Hilton Head / Bluffton, SC

Sat., Jan. 5th

We visited Ellen & Wayne at their condo rental on Hilton Head this past weekend! They were their for a month. What fun we had!

Hilton Head Island is 12 miles long and 5 miles wide, has 12 miles of beaches, and 108 miles of paved shared-use pathways so biking is prevalent! It has been voted one of the Best Islands in the US by various publications and rightfully so!

The island has miraculously managed to combine a charming and natural setting and yet still have gated communities plus 24 golf courses, 300 tennis courts, and 250 restaurants. The forefathers and mothers have done an admirable job of city planning. Many strip malls, gated communities etc. are hidden back from the main roads and are not garish in their appearance but rather blend in with the natural surroundings. Not an easy feat to accomplish!

We arrived at E&W’s condo before lunch on Saturday. It was a darling 2-bedroom with everything they could possibly need including a kitchen that was probably better stocked than either of our home kitchens with various sized bowls, pots, pans, and assorted gizmos. 

After visiting for awhile and having lunch, we headed off to do some bike riding directly from their condo. Wayne was the leader with the map. Then Gary, then me, then Ellen who was the caboose as she put it. I felt better having her behind me with my sis watching my back! I’m not the absolute most confident bike rider. We went on paths they had done before which took us past charming mid-century modern homes (I’ve been watching too many episodes of House Hunters.) Ellen & I were picking out our favorites. We rode on trails framed by palm trees, magnolias and live oaks with draping Spanish moss. Ellen & I were in love with the flora/fauna. Gary, too. There’s something special about this Low Country area with a combination of palm trees and live oaks. Georgia has it as well. 

After our 6.5 miles or so of riding, Gary and I were about ready to stop. E&W had regularly done about 15 miles but they ratcheted it back for our benefit. We’re not as fit as they are!

We headed back to the condo and some of us walked the block or so down to the beach to stroll and watch the sunset while some of us (Gary) stayed at the condo and sipped on a glass of wine. E&W’s condo is near a beautiful pristine beach with sand dunes to one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. Development such as condos, hotels, etc. is set back a bit due to the sand dunes so it makes for a more picturesque appearance. 

E&W had received a “housewarming” gift from the condo owner with a few southern staples… one was Cheese Straws. That introduced them and us to the concept of Cheese Straws and we pretty much polished off a bag of those before dinner…. sort of an upscale version of cheez-its…. but tastier and all natural. For dinner Ellen made a delicious Mexican dinner for the four of us. We got the recipe from her since her Enchiladas were better than the ones we make.

Funny story…. I have an i-watch which measures my “exercise” level for the day. It’s set at 30 minutes but the clock only moves if my heart rate is sufficiently increased. Apparently bike riding on level paths doesn’t do it! Nor does an easy walk down to the beach or along the shore. After 6.5 miles of bike riding and 3 miles of walking, it had moved 4 minutes. 

But apparently a spirited game of Foosball sets the thing going like there’s no tomorrow. None of us had played foosball (table soccer) before but there was a game in the condo. We played teams and mixed up the teams with each game. We were spinning those little soccer men like crazy and laughing our heads off. And I got up to 30 minutes on my “exercise.” We learned later that it’s “illegal” to spin the little thingamajigs. After we finished playing we watched a few Pro World Champion Foosball players on youtube to see how it’s done. Who knew there was a Pro World Championship for foosball! 

Sunday, Jan. 6th

This morning we introduced E&W to “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” on Amazon. Over morning coffee we played the first episode for them from Season 1 on Gary’s iPad. They loved it as much as we did. Truly a wonderful show with a 1960’s NY Upper Westside Jewish vibe. It’s the best! Funny, funny. 

The other housewarming gift E&W got from their condo owner was a Southern Biscuit recipe which Ellen & I made for breakfast. Once they were out of the oven, Waynerd had the fun job of peeling them off the cookie sheets that we forgot to grease. In our defense, the directions were very sketchy! The biscuits weren’t bad, and Ellen made grits with them, which was very good. We’re adopting this whole Southern way of eating!

After we stuffed our faces and got ourselves together, we headed off on another bike ride. This time we piled all the bikes on to Gary’s truck and we headed over to the Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge, a 1,200 acre refuge with bike paths and hiking trails throughout. We biked another 7 or so miles on wide packed gravel paths stopping to look at the ponds etc. along the way. Just beautiful! 

After that we made a pit stop at the grocery store, headed back to relax in the condo with a glass of wine and some more Cheese Straws, then headed down to the beach to watch another sunset. After that Waynerd made us all pizza which was as good, if not better, than we could have gotten at any Italian Pizza parlor. Delicious! I should have taken pictures… so pretty with it bubbling right out of the oven. 

Waynerd’s birthday was on the 9th so we celebrated this evening. We had surprised him by picking up a decadent chocolate cake, sang happy birthday and gave him his gift. It was a fun evening and he got a jump start on his birthday celebration! 

We all watched one more episode of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” before calling it quits for the night. 

Monday, Jan. 7th

We visited for awhile in the morning, had breakfast, and then Gary & I said our goodbyes to E&W. We all had such a good time together! We will look for opportunities to do this type of thing again where we can come together for a few days when we’re each vacationing… maybe next time we can host!

At E&W’s suggestion we stopped in Bluffton, SC as we were heading back to our tiny home in Brunswick,GA. Bluffton is an historic town that was recently designated a SC Arts & Cultural District. There are about 12 art galleries on Calhoun Street all within a short walk of one another. Utterly charming! The galleries reside in what once were 12 private homes so you’re walking from one room to the next admiring local art. Lovely works. Most were affordable. 

E&W also told us about an historic church. The Church of The Christ is located just down the road from all the art galleries on the banks of the May River. It was built in 1854 and is a cozy place of worship. The builders sent to England for the rose colored glass that gives it such a warm appearance. The grounds are magnificent with a backdrop of the May River. There was a docent inside who explained that all around the church had been bombed during the Civil War, but the church was unharmed. She felt it was because the Union captain in charge had given instructions not to harm the church. 

I noticed a sign out front that stated worship service begins at 5:28 pm on Saturday afternoons. An unusual time. There must be a reason. Turns out it refers to a call for Grace, found in book and verse (5:28) from Thessalonians: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” (Google to the rescue once again.)

We had a delightful lunch at an outdoor funky restaurant called The Dispensary with the occasional dog wondering by to greet us. After several hours exploring the town we drove back to our tiny home to plan the next day’s exploration….