Hilton Head Part 3: Beachy

Hello, Beach!


We even got up early one morning to catch the sunrise.




Good morning, Sun!


Despite some clouds, it was gorgeous.


After going back to bed, we woke up for some more beach-ing.

Part 1
Part 2

Hilton Head Part 2: I'm on a Bike

One of my favorite things about Hilton Head were the wonderful bike lanes: wide, often separate from the road, extensive, and passing through some beautiful scenery. Our condo was centrally located so we were able to bike to many places.

 
To the Piggly Wiggly.


To the beach.


To the pirate mini-golf.


To the cupcake shop.


The bike lanes had their own little stop signs. Adorable!


And the paths would cut through some woody spots which was the perfect amount of nature to experience at a time.


Adorable bike bridges helped to separate us from the alligators.


Alligator

Hilton Head Part 1: I'm on a Kayak

This is the first in a yet-unknown-number (more than 2, less than 7) series in which I share my vacation photos with you. If you're really really eager to see all the pictures right now, you can just go to my Flickr (Sounds  dirtier than it is.).

Let's start with our kayaking tour. This was a big step for me since:
A. I don't like nature very much. (I'm glad it's there, I just don't want to spend a lot of time with it. This is mostly due to my fears of bugs, snakes, bears and drowning. See item C.)
B. I have the upper body strength of a mouse. (Apparently this is more of a core exercise, not that I have much of a core either.)
C. I don't swim well (doggy paddle FTW) so being in the water in something other than a medium-to-large boat makes me a little nervous.

But Lee likes nature, is strong, and can swim, plus has previous kayaking experience, so kayaking we went!


We departed at 6 p.m. from Shelter Cover Harbour.


We were told not to wear flip-flops but that was all we packed, so we went to Walmart just to get some non-flip-flops. After spending $34 on shoes we don't really like, we gathered with the rest of the tour and most of them were wearing flip-flops. Bummer.


I was both nervous...


and excited. (And a little sad that Lee didn't take me up on my suggestion that we wear matching nautical-themed pashmina afghans.)

You might also notice that I'm sitting in what some people call "the princess seat", but I like to call it "the photographer seat". Someone has to get these sweet dolphin shots.


Yes, there were dolphins. And even though we only saw about 20% of their body, they were still cool.




There were also a lot of birds. They were nice, but no dolphin. This one is an anhinga and is sitting on a barge.


I'm sure you recognize the pelican from Finding Nemo.




In Broad Creek (where we kayaked, it cuts through the middle of Hilton Head Island) there are also oodles of oyster beds. We saw some young American Oystercathers which is rare and none of the pictures turned out but they were still cool. Apparently oyster knives are based on their beaks. And even though oysters seem pretty defenseless, if they sense an oystercatcher approaching, they can clamp down on their beaks and hold them until the tide rises and drowns them. Neato and creepy!


If you're traveling to HHI and/or care, we did a two-hour nature tour through Outside Hilton Head. They were lovely and are not paying me (unfortunately) to say this.

TripTik Nostalgia

This weekend I picked up a TripTik for our vacation. The whole concept seemed kind of odd — picking up a paper map — but my aunt recommended it as a fun car hobby to mark progress. And it's very nostalgic for me. Every vacation growing up we always drove and there was always the trip to AAA to pick up the TripTik and guide books. That and at 26, it's time I learned how to read a map, other than Google mapping how to get downtown.

Plus, the nice AAA lady noted traffic (We're not going back through Asheville because apparently the backups from road construction heading west are horrendous.), construction and popular speed traps. Google doesn't do that for you.

In 26 hours we'll be on the road! (I hope.)

Five Years Ago

I'm sure I've mentioned before that I spent a semester in London (with Caitlin!) and those were some of the best three months of my life. I told someone this recently and realized that it's been exactly five years.

To celebrate the trip and mourn the five years of separation between my dearest London and I (I mean, I lived across the street from Charles Dickens' childhood home and within a five-minute walk from original Jane Austen manuscripts! That's just not something you get to do in Louisville.), let's read old journal entries! I don't journal much, but I do when I'm in Europe. This might be a recurring theme for the next month or two so you have been warned!

Sunday, February 27, 2005 at 12:16 a.m.


Friday [exactly 5 years ago today!] we went to the Tower and saw where everyone died. I saw the tower were Thomas More was held which Brent [friend] was excited about.
 
Today was awesome! We went to Alton -- a 15 minute walk to Chawton [Jane Austen's home] -- which turned into a 30 minute walk when we decided to follow the signs instead of the directions we were given. [The directions were to take a right at the roundabout but there were two rights!] The signs took us along the highway -- not the safest place to walk. But I thought it was a fun adventure and reminded me of Elizabeth's muddy walk to Netherfield when Jane was sick -- perhaps my eyes were also brightened by the exercise. ;) [Caitlin didn't think this was quite as cool as I did but at least I walked closest to the road so if we were hit I would've been hit first. I think that was very nice of me.]
 
Chawton had lots of neato things: the topaz crosses Jane and Cassandra wore, a quilt she made with her mom and Cassandra, a handkerchief she embroidered, her writing desk -- even her donkey cart.
 
We were going to go to Salisbury but Stonehenge doesn't open until March. So went to Winchester -- saw the cathedral where Austen was buried and did some shopping and wandering.

It was a lovely Jane Austen day!

Skiing!

Have I mentioned that I'm generally a big chicken? My fears range from reasonably common things (sky diving) to not as reasonable (bees...really all insects including flies if they catch me off guard) to really ridiculous (97% of my visits to WebMD). So trying new things that have higher injury rates than channel surfing tends to make me nervous.

Like skiing.

