50 in P-Town: May 2011

Leigh and I waited at the curb at the church with our suitcases, snacks, and beach chairs on Thursday morning. Cheryl had to get the car washed before we could leave for our little girls' getaway. She was so excited! We had a nice scenic drive through small towns on our way to Jekyll Island...stopped in Perry for lunch and then hit three Dollar Generals to try and find Cheryl a beach chair. No luck!

We arrived at the Hampton Inn...quite a lovely place with a beautiful boardwalk bridge to the ocean. A couple of funny things happened at check-in. First, we noticed a sign that said "Senior Adult Choir Festival". Oh no!! We can't escape our jobs evidently...we enjoy that part of our job though! Anyway, we took a pic of that sign and emailed it to our boss. He says we can look into that festival for next spring. We say we'll be glad to go along and help out! Ha! Secondly, as we checked in, the young lady at the desk said, "Welcome to the Hampton Inn...have you ever seen a Hampton Inn with a bar in the lobby? Well, we have one here!" Little did she know she was talking to tee-totaling Baptists! She stressed this "wonderful" bar several times as if she figured three ladies on their own would love getting smashed while away from their families.

We finally made it down to the beach where Cheryl seemed to float on air...so happy to be there (Have you figured out yet that Cheryl hasn't been to the beach in years?) We loved watching her. The beach was gorgeous...clean brown sand and the water was tranquil like a lake. There were jellyfish everywhere on the beach, however, so we had to be careful as we walked. Later we went to St. Simon's Island and ate at Barbara Jean's....I had pork chops, ambrosia, and squash casserole. Yummy!

The second day (after a 4:45 a.m text message to me and a 5:00 a.m accidental alarm left on by Cheryl...UGH) we set up our umbrella and chairs on the beach and just lounged, rested, and talked for 4-5 hours. (Yes, we used lots of sunscreen). We went on to the pool and hot tub after that and then cleaned up for another dinner out. This time it was Crabdaddy's on St. Simon's. I had blackened chicken and cheese grits. Umhmmm! We shopped a bit and then dropped exhausted in the bed.

The third day we shopped some more, went on the beach and sat for an hour as we watched a huge thunderstorm approach. It came slowly but when it caught us it was obvious we were in for the afternoon. That evening we visited a restaurant named Bennie's Red Barn. I had "barnyard pimp", the waiter's name for fried chicken. I had an interesting experience while there. I needed the restroom so I followed the sign for it. I saw the Mens door and then walked around to the other side and saw the Ladies door. I started to open that door and, lo and behold, there was a man standing there in a little outhouse type bathroom. OOPS! I realized both doors led into one toilet area. Wow! I just laughed and walked away. I don't think he saw me. Hope not!

Sunday morning came too quickly and we had to pack up and leave. I went out with Cheryl at 6 a.m. to see the sunrise. We took pictures of the progression as it rose over the water. The water looked silvery and the sun and sky were a peachy yellow. It was gorgeous! So worth getting up for.

We missed our church and choir and as we drove down the road we put in a cd and sang the choir anthem at the time we'd have normally been in the choir loft at church! HA. I know, we're hopeless! We had a safe trip back, still love each other after all those hours together, and plan to do it again next year. I seriously wondered how things would turn out...there is quite a difference in working with folks and then going off and spending 24 hour days with them. I did learn several things...Cheryl never sleeps (she catnaps) and Leigh is not a morning person! Okay, no big deal on either of those revelations!