MORNING SIGHTS AND SOUNDS (March 29 - April 21, 2023)

Sunrise Voyage

 The last three weeks have been a time of solitude here on Edisto Island, South Carolina.  We've had no guests and have pretty much just enjoyed the quiet, peaceful surroundings that continue to draw us back to this place.  I began to wonder if I really had anything to comment on for this blog.  I felt like we hadn't really done anything worthy of mention.  Then I remembered that every day is a day to be enjoyed, to be cherished.  Just the sights and sounds of the world around us can bring us happiness and memories.

REFLECTIONS

Sunrise Coffee

With that in mind, let me REFLECT on the sights and sounds of this typical morning on "our" favorite island!

I sit on our deck and watch the sun crest the horizon above the towering palm trees.

I listen to the waking world of the marsh just outside our door.  

The squawking of the gulls as they welcome the new day and the sound of a boat as it motors out to that perfect fishing spot let me know that it's going to be another good day. 

 Soon the sounds increase as the distant shriek of an Eagle echoes over the verdant marsh.  

The crows and songbirds begin an aerial war with dissident mutters as one seeks to find the other's nest and the other seeks to protect its territory. With the crows vanquished, the songbirds rejoice with gentile melodious trills that seem to bring everything around them into harmony.

My vision now shifts to the blue waters of the Sound and the expansive low land salt marsh, with its slivers of water, that shelter and feed so many residents.

I see a flock of a dozen snow white Egrets as they wing their way toward the feeding grounds looking for minnows and small crabs. 

An eagle-eyed Osprey hovers in the air as it seeks to spot its breakfast in the waters below.

I listen to the sound of quivering palm fronds as they are kissed by the moist ocean breeze.

A line of pelicans skim the surface of the bay while the ever-present dolphins put on their show in the mouth of the inlet.

And lest you think all is perfect, someone's two-year-old just pitched a fit on their deck.

All of this before 10 a.m.!

THE POINT IS that I was able to enjoy the above.  There are many who cannot and others who will not.  

Some are hindered by blindness and deafness.  Others simply refuse to take the time to enjoy the sights and sounds that are all around them.  

Others are "shut in" and thus "shut out" of sights and sounds that most of us take for granted.

For those of us who have a choice, let us choose to enjoy each day with its own sights and sounds.  Let us never take for granted the blessings of seeing and hearing.

Even the screams of a child can remind us of when we had children of our own.  Children who may have been noisy from time to time, but children who now enjoy this island as much as we do.

Here's a few photos to enhance the words above.

ENJOY YOUR WALK AND KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN (February 28-March 28, 2023)

 

After our friends left Edisto Island, South Carolina, for Michigan, we settled into a familiar routine.  This quiet, peaceful location has been a regular spring stop for several years.  Time at the Wyndham Ocean Ridge Resort is spent enjoying beach walks and walks along the jungle-like walking/bike trail.  My hunting instincts are satisfied by, almost daily, photo safaris for white tail deer and bottle-nose dolphins.  Add to this some of the most amazing sunsets and the warmth of the South Carolina sun and you can easily see why we cherish our extended spring stay here.  With no "chain" restaurants, our culinary desires are satisfied by local eateries like; the Sea Cow, Whalley's, and Pressley's at the Marina.

A week-long visit with my daughter's family from Indiana was time well spent with special people in our lives.  Our two teenage granddaughters each brought a friend, and a great time was had by all. Now they have returned to the cold Midwest and we are on our own until the first part of May.

REFLECTIONS

My morning walks, down the beach, are not only for necessary exercise but are an intentional outing to seek out the elusive bottle neck dolphin that call the Atlantic Ocean, the St. Helena Sound, and the Big Bay River home.  These beautiful creatures bob their way through the water in search of a breakfast or lunch of the plentiful bait fish that frequent the area. They are not "fishing" for recreation.  They are "fishing" for survival.

As we walk through this life, it should never be simply because we must.  It should be a walk, an adventure, of intentionality.  It should be a journey keeping an eye out for an opportunity to find a group or individual who is endeavoring to find a way to survive.  

The goal of our life walk is not to capture a moment of time on film but, a chance to make a difference in someone's life. They are out there! Many times unseen but close. enjoy your walk but keep your eyes open.

"I FEEL LIKE A SCHOOLGIRL" (January 26 - February 28, 2023)

Edisto Island Sunrise

Wes and Marcia Bittenbender at Botany Bay

Our time in central Florida came to an end on February 25 as we headed to South Carolina to finish our "winter". This time we would be on Edisto Island (WYNDHAM OCEAN RIDGE) until May.  Long-time friends had joined us for our final week at WYNDHAM CYPRESS PALMS and, together, we made our way to the Carolina Low Country. Our time in Florida was everything we had hoped it would be.  The weather was always warm with more days in the 80s than 70s and plenty of sunshine.  The resort was excellent and the staff accommodating.  It will always be one of our favorites. But there's just something special about Ocean Ridge and Edisto Island. It's not for everyone but it is for us. It is a place that we treasure.

