Friday, June 14, 2019

Friday, June 14, 2019

Tonight's picture was taken in June of 2009. We were given tickets to a Nat's game. Mattie also received this Nat's jersey from a friend. I will never forget taking Mattie to the game that day. People all around us were staring at Mattie. As if he was contagious. Not only do I remember the stares but I recall people jumping out of the way in fear. 


Quote of the day: You never regret being kind. ~ Nicole Shepherd

As today was our last day on the Island, we decided to enjoy the day NOT traveling around in the car. We had three very rainy days here in a week, but today was a glorious weather day. So we went out for a bike ride. 

What is wonderful about Kiawah is that you can ride on the beach. The sand is packed tightly and when at low tide, there is plenty of room for beach goers, bikers, and walkers. I also love looking at the houses along the beach.

We took a 12 mile bike ride today, and covered a lot of territory. We rode from one end of the beach to the other and then came back using bike paths. 

We were riding bikes into the wind on the beach, which is quite the work out. But we did it. Needless to say, there weren't others riding in our direction! 

For the most part, many of the people on Kiawah Island own multiple houses. So the Island house is their second or third home. Needless to say the houses are huge. 

Get the idea?

Another beauty! 

Once we got off the beach and biked on the paths, we passed a lot of natural beauty. Which included today this wonderful heron, a deer, and even an alligator. 

This was one smart gator. Who was he looking at? Well there were two fishermen on the land. They began to fish, and with that, the gator made his way over to them. The fishermen told us that the gator likes to catch whatever fish their bait attracts. Meaning the gator is a real hindrance to them. 

After a long bike ride, we then headed to lunch at the Turtle Point Golf Course Clubhouse. The views are wonderful. We got to watch people playing golf, we saw deer crossing the golf course, lots of birds, and even a gator. 

After lunch we visited the Sanctuary, which is a one of a kind beach resort/hotel. I like going there the day before we travel, because I always pick up their home made sandwiches so that we do not have to stop on the road for food. Their sandwiches are wonderful. 

See the grandeur of the hotel lobby! While waiting for our sandwiches to be made, we walked the property and stopped into their gift shops. I met one woman while shopping, who moved to Kiawah. She loved all her vacations here that much, that she and her husband moved here permanently. As she says, Kiawah isn't the real world. Which is absolutely true. It is insulted from the complexities most of us face in our daily living (crime, graffiti, pollution, crowding, traffic, homelessness, and the list goes on). I call Kiawah, Mayberry (after the Andy Griffith show). 

When we returned to our condo, we went for a 3 miles walk on the beach. I think this is the beauty of Kiawah, you can have a very active lifestyle all year round. In theory I could bike ride in Washington, DC. But the reality is I won't ride in traffic and all of our bike trails are too packed with people. So I truly enjoyed getting out and about this week. 

I loved this sandcastle that someone built today, so we snapped a photo of it. 

Beaches at Kiawah. Never packed with people! No loud noise, no rowdiness, and the list goes on. 

The beauty of the Atlantic. 

Our evening selfie!

While writing the blog on our balcony, look how came to visit! Our friend Bucky!

Can you see Bucky? This photo gives you some perspective, as he is just behind the scrub brush of the beach! 

It is hard to leave tomorrow. As it takes us almost an entire week to slow down from our typical frenetic pace. Yet it is nice to know that places like Kiawah exist not very far from us.