You know that saying about the postal delivery service and their determination to get the mail out, no matter what circumstances bar the way? Like hurricanes, tornadoes, alligators (as in... up to your - - - when you were hoping to drain the swamp), bridges washed out, buffalo migration, etc? I've had some of that while traveling last week. NO-thing as dramatic as hip deep in alligators, but lots of water that likely qualifies as flash flooding in parts of GA. Those same parts that were panting from drought conditions last summer.
I got up early on Thursday to drive to Savannah, planning to get there around 10'ish. To have lunch with a family friend who currently resides in a nursing home on Abercorn Street. Her son and daughter-in-law took us to a local bar-b-cue establishment, where we enjoyed a good meal and visit. After spending some time chatting with her about people we have in common from south Georgia, I got on the road headed south.
The plan: after having invited myself along for a bit of vaca in the Golden Isles, the cousins from ATL would arrive late on Thursday, with me meeting the gang at a rented condo. Lots of intermittent rain along the coastal drive. I left the interstate to drive less traveled route with scenic views of rivers flowing toward the Atlantic Ocean, through expanses of tidal marshland, and great old gnarled, long limbed live oaks bearded with copious strands of Spanish moss. While everything changes, nothing does. And once you get there, your blood pressure lowers, your heart rate drops, you are begin to feel your life moving at a slower pace, everything becomes immersed in the tidal movement, sloooowly slowing down - you are starting to feel verrrry sleeeepy....
I wondered out loud what it is about being near the beach that makes you think of naps. You're getting slower and slower and your metabolism just seems to force you to go lay down for a bit... And before you know it your eyes are closing.... Research convinced us that it has something to do with the effect of negative ions being released by the wave action, something to do with salt water? In reality, it took Very Little Convincing: you're getting verrry sleeeepy....
The misc.cousins showed up, we settled in a nice small condo space. I transported ingredients for blueberry muffings (berries from my back yard) across the state, so we had fresh 'homemade' baked goods for breakfast. Did a bit of beach walking, wading, splashing, getting ample sand in one's cracks, on an overcast, but not rainy day. Roaming around the Village, checking out Neptune park, with a fishing pier and public facilities after a lunch overlooking the ocean.
They had shrimp for supper when we went to visit the auntie. I did not.
We went to the next island over, to visit the turtle rescue program. Pretty interesting. Not only do they rehab injured sea turtles of all varieties,they try to identify and protect turtle nests from a variety of predators, after the females come ashore to lay eggs. I guess we would think they are not very good mothers, as the eggs, are buried under the sand and abandoned. Interesting tid-bit: females hatch when the dozens of eggs incubating in the sand are at a higher temp.so the saying in turtle reproduction goes: girls are hot, boys are cool. The turtle program also supports efforts to help preserve the land terrapin population. Which explains the signs along the causeway through the marshes, connecting the islands to the mainland: "Terrapin x-ing". Lots of tortoise stuff going on over there. Check it out at: www.georgiaseaturtlecenter.org
I got home Sat. night just in time to flop into bed.
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