REFLECTIONS

The six-and-a-half-hour drive from Kissimmee, Florida, to Edisto Island, South Carolina, was nearly completed.  The road trip, with four weary travelers crammed into a small vehicle with all their luggage, was coming to an end.  As we made the final turn unto route 174, we knew that in a matter of thirty minutes or so we would arrive at WYNDHAM OCEAN RIDGE.

It was then that from the crowded back seat that I heard my wife of 54 years proclaim; "Every time we make that turn, I feel like a schoolgirl".  I am not exactly sure what she meant but I believe it was an expressed outpouring of anticipation of what was to come.

We have made that turn many times in the past 38 years and, after the first time, every time we feel like we are coming home. It's hard to explain but, for us, there is just something very special about our South Carolina Island.

Our friends will leave in the morning to head back to Michigan.  Other family members will show up later but in the meantime, we will just be at home.  We'll watch the dolphin play in the Sound, we'll walk down the shell covered beach, we'll watch both sunrises and sunsets (you can do that on an island), and we'll soak it all in. I have already booked several weeks for next year.  However, at our age, who knows what 12 months will hold.  Until then, we will cherish each moment.

What is it, where is it, in your life that you feel "like a schoolgirl".  Where is it that you genuinely look forward to being?  Find that place, that special place, go there often while you can, and be blessed.

Edisto Island Sunset

 

LOSING TRACK OF OTHERS (December 26, 2022 - January 26, 2023)

A Cypress Palms Sunset

                                                               

For the last thirty days we have been enjoying our life at the Wyndham Cypress Palms Resort in Kissimmee, Florida.  After the holidays and our ministry time in Alaska, it was nice to be able to just do nothing and do it well! My time was spent with morning walks, swimming, setting in the sun, and visiting the hot tub.  We did have some visitors as my daughter's family managed to slide out of Indiana and spend a few days in the sunshine state.

My brother and his wife came over from their winter place on Casey Key for two days.  It is always special to be able to spend some time together.  Gary is nine and a half years older than I am and has been the best big brother I guy could ever ask for.  

We have both been married for 50+ years.  I guess we are the exception to the norm these days.

                                         REFLECTION

     Sometimes when you are living in Florida you forget that winter exists.  You get so used to every day being sunny and warm that you lose track of the fact that it is cold and snowy in other parts of the country.  That happened to me yesterday when, while sitting on our lanai in 80-degree weather, I read that all three of my children would be experiencing a winter storm with high winds and up to ten inches of the white stuff (snow).

      It was a reminder that our response to situations in our lives change as we change.  I'm still me but, am a me that would no longer enjoy getting bundled up to go outside and shoot hoops.  I still like basketball but only what I can comfortably "watch" without much effort.  

     It was a reminder that in the midst of our personal journey we shouldn't become so wrapped up in our own world that we lose track of what others may be experiencing.  While our world might be filled with sunshine and palm trees, we need to always remember that there are others who may be struggling with storms.  There may be others who may be snowed in and unable to escape their surroundings. 

     The point is that whether we are "in the storm" or "in the calm", we should always be aware of others and their world.  The "Good Book" says it this way; "Rejoice with those that rejoice and weep with those who weep."  Wherever this day finds you, be thankful and be thoughtful.

KEEP THE FAITH (November 29-December 26, 2022)

 

It was nice to step out of the airport and into the warmth of the Florida sunshine.  Our mid-west stay between Alaska and Florida had come to an end and we looked forward to a relaxing, lengthy visit to WYNDHAM CYPRESS PALMS in Kissimmee.

Temperatures in the high 70s and low 80s greeted us and the heated pools and hot tubs beckoned us to wade in and enjoy their inviting waters. Time was spent walking the grounds and in the adjacent neighborhood.  Gators, soft shell turtles, and numerous birds made for wonderful photo opportunities.

One great thing about Cypress Palms is the proximity of grocery stores, drug stores, and restaurants. It is the perfect place to just hunker down and enjoy central Florida. I also got to speak one Sunday at the Florida Holiness Campgrounds.

                                        REFLECTIONS

By this time next week, it will be 2023! It is difficult to believe that we have been both retired for six plus years now.  Those years have pretty much gone as planned.  Oh, wait! Covid did throw us a curve or two didn't they!  For the most part though we made our reservations at Wyndham Resorts, stayed with family and friends, and spent a bunch of time serving various churches in Alaska!

It takes a good deal of faith to set up places to be over a year ahead of time! But that's what we do.  Right now, I am booking reservations in Pompano Beach, Florida for January 2024!  Will we actually end up there?  I would say, with the last six years as history, that there is a 90% chance that we will.

Faith is an interesting dynamic, isn't it? Every day we expend some faith. Faith that, when we turn the ignition switch in the car, it will start.  Faith that when the weatherman says it will be "sunny and in the 80s, that it will be a great day for a picnic.  Faith that your favorite college football team (GO BLUE) favored by several points will move on to the National Championship Game.

Sometimes our faith in things fails.  You turn the key, and nothing happens.  You plan the picnic, and it rains all day.  Your team gets thumped by T.C.U.!

