Georgia's Coast

I just returned from a day trip, with one of my co-workers, to Jekyll Island and St. Simons Islands. Having seen them all, I can now officially make my decision about which of Georgia's islands I like the best. Trouble is: I think it's a tie. St. Simons is great. It's a wonderfully laid back beach community, with great little shops and lots of charm. Hilton Head is a wonderful place too. Hilton Head is bigger and has more to do, and it seems to draw a more sophisticated crowd than any of the others. It also has more sophisticated shops and restaurants. I do know that I was not really impressed with Jekyll. It is a great beach, but it was just smaller and not as pretty as St. Simons.

With all of that said, I was glad that we got to witness 4 sea turtles being released back into their natural habitat after rehabilitation at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Island. We then headed up to St Simons Island, and saw the lighthouse, which was also fun. I just love visiting lighthouses! We didn't climb this one, because we were just tired from the heat.

It was such a humid day that we couldn't stand to remain outside. After being out for a total of 3-4 hours, we were beat! Today may have been the most humid day since I've been here. I guess I'm being prepared to return to NOLA!

Speaking of going home: I get home in 9 days! I am anxious to get back home for a short time, to my house and to spend time with YOU: my family & friends! See ya soon!

Contemplating...

I finished a novel I've been reading today. It's called Color of the Sea by John Hamamura. Finishing this book has me feeling contempletive today - pondering honor and integrity and the following question: How do we preserve our purity and wholeness in a world so desecrated by human madness and cruelty? This is the question that challenged the Japanese boy who is the main character in the book.

Of course, my simple answer to this question is to just trust God. But, isn't that a trite and simplistic answer? I think that knowing what it means practically can be so much deeper and more meaningful. The boy in the book was a Buddist. He was so intensely spiritual and aware of his inner self and committed to growth. Those of you who know me know that I'm not advocating Buddism. I just think that these are areas that we neglect so often...

Anyway, I could not put this book down! I loved it and higly recommend it.

Tell me, what are you reading right now? I'd love to dig in to some other great stuff. I'd also love to know your ideas about answers to the question that challenged the Japanese boy.

Rain! Rain! Go Away...

Madeline and I headed out to Tybee Island for a little beach time yesterday before hitting the Latin festival that was going on in downtown Savannah. Unfortunately, our beach time was cut short by some really dark clouds, which turned into rain as soon as we got in the car. We headed downtown and ended up parking near Paula Dean's restaurant, Lady & Sons. Unfortunately, at 4:00 they were already booked for the evening, so we were not able to eat there.

We walked down to River Street to hit the fiesta, but it continued to rain, so we found ourselves at a wonderful restaurant called Vic's On the River. I had Wild Georgia Shrimp over Stone Ground Grits with andouille sausage and tasso ham gravy. YUM, YUM, YUM!!! It was so good! Also, this is the second restaurant that we've been to that served us biscuits with orange marmalade... a southern thing, I guess. The marmalade has been scrumptous both times.

A neat fact about the building that houses Vic's: Workers, who were renovating the building in 1901, uncovered a map that was drawn on the wall. It is a map that was hand drawn by Union soldiers detailing General Sherman's march from Tennessee through Georgia. The building was used by General Sherman's troops during the Civil War. A small portion of the map remains on the wall under glass in the restaurant. Pretty neat to stand in front of that map and imagine the scene that might have taken place there over 100 years ago!

After the rain stopped, we checked out Fiesta Latina. I was sorry we had just eaten, because there were so many great smells coming from their food tents. I guess we missed the dance troupes with their colorful dress, but the music was fun and the people who were dancing seemed so passionate! I really enjoyed watching them!

The Pirate's House

Today we went to lunch at a restaurant in downtown Savannah called The Pirate's House. The Pirate's House is considered the most historic spot in Georgia. When colonists arrived from London in 1733, they planted a garden in this location. Their original crops failed, but from this same garden were distributed the peach trees which have since given Georgia a major crop. The Old Pirate's House first opened in 1753 as an inn for seafarers, and became a meeting point for bloodthirsty pirates and sailors. The Pirate's House is mentioned in the classic, Treasure Island, which says that Captain Flint died in an upstairs room in the Pirate's House. Today, the restaurant serves yummy southern-style cooking, including black-eyed peas, cabbage, chicken pot pie, collard greens, squash casserole, biscuits and cornbread. The food was great. Above, two of my co-workers and I are pictured with Capt Jack Sparrow!!

Hilton Head Island

I visited Hilton Head a few years ago, and before today, I remembered it as a typical tourist beach. Boy, was I wong! I guess we barely left the condo & beach where we were staying during that trip. Today, one of my co-workers and I spent the day on Hilton Head at Coligny beach and touring Sea Pines Plantation on a trolley. Hilton Head is beautiful, and there is so much to see and do there. We spent the whole day and only saw a small section of the island. I was impressed with the number of yachts - They were everywhere! To the left is a picture of Bonnie and me with the yachts. The boat to the left of us is named "Trust Fun". We thought that was cute, so I had to tell you since you can't make out the words in the picture.

To the right is one is of me at the top of the lighthouse, with crazy hair because of the wind, and below is a shot of our view of the lighthouse from those comfy, red rockers.

MFLCs

Military & Family Life Consultants (MFLC): I finally have a picture of the other MFLCs who I work with. Bonnie (far left) and Madeline (3rd from left) started yesterday. Carol (2nd from left) and I have been here 4 1/2 weeks. We have begun to mesh and are getting along well! As you can see, everyone is proud of the scarf I'm currently knitting. Ha!

Stunning Savannah

It's difficult to capture the beauty here with a camera, but I've tried. Look at those trees! Wouldn't you love to live on this street?

The Half Way Mark

I'm excited to have made it halfway through this first assignment! Four weeks down, four to go. I think this assignment has been hard because it was my first. Although I was disappointed that my first assignment was in the States, my mom said from the start that she thought it would be a good thing. I agree with her. I'm glad I didn't have to deal with jet lag, getting around another country without knowing the language and using different money, on top of learning a new job. That said, other consultants tell me that no two assignments are alike. My next one is in Germany. I'm looking forward to it!

Last weekend...

I'm just getting around to writing about last weekend. I visited St. Simons Island. I think I could live there and never leave the island! It's beautiful. All of the trees and Spanish Moss of Savannah as well as inviting beaches. It reminds me of a quaint village, rather than the tourist-driven town that many ocean front communities are. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera. Ah well, next time!

I happened to pick the location and day that a group of wind surfers were meeting there for a photo shoot and to give free lessons. Many of you will want to choke me for not taking them up on that offer. Honestly, I'm not sure why I opted not to do so. I wish I had.

While out on the beach, I met a sweet family - I met the wife actually. She was friendly and outgoing, and she shared the story of how they came to adopt two children from Kazakhstan when she was 40 years old. She is a Christian woman and also told me about how the Lord had been preparing her for her son's learning disability even before she ever considered having children. (She had previously taught in a special program for dyslexic children.) Anyway, I was reminded that He is always working and preparing us for the next phase of life. Everything in our past brings us to where we are.

Another neat thing about that day was that I had prayed that the Lord would allow me to meet someone who I could just have some social interaction with. I might have discounted the interaction with this woman if I had started the conversation (thinking that I just had it in my mind that I needed some converstion and so created it for myself), but she and her family came and plopped down next to me, and she started the conversation. I can't dismiss that as coincidence.

The time I spent with her really encouraged me. Now that I think about it, if I had taken the wind surfing lessons, I may not have experienced that encouraging time with her! Cool!