Mt. Pleasant Almost by the Sea: January 4-May 15, 2018
This is my adventure into Snowbirdism as one of my goals for Phase Five of my life, a concept explained elsewhere on this site in a password protected section. My hope is to make it more of a photo gallery with a minimum of text, but there will be a tendency to tell a story here and there during my stay in this part of the country. The stories may range across many topics, but the common thread will be my stay in Mt. Pleasant, the photos that I take, and the related stories that occur. As I write this introduction, I do not want to make this a journal, but rather an experiential journey in photo and story. Let's see where it ends up.
Arrival in Mt. Pleasant in Wintry Conditions
It was a wickedly awful wintry week from Florida all the way up the Atlantic Coast to Maine. I started out the day of the storm and I took I-81 to avoid predicted bad weather on (-95 in the Carolinas. It was a smart move. I made it to Charlotte, NC in late afternoon with abundant sunshine and no precipitation. The storm hit the Charleston area very hard that night, dropping inches of snow ( a rarity) on Mt. Pleasant. In addition, the temperature reached the coldest lows in some years. There are few snow plows in this part of the country and who knows where they store the road treatment material. At any rate, my drive on January 4 to Mt. Pleasant was extremely pleasant until just before I-26 intersects with I-95. For approximately 50 miles, I traveled on icy snow covered I-26 towards my destination. It took me an hour and half longer than my projected TOA by my GPS when I left Charlotte at around 8. Here is the edited description of that ride that I have shared with others over the past two days:
This area does not know the first thing about snow plowing. The roads are covered with frozen snow that frame the tire ruts that have been made by the numerous vehicles that. It reminds me of the poorly plowed secondary streets of larger towns like St. Paul, Chicago, and even Madison that developed over the long winters when I was a lot younger. It will take several days for those ruts to disappear. However it is supposed to be 50 by Monday.
I am so proud of myself for the last 50 miles I drove yesterday. Picture a major highway with minimal efforts at plowing and treating the roads and a line of cars moving at about 25-40 miles an hour. On either side of the road there were jack-knifed tractor trailers and numerous cars that succumbed to the icy conditions. Idiot drivers continued to pass me and I wondered about their sanity. However, I patiently stayed in line and continued forward, leaving significant space between the car ahead of me and the one behind me. The sun was bright, but the temperature at mid day was hovering around freezing. I arrived in Mt. Pleasant about 12:30, 90 minutes later than my GPS had predicted on drier roads earlier in the morning. I joined my cousins for lunch at 12:30 and felt good about the end of my driving adventure and the beginning of a new one here. I was going to venture out last night to one of my favorite pubs, but I did not want to press my luck and spent a quiet first evening at home.
So, I have this hanging plant that has been with me for six years. It has been near death many times because of my many travel adventures. I have arrived home in the past to find a number of brown and yellow leaves, but the plant has been resilient in finding its way back to full life with just the water that I give it. I knew I could not leave it for four months. I brought it with me as you can see from the photo below. At one point during my drive yesterday, I began to talk to the plant sitting in the passenger side as if it was my late wife Terry. It was her relentless spirit that I saw represented by the hanging plant to the right of me. The spirit of the plant spoke to me and I spoke back to it, and she listened. I found some peace in that exchange. So, if you are now wondering about my sanity, please refrain from calling the men or women in white coats. I am fine.
This is my adventure into Snowbirdism as one of my goals for Phase Five of my life, a concept explained elsewhere on this site in a password protected section. My hope is to make it more of a photo gallery with a minimum of text, but there will be a tendency to tell a story here and there during my stay in this part of the country. The stories may range across many topics, but the common thread will be my stay in Mt. Pleasant, the photos that I take, and the related stories that occur. As I write this introduction, I do not want to make this a journal, but rather an experiential journey in photo and story. Let's see where it ends up.
Arrival in Mt. Pleasant in Wintry Conditions
It was a wickedly awful wintry week from Florida all the way up the Atlantic Coast to Maine. I started out the day of the storm and I took I-81 to avoid predicted bad weather on (-95 in the Carolinas. It was a smart move. I made it to Charlotte, NC in late afternoon with abundant sunshine and no precipitation. The storm hit the Charleston area very hard that night, dropping inches of snow ( a rarity) on Mt. Pleasant. In addition, the temperature reached the coldest lows in some years. There are few snow plows in this part of the country and who knows where they store the road treatment material. At any rate, my drive on January 4 to Mt. Pleasant was extremely pleasant until just before I-26 intersects with I-95. For approximately 50 miles, I traveled on icy snow covered I-26 towards my destination. It took me an hour and half longer than my projected TOA by my GPS when I left Charlotte at around 8. Here is the edited description of that ride that I have shared with others over the past two days:
This area does not know the first thing about snow plowing. The roads are covered with frozen snow that frame the tire ruts that have been made by the numerous vehicles that. It reminds me of the poorly plowed secondary streets of larger towns like St. Paul, Chicago, and even Madison that developed over the long winters when I was a lot younger. It will take several days for those ruts to disappear. However it is supposed to be 50 by Monday.
I am so proud of myself for the last 50 miles I drove yesterday. Picture a major highway with minimal efforts at plowing and treating the roads and a line of cars moving at about 25-40 miles an hour. On either side of the road there were jack-knifed tractor trailers and numerous cars that succumbed to the icy conditions. Idiot drivers continued to pass me and I wondered about their sanity. However, I patiently stayed in line and continued forward, leaving significant space between the car ahead of me and the one behind me. The sun was bright, but the temperature at mid day was hovering around freezing. I arrived in Mt. Pleasant about 12:30, 90 minutes later than my GPS had predicted on drier roads earlier in the morning. I joined my cousins for lunch at 12:30 and felt good about the end of my driving adventure and the beginning of a new one here. I was going to venture out last night to one of my favorite pubs, but I did not want to press my luck and spent a quiet first evening at home.
