Hilton Head Island: two islands

        I arrived at Skull Creek late yesterday afternoon.

        In preparation for the renovations, Carol and I moved everything, which wasn’t much, from the condo to the external storage closet.  It took me about a half hour to move the bare essentials, such as the inflatable mattress and the martini shaker, back inside. 

        In my absence the carpet was removed exposing a heavily cracked 1” layer of concrete, a small section of which had also been removed, resulting in a pile of rubble.  This did not bother me.  I knew I was entering a construction zone.

        I am told that a square foot of concrete 1” thick weighs 12 pounds.  It is going to be replaced with two  layers of ¾” plywood which I am told will weight 2 pounds per square foot.  Over the plywood will go hardwood flooring which will add some weight, but basically we are going to take more than 7 tons out of this building.

        I turned on the main water switch and the refrigerator, hoping it would make ice quickly enough to chill martinis.  It did.

        I moved one wicker chair from the screened porch, where we had stowed them under a cover.  No work is going to be done there.  Showered and then made a video call to Carol.

        The welcoming sound of ice clunking into its catchment tray led me to the kitchen, and with the resulting martini, I took a Sportaseat and sat on the terrace.

        The sun is decidedly farther north than it was when we left seven weeks ago.  The tide was high.  Water rippled by a light breeze and turning gold in the lowering sun was only fifteen or twenty yards away .  The only sound was the wind blowing through the trees and moss.

        I slept last night with the windows and doors open.  I thought my sleeping bag might be too heavy, but a cool breeze blew in from the creek.

        This morning I biked to the marina.

       

        GANNET is as clean as I have ever found her upon returning anywhere.   Down below there was maybe a half inch of water in the bilge.  The depthfinder works.  So does the wind display.

        The necessary permits for the condo renovation have just been obtained.  Serious work begins Monday, so I will be living aboard again starting Sunday.

       

        From the marina I biked to a supermarket.  There are three about 4 miles away.  I can get to all of them on bike paths, but the ride to one is prettier and I usually go there, even though it is slightly more expensive than the others.

        Late afternoon again.  I’ve been here twenty-four hours.  The windows and doors are still open.  Shorts and t-shirt weather.  Sunny and in the 70sF/about 25C.

        I had wondered if I would like it here as much as I remembered.  I do.

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        The NY TIMES has an article, The Whisky Chronicles, of another island dear to my heart, 26º of latitude north and 75º of longitude east of Hilton Head:  Islay, Scotland, home of Laphroaig and other fine, if inferior, single malt whiskies.

I did not know that more Scotch whisky is sold than that produced by the United States, Canada and Ireland combined.  A rare sign of human intelligence.

Inexplicably the author did not visit Laphroaig.

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  Time to shower and take advantage of ice while I have it.