"When you see the ocean and the infinite, it empties your mind." - Ilaiyaraaja

 

We finally got to go on a winter vacation again; the last time was in 2018! It has been way too long. Since Rick had never seen the ocean, we decided to go east. We packed the camper van and took three days to get to Hunting Island, South Carolina. 

We stayed at Hunting Island State Park, just outside of Beaufort, South Carolina. 

Our first day there was the warmest day. When we got there, it was 68 degrees and sunny. Rick was finally able to see the ocean and dip his feet in. It was a little too chilly to go swimming. 

The campsite was great, lots of room and quiet. 

We loved the campgrounds! We met several people who told us it was the best SC state campgrounds on the coast. I was glad that all my research was correct. 

There was a beautiful hiking trail that we went on a couple of times. 

We also went to the lighthouse that is being fixed, so we were unable to go up in it. 

They have a trail that went into the marsh. The Marsh was endless.

We also visited the nature center at the park. 

 

We hiked out to an island that's been devastated by erosion and hurricane damage over the years. 

We took the bikes to the beach. It was a very windy day, but we had a lot of fun biking in the sand. 

We went to Port Royal Cypress Wetlands and Rockery. It was pretty with all the Spanish moss in the trees. We even got to see an alligator 

We hopped on the Spanish Moss Bike trail in Port Royal and biked to Beaufort. We biked a total of 17.58 miles that day. It was so fun, and the trail was great. 

The next day, it rained intermittently. We visited the historic district in Beaufort, where we explored the shops and saw some of the beautiful historic homes. 

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Since Rick was unable to make pizza for two weeks, we had to stop at a local pizza place for lunch. 

We went to a local seafood restaurant, The Seaside Bar & Grill 

It was so good!! 

On our last day, we did a 5-mile hike on the beach. 

We went to a local fish company and got 6 pounds of local caught shrimp to bring home. The shrimp is so good! 

We took one last bike ride before we had to pack up for home. 

The trip was a much-needed getaway from the stress and sadness of the last two years. It was also great to get away from all the awful things happening within our government. We did our best to stay off the news and pretend that all was right in the world. 

We had such a great time. We spent 10 days in the camper van. It was the longest trip we have taken with her. We are excited to take even longer trips with her. We are already planning next winter's getaway. 

Travel now...

Sharon 

"One Who Sleeps Under A Quilt Is Covered With Love"

 While going through Mom's things, I was told I had to take all the sewing items since I was the only one who sewed anymore.  I ended up with 5 totes of fabric scraps. For the last year, I have gone through those fabric scraps several times and tried to whittle them down. Finally, a couple of weeks ago, I did it. Mom had always said she wanted to make a quilt out of the fabric, so I decided that was what I needed to do. I went through the fabric again, picked out what I wanted, and cut out enough squares to make two quilts for the beds in the campervan. The fabric was from the 60's, 70's and 80's. It brings back so many memories of the clothes mom made for us and the clothes I sewed for myself. 

I am sharing some photos of myself and my sisters wearing some of the clothes that mom made and the leftover fabric that is now in my quilt. 

Mom always lined us up on the stairs for pictures. 

My first communion dress.

Easter coats

I believe this picture was taken at my Grandma Becker's home. It is me in green and several of my cousins. I am pretty sure we are all wearing clothing our moms sewed for us. 

The era of Holly Hobby 

I was in 5th grade when I made this dress. It was always one of my favorites. 

The halter tops of the 70's. And to think we did not wear a bra! Such scandal at the time. 

Matching Easter dresses

Mom made me this dress in just a couple of days when I needed it for a play I was in at school. The play was the musical Oklahoma. In 1979 or 1980

I love this picture of Diane trying to get me unstuck from the highchair. I also love the fabric of Dianne's outfit. I believe I had a dress in the same fabric, but I could not find a picture. 

I made the above outfit for 4-H. I made it in the court of honor with that outfit. 

A couple more pictures of me and my cousins at the 4-H dress review in outfits we all made. 

 

You can see a lot of the above fabrics in the quilts and pillow shams I made. 

I had never made a quilt before,  so there was a learning curve. Mistakes were made, and the quilts may be a little crooked 😂 But I love them. So many memories come flooding back every time I look at them.  

I have them in the camper, waiting for our next adventure. Now, I feel like I am taking Mom with us everywhere we go. 

 I am going to change the subject at the end of my blog. I love writing my blog; it is a way to express what is on my mind and share my life. I started blogging in 2007 and have written hundreds of posts.  My posts range from fun and silly to meaningful and sad. I try to be honest and heartfelt in everything I write. 

When I joined social media, I stopped blogging as much. It was easier to write a few words or post a photo on Facebook or Instagram.  It was a great way to connect with people and not put much effort into it. But I missed blogging and have come back to it. At the same time, I have come to really dislike social media. The good things that drew me to do it are becoming less and less. There is so much hate and misinformation on it. And the Meta machine is just too much for me. I have deleted my Instagram account, and I am going to deactivate my Facebook account shortly. I will likely be deleting that, too. 

This is the last time I will be linking my blog on Facebook. If you enjoy reading it, you will have to bookmark it and come over and see if I have posted anything new. If you want to contact me, you will have to call, text, or email me.

So, thank you to whoever has enjoyed reading my blogs, and I hope you continue to do so. 

Until next time

Sharon