I have wanted to go skiing before, I just haven't had an opportunity. This doesn't mean that I wasn't slightly concerned about falling and rolling down the side of the hill at such a rate that my ski or pole will get loose and go straight through my brain.

This weekend Lee and I finally hit the slopes (We went to Perfect North, if you're in the tri-state area and care.) Trouble started right away when I couldn't get my skis on, due to a combination of general weakness and afraid that applying pressure to my heel would cause me to slip and fall on my butt. Lee had to slam my boot into the ski himself.

Lee dropped me off at ski class and by the end of the hour I was feeling pretty good so Lee and I headed for the bunny slope. (Yes, I got nervous riding the ski lift. I really wish it had a lap bar.) After some hesitation at the top of the hill, I finally began my descent, intentionally falling at one point because I was going faster than I wanted and couldn't get myself to slow down (Lee said I wasn't pointing my skis up enough as I was turning.)

After this setback I headed back to the extra bunny slope (You know, that one that has the moving sidewalk to the top instead of the actual ski lift.) for two more practice runs before returning to the big bunny slope. There we stayed for the next two hours. Up and down. My confidence slowly grew and I got to where I was enjoying it enough to want to come back and ski again.

As night fell I headed back inside to my book and iPod so Lee could have a chance to do the more challenging slopes. All in all, I'm pretty proud of me and my skiing accomplishments, though small.

Please Come to America!!

Dear Fabric Market,

The fabulous Holly at decor8 brought you to my attention recently. However, you seem to be located in Germany, which is a bit of a trip for me. Please call if you're in the Louisville area, because when I first saw you...my heart skipped a beat.

Thanks in advance.

All my love,
Katie

images: Holly Becker for decor8

UK Fan FAIL

When I got married, the main date I took into consideration for when NOT to get married was the date of the UK vs. UofL football game. Yet one year later, I'm casually making plans with no consideration to football. (Foolish.) So tomorrow while I should be laughing out loud at how crappy UofL's team is and making apologies to Mike Hartline for everything I yelled at him the TV last season, I will be riding rollercoasters with UofL fans (and one Purdue fan).

I also missed the first game of football season for the zoo. I was so excited about football season (a lovely appetizer to basketball season) but have had no football-viewing fun yet this year! Although it was nice to hear of our shutout against some Ohio team.

(FYI, I just do UK football, beyond that it doesn't matter. Although it's always nice to hear of UofL, Tennessee, Florida and UGA losses. Does Duke play football? I hope they lose too.)


Lee and I sporting our colors at the zoo.

Know, that as I scream tomorrow, I will be screaming, "CCCCCCCCAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and I will be sporting my Kentucky blue. And expecting my dad to text me every time someone scores or UofL does something laughable. Can someone also keep a tally of how many times Cragthorpe has to consult his Waffle House menu for play ideas? Thanks.

But it will really be an awesome weekend, even if I don't get to watch my favorite team destroy my least favorite team. First, off to Columbus to visit Lee's brother and wife, then Cedar Point (see below), and then I'm taking Monday and Tuesday off to go visit my family and pick up Zoey from her visit with "Nana".



Have a fabulous weekend!

My New Dream Job

I have a new dream job. I hope to get things underway by the end of the month. I haven't told Lee yet but I'm 110% sure he'll be on board.

Apartment Therapy posted a link to this PERFECT $7 million castle in RI that is screaming, "Katie, make me a B&B!!"

Well, I've been talking with some of my good friends and we have a bullet-proof business plan for this. Jenn and I have long debated the merits of us becoming professional wedding planners so we will make this castle a charming B&B and ideal place to have your wedding. Jenn, my favorite cook in the world (We used to live together and boy do I miss chicken tortilla soup when I'm sick and pasta with vodka sauce when I'm sad!) is in charge of the kitchen and horses, since she is also an accomplished equestrian. I'm decorating with Caitlin and we'll also coordinate guest services. Cynda, my history major friend, is our historical tour guide. Jenn's husband will handle the finances and mine will handle the Wifi website.

Rhode Island here we come! : D

image: Franco Folini

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

I celebrated this afternoon by eating Mexican for lunch. Later I might break out the tequila shots. For now, I will share pictures from my honeymoon in Cancun.


Isn't Mexico pretty?


This is how I spent several hours a day.

Self-portrait: Me and the Gulf of Mexico

Winter Morning Runs and Other Miscellany

I'm starting to think these winter morning runs are a bad idea.
A. By the time Lee and I get up to go running, we only have about 20 minutes to run before I absolutely have to start getting ready so I can be at work on time. I would like to run for 30 minutes. I doubt getting up any earlier would help and getting up before 6 a.m. just depresses me.
B. This week the temperature at 6:30 a.m. has become particularly ridiculous. I never thought I would run in 27-degree weather, which I have been, but 17 degrees with a windchill of 10 is a no go.

So I'm going to try to work out at the apartment's "gym" after work. I packed my sweaty clothes so I can change before I leave work because if I enter my apartment post-work, I will not leave it again until the next day, especially not to exercise.

Also, I kind of miss sweating. It makes me feel productive and at this time of year I'll sweat more on an indoor stair-stepper than trotting around outside.

In other very important news...

Jodie Meeks' performance against Tennessee last night was amazing! I'm trying to get Lee to let me name our first-born Jodie Meeks (so far I've been unsuccessful) and I'm rewording Chuck Norris jokes to Jodie Meeks truths. See examples below.

Jodie Meeks doesn't get frostbite. He bites the frost.
Jodie Meeks destroyed the periodic table because he only believes in the element of surprise.
There is no "ctrl" button on Jodie Meeks' computer. Jodie Meeks is always in control.


Also, if I had a couple million, I would totally do the same thing.