When I got married, 53 years ago, I placed my faith in our pledge to each other that it was "till death do so part"!  Has our marriage been perfect? No, but we have remained "faithful" to each other.

When I chose to become a Christ-follower, I placed my faith in Him.  Has everything worked out just as I thought it would? No, but He has been faithful in every circumstance.

Might 2023 find us excited and full of faith that it will be our best year yet!  I, truly, believe that "the best is yet to come."

ON GIVING THANKS AND BEING TOGETHER (November 14 - 28, 2022)

The stand-by flights to Indiana went smoothly and we landed in the Hoosier state to prepare for the family gathering over Thanksgiving.  This year all of our crew (except Ethan) would make their way to Avon and Autumn's home for a time of just being together, eating an overwhelming amount of delicious food, and watching the Michigan/Ohio State Football game.This brief blog will cover that short time we spent together in Indiana before making our way to Kissimmee, Florida, and the WYNDHAM CYPRESS PALMS RESORT, where we will stay for thirteen weeks.  It will also be our opportunity to wish each reader a "Merry Christmas".  We trust that your holiday times are and will be as special as ours.

                                                                                             REFLECTIONS

First of all, where has all the time gone? As I looked around the family room and kitchen, I couldn't help but notice how old everyone else has become. Our three children are all over 40 and our oldest son will be a grandfather come February 2023!  How is that even possible? They are supposed to be children, anxiously awaiting Christmas gifts under the lighted tree. My grandchildren will soon all be graduated from High School and my oldest grandson, a father.Then I looked in the mirror hanging in the hallway and there was my father looking back at me. When did I become him? Even as I thought about it, I realized that now, at 74, I am 10 years older than he was when he passed.

Secondly, I was reminded that as we age, we develop habits, beliefs, and outlooks that are uniquely our own.  We are no longer the same as we were years ago.  That realization is highlighted in these times of family gathering and closeness. Although most of our time together was harmonious and enjoyable, there were those moments when there were tensions derived from our developed personalities, our likes and dislikes. I can't imagine that this balance between the pleasure of being together and the times of friction were only evident in our gathering. It's part of being individuals with differing concepts and ways of processing the world around us. It's also part of memories of childhood conflicts that continue to be points of contention.

Here's what I know for certain following our time together.  We love each other.  We tolerate each other. We only want the best for each other. We are richly blessed.

I also am proud of who my children and grandchildren are becoming.  And, at the risk of sounding too proud, I am proud of the job that Sherry and I did in parenting our three children. Are they perfect? No, but they are sure a blessing to many.

Then, there's "Indiana Jones".  In the midst of all the action and the loud cheering as Michigan clobbered Ohio State, he, somehow, managed to find sanctuary under the Christmas tree.

SIX YEARS AND COUNTING (October 12 - November 13, 2022)

We left our long-time friends behind in Pennsylvania and headed back to Indiana. The Hoosier state provided us a place to unpack and repack before heading west to Missouri.  Also, it was an opportunity to, one last time, watch our oldest granddaughter, Abigail, play High School Volleyball.  What a joy it has been to see her play for Avon High School's varsity team these past three years.  The Indiana fall weather was beautiful and it was good to be at our little cabin for a few days. Another well executed stand by flight day from Indianapolis to Atlanta to Springfield, Missouri, brought us to our son's home in Republic.  A choir concert and a marching band context (Branson, Missouri) gave us pause to reflect on this, also, being the last such events, we would see for our youngest grandson, Ethan.  He will be graduating from Republic High School in the spring.

We stayed the next two weeks in Branson at the WYNDHAM RESORT AT THE FALLS.  It

was a perfect time to catch our breath after being on the go since leaving Alaska.  The autumn colors in the Ozarks was awesome and the slow pace was much needed. The remainder of our time was spent back in Republic where I made almost daily trips to the Wilson's Creek National Battlefield.  There I enjoyed long walks and seeing nature up close and personal.  Encounters with white tail deer and turkeys always give me pleasure and great photo ops!

Now it's back to Indiana for a family Thanksgiving before heading to Florida (WYNDHAM CYPRESS PALMS) and South Carolina (WYNDHAM OCEAN RIDGE) for the following 23 weeks.

REFLECTIONS

 

The pages of the calendar keep on turning.  It has been right at six years now that we have
been retired and living our nomadic lifestyle.  It certainly has had its challenges but overall has pretty much been what we had hoped for.  It has provided us with the opportunity to enjoy travel and to experience the beauty of life. We have been blessed to have good enough health to keep up with all that is required to get from place to place.  Some have asked how long we plan to continue our unusual journey.  Our reply is, simply, as long as we can.

It is a blend of being free to travel and being able to experience the joy of family.  Frankly, I think we've done a pretty good job.  I am not sure that we would change anything in how the past six years have worked out.

There certainly have been surprises like, being able to spend six months in Alaska this year.  But, for the most part this, golden years, adventure has gone as planned.  We will take it one day at a time until we can no longer feel good about our ability to continue our chosen path.  Until then, it's full speed ahead into 2023 and beyond.  Glad you can join us.