Day 53, 54, 55

---

November 4, 5 and 6, 2009
You’ll have to forgive the Bloggers for their lack of communication over the past several days…but we’ve been sooooo busy. “Busy doing what” you might ask. Well this is the grueling schedule we (by “we” I mean me) have had… 9am: Slowly rise from the Westin Heavenly bed and amble over to the deck off of our room and step out. Sit and gaze at the majestic ocean as the waves roll onto the shore…perhaps read a chapter or two and then get dressed. By 9:30 there is a gentle tap on our door and it is Donna and John calling me to breakfast. (I should say at this point that Bill has been up for hours checking out sun rise and giving a few tips to the workers as they start their day.)We all meet at the breakfast buffet where every food imaginable is being offered. I’d like to say that I ate from the “healthy” food group; the yogurt, fruit and granola…but that would be a big fat lie…I ate from the “heart attack” food group; the bacon, eggs, waffles, bagels, home fries, pastries…you get the picture. After breakfast we return to our rooms to gather the day’s necessities; (we are already wearing our bathing suits) towel, beach chair, hat, book, water, sun block. Bill, my personal pool boy, brings all of this to the beach and gets it set up…then Marie, Donna and I sit on the beach and read/talk/talk/read. At about 1:30, leaving our chairs in the sand, we go up to the pool area and sample each of the three pools, the last one being the heated pool! We lounge around at the pool reading and then we mosey over to the poolside café and have a small snack…nachos or onion rings and maybe a little drinky-poo! We all say we’re too full from breakfast and couldn’t possibly eat a thing, and ten minutes later we’re fighting over the last nacho!!! After that grueling experience, it’s back to the beach for me…more reading, almost until the sun starts to go down…the beach is just stunning at this time of day. Someone comes for me, usually Bill and we go and get ready for dinner…this being especially strenuous work; showering, shampooing, and finally, brushing my hair, which between the wind and the pool has now taken on the appearance of the hair on a cheap doll; matted and tangled into enormous knots…tell me that’s not aerobic! At precisely 6pm, the six of us gather in our room for cocktail hour…for some of us this is NOT the first cocktail of the day…I won’t mention any names. Now starts the serious brain work; where to eat dinner. Don’t for a minute think that this is the first time during the day that this subject has come up…no, no, no! This important issue has literally been on the table since we convened for breakfast. But now the urgency builds…should we eat at the hotel, should we try the Italian place, how about the seafood restaurant on the marsh…we are a veritable think tank! “Maybe we shouldn’t eat at all” Bill pipes in…”I’m still full from breakfast”! Silence… as all eyes glare at him. What IS wrong with him? Number one; who among us is going to voluntarily skip a meal…(unless the person is struck with a virus that has shut down his GI system and even then…a little soup with saltines would be nice, wouldn’t it?). Number two: what the h-e- double hockey sticks does being hungry have to do with anything for goodness sakes. Bill quickly gets a grip on himself but not before murmurings of “manorexia” can be heard from the group. Soon, we have come up with a decision and we’re off…one night Italian, another night, seafood… whatever restaurant is decided upon. We linger over dinner, having dessert and coffee and occasionally start on the next day’s backbreaking agenda…where to eat breakfast…
For some of us this daily rhythm isn’t fulfilling. Bill, as I have mentioned is not one to sit around reading. He and Marie and Steve have gone off on little adventures; to Pinckney Island, a wild life preserve, or to check out kayaking or to sunset or sunrise or other such nonsense. But to each his own!
So you can see that with this fast-paced schedule there was really no time for blogging…who can blame us? But we did make some wonderful Hilton Head memories: Sitting around the fire ring listening to one of John’s lectures on birds…he’s starting to make sense to us; Steve’s obsession with his gadgets…we’re beginning to like that darn whistle; the pastel colors of the sky, the ocean and the sand at the beginning and end of the day; the silky soft feel of the heated pool after the brisk coolness of the others; the sun in our faces, the wind and the comfort of a warm sweatshirt; but mostly the ease and happiness that comes when in the company of good friends…feeling lucky to have each other, mindful of how fragile all of this is. And finally, taking a moment to remember an old friend…toasting Mike, who we miss and who we hope is somewhere raising a glass to us.

---