Four more things I’m reading, watching, working on, and loving – Neuroscience, the Devil’s Thumb, celebrating a milestone and watching a young man grow into adulthood. Enjoy!
what I’m reading
what I’m watching
I love documentaries about adventure and expeditions, especially when the explorers featured are inspiring and likable. For that reason, The Dawn Wall is a family favorite. Our boys were on a climbing team at the time we first watched it and Tommy Caldwell became a quick hero. He’s humble, resilient, determined, and seems to embrace life with a great deal of joy. We then watched Free Solo featuring Alex Honnold’s free solo ascent of El Capitan (free solo means the climb is done alone and without ropes.) While the feat was incredible, we found Alex to be a bit tough to watch at times. He was arrogant and not very nice to people around him.
But when we saw The Devil’s Climb, which featured both of those climbers, we decided anything Tommy had to offer would balance out any angst Alex might bring to the documentary. Well, I’m so glad to share that Tommy is still joyful and determined and Alex has matured and become more self-aware. The support, strength, and friendship he offers Tommy in this new quest are really nice to watch.
what I’m working on
Jeff and I are actually heading to Hilton Head Island next week for a vacation celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. It actually happened in the Spring, but we were already at the beach with extended family, and fitting a trip in right after that was going to be a little tricky. We decided to take a trip in the fall to space things out and, it just so happened, that a generous family from our church offered a condo in Hilton Head for just the week we wanted to go. We were looking at some different destinations, but when an offer like that is on the table, you say yes!
So, next week, I’ll be putting up some posts I wrote ahead of time and enjoying walks on the beach, admiring the architecture in Savannah, beachcombing for fossils and shells, and trying out some highly-rated restaurants. It should be a good week.
I’ve been reading articles about shelling on Hilton Head, but does anyone have tips from personal experience to share?
what I’m loving
Those of you who have followed my blog since the beginning might remember my two boys when they were little. I’ve never shared very much about them here on the blog or social media because I feel strongly that they deserve their privacy and their story is not mine to tell, especially when they are too young to understand what that means. But, I have shared peeks here and there when they helped on projects or streaked through my photos. Marshall, who was only two when I wrote my first blog post, now has his driver’s license.
Here he is helping us remove carpeting from the family room in our PA home when he was about five…
Of course, the first couple of weeks of him having his license and driving on his own, it was terrifying. Now that he has been driving for a few weeks, I’m able to relax and enjoy having another licensed driver in the house. I am loving it. He takes Calvin to and from school most days, drives to his college classes (he’s taking mostly college classes this year as a high school senior), and even runs some errands for us. It is the first time in over 16 years that Jeff and I are not having to play chauffeur and it’s pretty amazing.
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12 Responses
Congratulations on your milestone 25th anniversary! We have been to Hilton Head Island many times and it’s a beautiful place. One of the things I love most about HHI is the miles and miles of bike trails through beautiful lagoons, live oaks and gorgeous neighborhoods so please make sure you rent a bike while there and take advantage of it. (They will deliver/pick-up to your condo doorstep). Not sure what area of the island you are staying in but make sure you go to Sea Island area where the lighthouse is.
There use to a be a great German restaurant on HHI but it closed some years ago but there are many great seafood restaurants such as Hudsons, The Crazy Crab and the Sea Shack. If you have time, please take the boat cruise/tour over to Daufuskie Island.
As far as shelling, I found many sand-dollars right under my feet in knee deep water. I really can’t speak on other shelling, but I image you will find some nice keepers. Oh, and make sure you do a day trip to Savannah. So much history and beauty there and you will find much inspiration for future paintings.
*I forgot to congratulate Marshall on getting his driver’s license. Where does the time go!
When the hubs and I spent a sabbatical on HH in ’06 they had some great thrift stores. No antiques that I remember but I found some really nice small treasures. And yes, please do go to Savannah.
Yes, congrats to Marshall on the driver’s license. And also to Mom, Dad and Calvin. It takes a family. 🙂
My folks got to celebrate an anniversary in Hilton Head – for free! Mom pulled me aside when I was home from college and handed me a sanitary pads box. She asked me to open it and see if I saw the same thing she did. She was one of ten nationwide winners of a “StayFree” vacation – and one of the options was Hilton Head. Dad had the most puzzled expression when he unwrapped the maxi pad box at Christmas (we are ornery like that).
And congrats to all on the drivers license milestone.
That is hilarious!
Since y’all like climbers, I highly recommend the climbing videos of Magnus Midtbø on YouTube. He is amazing!
Please look into why you should stop collecting seashells. There is a good article you can find in Smithsonian magazine about this online. The environment will thank you!
My family vacationed in HH many years—until we had so many we could not afford a house—30.
We spent many hours biking, especially in Sea Pines. The neat thing is you can bike almost everywhere on paved trails.
I’ve been to Hilton Head once and don’t remember a lot of shelling. We bicycled around, went to Tybee Island and ate at the Crab Shack, and visited Savannah. So much to see in Savannah. I recommend the hop on/off trolley to get around to all the squares.
Enjoy celebrating your anniversary! A few suggestions while in Savannah…Jere’s Antiques, River Walk, The Georgia Queen Paddleboat and The Pirate House Restaurant…wonderful food and so much history there!!!
We discovered Jere’s Antiques on our most recent visit and it is amazing to see. They bring in shipping containers from Europe on a regular basis.
I love HHI and have been going for more than 25 years. All comments above are right! Great thrifting, very little shelling IMO, beautiful sunsets at harbor town in sea pines especially dining at quarterdeck! We love Hudson’s and skull creek. Be sure to have breakfast at the French bakery…delicious and right down your alley with a side of dressed lettuces. I hope you guys enjoy HHI as much as we do.
Congratz on both the milestone and son’s license. I wish you a lovely time for the two of you.
Just and FYI for any of your readers who enjoy audio-books — Chirp AudioBooks is currently offering “Your Brain on Art” right now for $5.99 — reduced from $20. This is a special – foe a limited time.