The fun started when we decided to go Christmas shopping Friday morning. Actually, I decided to shop, Jers agreed to go along. I thought I was way ahead of the season but I couldn't have been more wrong. The Hilton Head Tanger Outlet is already decorated for Christmas. No fall or Thanksgiving decorations anywhere. Whodathunkit? We ate our lunch beside a beautifully decorated Christmas tree sheltering a collection of snowmen. Cute...but...what happened to fall? Not even one leaf or pumpkin! I took my camera along and not only forgot to take pictures, I forgot the camera at the restaurant. Thanks to Jerry, the keeper of my mind and my camera, it was missed hours later and retrieved. Taking pictures never entered my mind. My one track brain was shouting "SHOP" all afternoon. By the time we got close to home it was dark and as we wound our way through people the last mile, it was obvious there was a par-ta goin' on!
Our little island was transformed. Usual serenity drifted away with the tide and this place rocked! Sounds of music drifted down the road and the air was full of mouth watering aromas. The fact we'd had a late lunch was forgotten. Cooking of the worlds best deep fried shrimp, fish, oysters, crab and low country stew had our senses working overtime and we had to investigate. Our noses didn't steer us wrong. All the seafood was local and delicious! I'd tell you we went back for seconds if I wasn't embarrassed.
Saturday brought more of the same along with tons of homemade goodies and the usual vendor food that was soooo tempting. Heritage Days Celebration was the reason for the festivities which is a once a year weekend long celebration of the Gullah culture. The Gullah's are African American descendants of slaves from South Carolina's low country. Thousands of people converged on Penn Center, here on the island, from everywhere. Now a historical site and museum, Penn Center was the first school for freed slaves. It also happens to be where Martin Luther King, Jr. drafted his "I have a Dream" speech in a little cottage on the campus. The Penn Center web site http://www.penncenter.com/ is a great place to spend some time.
Jerry and I were honored to have the opportunity to meet Mr. Jonathan Green, well known local artist. His beautiful work is a history lesson to island life at an earlier time. Google him too! Mr. Green illustrated the children's book "Amadeus : The Leghorn Rooster" written by our neighbor, Delores B. Nevils. The story is true and she really does live in the quaint little cottage with 26 windows and a red roof depicted in her book. Ms. Nevils was kind enough to invite us to go to the Saturday morning parade with she and Mr.Green. He is as delightful and pleasant as he is talented. He was recognized often and was most accommodating to everyone who came up to talk to him or ask for pictures. Thousands of people lined the street for the parade and afterwards formed huge lines of polite, laughing, patient people. They waited for tickets, food and rides for the children. Martin Luther King, Jr. must have had a vision of such a day when he drafted his speech in little Gantt cottage across the road.
After we watched the parade and some great talent on the outdoor center stage, Jers found HUGE brats smothered in peppers and onions. My calorie booster was bar-b-qued ribs. YUM-ME! Feeling fat and happy, we left the party early to cheer on our Buckeyes. Good thing we did as they started a little slow. Well, no, that's not exactly true. They started WAY slow! Once the Buckeye flag was flying on the porch, the "whirlie" was out and we were settled in front of the TV with our OSU shirts on....things started to shape up and they finished up winners. It was a nice end to a beautiful day.
Jerry grilled after church today and took Grace for a run with the bike. I had the hard job of taking a nap. We spent the day watching football and being lazy after a weekend that made my heart happy. The one flaw was Sunday's Steelers game. Perfection 3 days in a row is hard to achieve.....just sayin'!Thanks for stopping by and until I see you again, enjoy your days!
Love, love your stories, more please.
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