Hilton Head, SC June 11-13, 2014

June 11-13, 2014

First South Carolina sunset from Hilton Head, SC

First sunrise over Hilton Head

Tomorrow arrived today, Wednesday, June 11th and with it brought delight to both Clay and me. Our morning walk took us on the paved bike path past the Bristol Sports Complex and through tall pines dropping mega pine cones and without bugs! Heaven...or maybe next best thing to! Our Palmetto Bay Marina complex housed a residential condominium of sorts, three restaurants, souvenir shops, a watersports reservation office and a few other offices pertaining to vacationers...and, of course, laundry and shower facilities (in need of upgrading, but don't look a gift horse in the mouth). I did one load of laundry, occupying THE one washer and THE one dryer in sequence for a reasonable fee each, putting in 28 minutes walking time on the 'ole bod because each way was a 3.5 minutes walk. Thank the good Lord for a well conditioned body.                                                                                                                                                                   

Clay and Sally Logan with George and Carolyn Holske

Hilton Head is noted as Vacation Spot USA (one of many I'm sure), and we found that our marina was host to tour groupings of all varieties (duh, watersports reservation office should have spoken volumes to us). From Palmetto Bay Marina, waverunner and kayak expeditions were launched; dolphin-watching pontoons with bright-colored bimini tops took on passengers and departed; teenagers cast bait nets along the dock, preparing for fishing expeditions; even an oversized bright-yellow-and-blue 'banana boat' raft was moored in a slip nearby, ready with hand-holds for twelve or so passengers to 'Ride, Ride, Ride The Wild Surf.'

Sally, Carolyn and George Holske

Clay's Fiji buddy George Holske was due to arrive noon, toting along his wife Carolyn. y Bless her heart, she knew neither Clay nor me...and this was her first intro to the Westminster FiJi brotherhood. She and I hit it off immediately while Clay and George reconnected during our chat on the boat as we gave them a brief tour of SaSea Sally. The Holskes were gracious in giving us a reciprocal island tour to beat all tours, introducing us to plantations (residential communities); retail establishments hidden behind the beautiful tall pines; professional service venues; et al. Finding the entrance to Captain Woody's, George turned into the parking lot to treat us to lunch at a favorite restaurant of theirs. He/She crab soup, crab cakes, grilled strips of local fish with dipping sauce were among the offerings we chose. Following lunch we crossed the Hilton Head Island bridge for a tour of the Holskes' residential plantation which included homes, a golf course, a small private marina, a park/playground and swimming pool bordering the community center where residents gather for celebratory events. George and Carolyn hosted us in their home for later afternoon conversation, walking their cute schnauzer rescue dog Bo (Beau) to the nearby lagoon (yep, home to alligators), and wine before taking us 'home' to SaSea Sally.

Deck hand swabbing the decks

The laundry lady

George and Carolyn Holske with Clay

                    

George and Carolyn's house and his dog Bo

 Thursday was a catch-up day which I spent washing area rugs and defrosting the galley frig's freezer compartment (thanks, Uncle Woody, for suggesting the hair dryer shortcut, but why does the freezer now seem to accumulate frost so much faster than before I learned to defrost it?) while Clay washed the boat's exterior. Finishing well ahead of Clay (Woody, it's a slam-dunk in 15 minutes!), I couldn't resist the lure of the island's bike paths, so I off-loaded my bike, set it up (labor intensive because it's a folding bike, but not nearly as labor intensive as the Nordic Track skier), and made my way to the USPS, just to

George and Carolyn's pool

have a destination (and a package to mail). I would have poked around the two consignment shops en route as well as checked out coffee offerings at Publix had I remembered my bike lock. (Please note I said 'coffee' and not 'wine.')

Early evening George and Carolyn picked us up for a 'date' at a nearby wine bar on the island called Corks Wine Co. We enjoyed wine and small plates and more conversation in  a warm, inviting atmosphere.

Sally and Carolyn Holske

Sally and Clay

Friday morning's scheduled departure was delayed as Clay investigated what seemed to be an electrical problem. I had noted an odd-sounding toilet flush and dimmer-than-usual LED lights, but Clay was astute in entering these irregularities into a multi-factor equation which yielded a direct connection to the engines' batteries and electrical system. He's so smart! 

Nice digs on Hilton Head Island

Finding no compelling reason to abort our day's plans to travel, we departed late morning and traveled again in low tide conditions. That's becoming a habit yielding no ill effects...thus far. We've been told we WILL run aground, just a matter of WHEN. Clay added the electrical irregularity to his ongoing list of to-do's. We're finding that most all of the marinas in our path have a readily-available list of resource persons to tackle almost any problem; if the marina doesn't have a list, then Active Captain or locals are at the ready to assist. After all, it is a boat! And, further we realize it's luck of the draw as to how good/dependable/reliable the resource might be; too, word of mouth is valuable.

Parasailers over Calibouge Sound

We've now arrived at Beaufort, SC, with Clay having selected Lady's Island Marina at Lady's Island for harboring SaSea Sally the next few days. We detoured from the ICW onto Factory Creek and slipped onto a T-dock (end dock) mid-afternoon Friday. We're a bridge-crossing away by bicycle from historic downtown Beaufort.

Palmetto Bay at night