Ageless Passions by Karen Putz

Tag: vacation

  • The Best Part of the Spring Break Road Trip

    We arrived at the Marriott Grande Ocean hotel late in the afternoon on Sunday, March 29th.  The ocean stretched for miles at the edge of the hotel and it was hard to believe that we had just left a cold Chicago behind.  It was very windy on the beach and there were very few people out and about.  As I was snapping pictures of the kids, an older couple stopped their bikes and asked if we wanted a family picture.  The wind was quite fierce and sand was blowing everywhere.  They took two pictures and struck up a conversation.

    They owned a time share on the beach and had been coming to Hilton Head for 31 years.  The couple looked like they were in their mid 70s.

     “What keeps you coming back to this island?” I asked. 

    “Oh, we just love it here!  There’s so much to do and it’s just beautiful here.  We ride our bikes several miles each day all over the beach and the island.”   They gave us some tips of where to go and places to eat.  From the smiles on their faces, it was easy to see that they enjoyed themselves.  I could see why they enjoyed the island–it was indeed a beautiful place to be.

    Soon after we left the beach, we jumped into a hot tub, joining another family with three generations that was lounging there.  None of us had our hearing aids on at that point but we managed to chat.  The family was spending their second year on the island and they had come back to the same hotel.  It was amazing to see how the island drew back people– but by the end of our trip, we held the same feeling of wanting to visit the island again.

    The very next day turned out to be one of the most memorable parts of the trip:

    Flying Kites At the Beach.

    Kayaking in the marshland
    Kayaking in the marshland

  • Are You Enjoying Your Summer?

    It was like old times.  We invited two families to join us at Christie Lake over the weekend.  Dennis, Laura, Steve and Joanne.  Plus their kids. It was the first time we all kicked back together up at the lake.  The weather forecast called for rain the entire weekend but none of us cared.  We just wanted to connect with one another and catch up on life. 

    Visiting St. Julian's Winery

    It definitely rained.  We decided to go to the St. Julian Winery in the morning.  We left Dennis behind with the kids, and they took off in the rain to go swimming.  I hadn’t been to the winery since I was a kid, sipping grape juice at the bar.  It was fun to sample the wine and try unusual ones.  We ended up buying a blackberry wine and the Niagara.  

    After the sampling, we took a tour of the winery.  The tour guide slowed down his speech and faced us while he spoke, so the tour was pretty accessible for us.  Unfortunately, the short movie in the beginning wasn’t captioned.

    When we arrived back, the rain slowed down.  We grabbed lunch and then decided to go tubing with just the adults first.  The kids were taking a break from all the swimming they did. 

    As I whipped Dennis and Steve around, I tried to make sure that Steve didn’t fall off too hard or crash his head into Dennis.  I didn’t want to jar his cochlear implant internally and be responsible for sending him back into the hospital for a re-implant.  When Steve climbed into the boat, he thanked me for the wild ride.  “That was me being cautious!” I laughed. 

    Steve brought up his kayaks so we all took turns kayaking around the lake.  On Sunday, the sun came out in the afternoon so we took the pontoon out and swam in the middle.  We took the kids tubing and kneeboarding the rest of the time.

    This was a rare weekend for all of us together but I was really thankful for it.  There’s nothing like spending some time with friends and family, sharing good food and good times.   

    So how’s your summer going?  Are you finding enjoyable moments to kick back and enjoy?  Share them in the comment section!