So, I have this hanging plant that has been with me for six years. It has been near death many times because of my many travel adventures. I have arrived home in the past to find a number of brown and yellow leaves, but the plant has been resilient in finding its way back to full life with just the water that I give it. I knew I could not leave it for four months. I brought it with me as you can see from the photo below. At one point during my drive yesterday, I began to talk to the plant sitting in the passenger side as if it was my late wife Terry. It was her relentless spirit that I saw represented by the hanging plant to the right of me. The spirit of the plant spoke to me and I spoke back to it, and she listened. I found some peace in that exchange. So, if you are now wondering about my sanity, please refrain from calling the men or women in white coats. I am fine.
So, I am now beginning my third day as a snowbird. I have shoveled snow, worried about freezing pipes, celebrated my 75th birthday with family and friends here in Mt. Pleasant, talked to my daughter Gina about the results of the storm in CT, and anxiously await next week when I may be able to walk the beach and begin taking some photos. In the meantime, the snow here is melting in the daytime, but refreezing at night. It is still very cold for this part of the south, but there is hope for the future.
First Walk on the Beach
When I come to Mt. Pleasant, one of my first adventures is to walk the beach. That was not an option on Friday, but Saturday was a different story. The road to Isle of Palms was quite clear. The air was cold, but not too windy and the sun was shining brightly. I walked a little more than a mile and took my first photos on this four month trip to the south. It felt good to walk the beach again, knowing I was getting my exercise and experiencing people on the winter beach still savoring what it has to offer.
When I come to Mt. Pleasant, one of my first adventures is to walk the beach. That was not an option on Friday, but Saturday was a different story. The road to Isle of Palms was quite clear. The air was cold, but not too windy and the sun was shining brightly. I walked a little more than a mile and took my first photos on this four month trip to the south. It felt good to walk the beach again, knowing I was getting my exercise and experiencing people on the winter beach still savoring what it has to offer.
January 26, 2017: Three Weeks In
I have been snow birding for about 3 weeks and liking it very much. In that time period, I have enjoyed fun times with family and friends, become involved in the Senior Center with a walking group, played pickle ball, and made acquaintances in the cafe. Yesterday, I attended a breakfast where the author, Kirkpatrick Sale, pontificated on his gloomy predictions for the future, the utter destructive force of big government, and his ideas about human scale and the proper sizes of buildings, cities, communities, etc. I ended up not liking his message at all, but the experience was interesting.
I continue to decorate my abode in preparation for visitors beginning next month. The permanent inhabitants here think that this is an unusually cool January, but with the exception of my first days here three weeks ago and a few cool mornings, I have thoroughly enjoyed the temperatures that have ranged in the daytime from the high 40s to the low 70s. I have walked the beach, but also reclined on it enjoying the warmth of the sun with cool breezes to reinforce the need for a windbreaker.
This past Wednesday, I spent my first four hour session at the Restore as a volunteer. My task was to tidy up the book corner of the store. It was a mess, but looked better at the end of my shift. It is tedious work, and I do not want to repeat that task every time I go, but I also enjoyed doing sorting and straightening out the shelves. There was a wee bit of creativity in having the freedom to rearrange things within some established parameters.
I continue to produce both canvas and traditional photographic prints that are filling up the blank walls of my home. In addition, I have had a stressful session of assembling a new bookshelf; but once done, have enjoyed the fun of organizing the spaces. I bought this great old wooden rocking chair that is in very good condition. It is not only a comfortable seating addition to my living room, but also a pleasant piece to observe as part of the living room ambiance. I have no photos to add today. Most of my work has been of beach scenes similar to the those presented above. As visitors arrive and we take excursions, perhaps there will be more to share visually.
I have been snow birding for about 3 weeks and liking it very much. In that time period, I have enjoyed fun times with family and friends, become involved in the Senior Center with a walking group, played pickle ball, and made acquaintances in the cafe. Yesterday, I attended a breakfast where the author, Kirkpatrick Sale, pontificated on his gloomy predictions for the future, the utter destructive force of big government, and his ideas about human scale and the proper sizes of buildings, cities, communities, etc. I ended up not liking his message at all, but the experience was interesting.
I continue to decorate my abode in preparation for visitors beginning next month. The permanent inhabitants here think that this is an unusually cool January, but with the exception of my first days here three weeks ago and a few cool mornings, I have thoroughly enjoyed the temperatures that have ranged in the daytime from the high 40s to the low 70s. I have walked the beach, but also reclined on it enjoying the warmth of the sun with cool breezes to reinforce the need for a windbreaker.
This past Wednesday, I spent my first four hour session at the Restore as a volunteer. My task was to tidy up the book corner of the store. It was a mess, but looked better at the end of my shift. It is tedious work, and I do not want to repeat that task every time I go, but I also enjoyed doing sorting and straightening out the shelves. There was a wee bit of creativity in having the freedom to rearrange things within some established parameters.
I continue to produce both canvas and traditional photographic prints that are filling up the blank walls of my home. In addition, I have had a stressful session of assembling a new bookshelf; but once done, have enjoyed the fun of organizing the spaces. I bought this great old wooden rocking chair that is in very good condition. It is not only a comfortable seating addition to my living room, but also a pleasant piece to observe as part of the living room ambiance. I have no photos to add today. Most of my work has been of beach scenes similar to the those presented above. As visitors arrive and we take excursions, perhaps there will be more to share visually.