The Island – which for me is the Sea Pines gated community at the southern toe of the Island  – was mute today.  The weather was cloudy and cool. The frequency of pedestrians (normally dedicated walkers and runners with the associated gear) and cyclists was noticeably diminished. When I walked by my car in the parking lot en route to the bicycle rack, I yearned to drive again.  But driving on the Island is a derivative not of hankering but of desideratum. The motor vehicle passion is however a deprivation I willingly bear when vacationing here because I am intent upon bicycling as much as possible not just enough to merit the fulfillment of a stated distance. The performance is more than strictly athletic. I find that no matter how regularly I visit any one or more chosen spots they always appear different. The mutability of life by the sea is the canon rather than the outlier.

Continue reading →

The COVID seclusion seems miles and miles away though it is only since November 29th last that we fixedly crossed the border from Canada into the United States of America and began our 2-day motor vehicle trek to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina for the winter. From the moment of our departure (when we spent an introductory night near the Thousand Islands Parkway on the St. Lawrence River) we were uplifted and forward looking. Reminiscences were out of the question! We were onto something new after a 20-month isolation following our perpendicular departure from Longboat Key on March 20th, 2020. Happily that progressive and mildly innovative approach has continued into the first week of our settlement here; and, I venture to say it shall be sustained in spite of any seasoning over the upcoming winter months.

Continue reading →

It was slow going this morning. My neuropathy overtook me last night and kept me awake. Notwithstanding the lack of sleep, I forced myself to get moving around seven o’clock. There was naturally no reason to push myself so I lingered over breakfast – sliced green apple and steel cut oats with precisely five dried prunes. I also revived my spirit by listening to Christmas music, a calculated indulgence which I engage every year at this time and which I will precipitously conclude December 26th. Its ephemeral stimulation strengthens the purpose and success of religion while also reminding me of its fabrications, exaggerations and preposterous dramatic themes.

Continue reading →

Hilton Head Island, sometimes referred to as simply Hilton Head, is a Lowcountry resort town and barrier island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Savannah, Georgia, and 95 miles (153 km) southwest of Charleston. The island is named after Captain William Hilton, who in 1663 identified a headland near the entrance to Port Royal Sound, which mapmakers named “Hilton’s Headland.” The island features 12 miles (19 km) of beachfront on the Atlantic Ocean.

Continue reading →

In 1672 Charles promulgated the Declaration of Indulgence, which suspended the penal code against all religious Nonconformists, Catholic and Dissenter alike. But a declaration of toleration could not bring together these mortal enemies, and the king found himself faced by a unified Protestant front. In 1673 the Cavalier Parliament compelled Charles to withdraw the declaration and implement, in its place, the first of the Test Acts (1673), which required anyone entering public service in England to deny the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation and to take Anglican communion. When Charles II’s openly Catholic successor James II attempted to issue a similar Declaration of Indulgence, an order for general religious tolerance, it became one of the grievances that led to the Glorious Revolution which ousted him from the throne.

Continue reading →

We retired early last evening. We were exhausted from the day’s performances; and had tired our interest in and capacity for the tragedies and unfolding political dramas in the news.  We easily slept the recommended eight hours. As a result it was effortless to get going at a respectable hour this morning.  Shortly before seven o’clock I attacked the world and arose – or rather peeled my aching carcass – from beneath the huge duvet. By 9:30 am I was bathed, dressed and munching slices of a large Granny apple, a moderation punctuated with a remaining half of Naan bread sans butter. The butter that tempts me in the ‘fridge is Kerrygold Pure Irish butter, a supplement I would willingly consume by the spoonful! My dietary vigilance was spirited today by the uncommon success I had in buttoning my latest fat-size Nautica shorts. Certainly it is a small compliment but every inch in these matters counts!

Continue reading →

As our internal temperatures and landlubber apprehensions gradually diminish, the weather moves in another direction – around 73°F today and clear. The polarization is a welcome adjustment as we successfully organize our digs for hibernation on Hilton Head Island – and contemporaneously flatten the curve on our domestic apparel suited for beach weather, cycling and transitioning to a life of unparalleled indolence.

Continue reading →

Since we were summarily ejected from Longboat Key in March, 2020 on account of the then emerging COVID-19 pandemic, we have pinned to reactivate our winter sojourns. And it was only as recently as the first week of November, 2021 (when President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr opened the American border from Canada) that we were able to take any affirmative action in that southerly direction.  Admittedly we initially tried to locate a long-term rental on the Florida Keys (but without success) so we succumbed to investigating a similar ambition on Hilton Head Island from which we last exited over five years ago.  The task on Hilton Head Island was at the outset discouraging; but following a recommendation from our erstwhile estate agent Gail Edmonds of Destination Vacation she put us onto a new property manager Beverly Serral. From the start our conventions with Ms. Serral et al. have been exceedingly happy ones.

Continue reading →

“But look, the morn, in russet mantle clad,
Walks o’er the dew of yon high eastward hill.”
Hamlet, per Horatio, Act 1, Scene 1

This morning – the final leg of our two-day motor vehicle drive from Almonte to Hilton Head Island – began shortly after 5:00 am from our overnight stay in West Virginia. The immediate morning hours upon daybreak took us through the Shenandoah Valley. We had begun our journey early enough to escape a good deal of what I know historically is intense traffic punctuated as always by endless transport trucks.

Continue reading →

Although the hotel offered a hot breakfast – and we were out of bed and showered before 6:30 am when the service apparently began – our travel enthusiasm propelled us to the American border-crossing nearby Hill Island adjacent the Ivy Lea Parkway. When we twisted our path to what we perceived to be the correct lane for cars, all four lanes were surmounted by a glaring red neon CLOSED signs. Suddenly however one changed to OPEN and we proceeded to the wicket. The officer asked the usual questions in addition to requesting me to lower the rear window so she could have a look inside. Unwittingly I lied that we were not importing any fresh fruit.  I forgot about the Granny apple in my overnight bag. Then we were on our way south on Interstate 81.

Continue reading →