Category Archives: vacations

Summing up Summer

Wow, here it is the end of summer already.  How did that happen?  After our Bengali visitors left, it seems the rest of the season just flew by.  And now its a soggy and humid Labor Day weekend.

So, that’s my excuse for not blogging more the end of the summer.  That, and the fact that my phone was in the shop for a week.  It is my primary camera now, for better or worse.  (And the dog ate my homework.)

There were some highlights – a bit of time on the Hilton Head beach despite most of the time helping my sister work out plans to transition our mom into assisted living.  A trip to California for Museum Camp at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, and visit to the daughter in San Francisco.  A couple weekends at the cabin.  The lovely wedding of a good friend.  A bounty of green beans and tomatoes from the garden.  Some time around outdoor pools.

Here’s a few highly random photos highlighting those activities.

And so, fall looms on the horizon bringing (eventually) crisp weather and that “new school year” new beginnings vibe.  A sort of reset button for “normal life” after the time out of time of summer schedules and activities.

So, as summer 2018 fades into the sunset, no more excuses.

 

Hilton Head Island, Sunrise to Sunset

For the past week, I’ve been visiting my family who have all retired to Hilton Head Island, 20160814_065333South Carolina.  None of them were Southerners by birth, but no matter.  There seem to be many more relocated Northerns (like our family) or Midwesterners than actual natives in HHI these days, since the original Gullah inhabitants have been priced out of the upscale beach-access properties (called, rather colonially, “plantations”) that now dominate the island.  It is a nice place for a week’s vacation.

There is the aforementioned beach, with water as warm at a bathtub and a gentle approach to swimming depth.  Swimming pools, including my sister’s own backyard retreat.  And good second hand-stores.  What more could you ask for in a vacation?  Well, if you want to venture from The Plantation, you could go visit the Coastal Discovery Center museum (its a Smithsonian Affiliate!) with indoor and outdoor displays about fl20160816_195623ora and fauna.  Or go kayaking, parasailing, paddle boarding, etc. etc.  We went on a very nice sunset/fireworks boat tour with my sister’s Rotary Club members.  Dolphins obligingly made an appearance, as well as the full moon.   It was a good respite from the Washington, DC area swelter – which comes for most of us without a beach and/or our own swimming pool – and work.  From sunrise (which I always try to get up in time for, and usually don’t make it) to sunset (which is great from the water), HHI is a nice place to visit.