a month away! Dad is looking good in that kale picture - quite lean but not too lean. I love that purple bathing suit - great picture coming out of the ocean! I hope the temperature warms so you can take pressure off your back. I'm sure that chair helps - glad you have that to relax and read :) Yosemite - when you get that planned - I am so there! Ready to make my flight reservations now! :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Thanks for braving those bitter temps to get such lovely pictures. The picture prior to the two of the visitor center is exceptionally stunning.

    Sorry to hear about your newest ache. Hope it soon goes away!

    ReplyDelete
  18. sitting here looking out the window at the cold, gray drizzly day, reading about you swimming in the Atlantic brightened my day! Love it. . .

    Sciatica bout did me in until I found a book of exercises by Pete Egoscue called Pain Free Living. There were days my back spasms were so bad I couldn't get out of bed until I did the exercises. . .hope you find some relief quickly!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Does your pain appear when you do a motion that looks like that of sliding onto the bench of a picnic table? If your insurance will cover the cost, you might try going to a foot doctor to see about orthotics. Medicare does NOT cover the orthotics, although they paid for my visit.

    ReplyDelete

Your comments are the best part of this blog for me.
I LOVE hearing from you!