Gorgeous Fairways

Today I spent most of the day outside for work. Couldn't have been better. Beautiful blue skies and white puffy clouds. Breezes from the Calibogue Sound and the Atlantic Ocean blowing. Sparkling waters for viewing in so many instances.

And...lush green fairways. I was working out on the golf courses around Hilton Head (no, not playing golf but just working on them...) and was really taken by how beautiful the scenery all around me was.

On Hilton Head Island we have so many amazing courses with gorgeous views. Vibrant green contours against a back drop of live oaks and tall swaying sea pines. Undulating terrains with various shrubs and tall grasses to soften the edges. Lagoons with snowy egrets in their rookeries, blue herons and the not so shy alligators lurking suspiciously.

If I were a golfer, I would love this place.

Racoons

Tonight I saw baby racoons and their mother in the hollow of a live oak tree, overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway at sunset. It was a pretty wonderful thing.

Purple

This past weekend my best friend bought me tickets to go with her and see The Color Purple Broadway musical in Atlanta. It was a fantastic production, and I am so glad I went. Going really meant a lot to her, as she is in love with Broadway, and it made me very happy to join in with something so important to her.

The Color Purple...What an intense but awesome story. I had never watched the full movie because it is hard for me to see that type of intensity on film.---Pain and hardship. Hatred. Cruelty. ...But then ...love...and eventual redemption.

The musical hit me in a lot of ways, but one of the ideas was about the color - purple - hence the name. At one point in the drama the main character says something to the effect of, "I think God gets upset when we walk by the color purple in a field, as in a purple flower, and don't recognize how beautiful it is. With purple, God says to us, "I made that color just for you."

Well, I went walking while in Atlanta on Sunday morning after the show and I noticed all of the 'purple' along the way...lots of various purple flowers here and there in people's yards, along the roadside, etc. So bright and vibrant. A truly poignant color.

And then this morning while running, home on Hilton Head, I took extra notice of the little purple wild flowers (I think they are passion flowers) along the bike path and of the purple crepe myrtle at the entrance to my condo.

When I used to live in Colorado, the purple Columbine, Lupine and Paintbrush that would bloom in Crested Butte every summer were absolutely spectacular, and looking at a field of them would take my breath away.

I believe that God really did make the color purple - just for us. Why else would He make it? And, it graces us in the sky, too. But I also know this...and my devotional talked about this today ...that flowers wouldn't exist without the rain. That purple skies are often the remainder of a cloudy day.

Rain brings eventual joy... So be it in life. Good times are often measured as 'so good' ...only when compared to the bad.

God brings beauty out of pain.

Hilton Head Island boasts lots of gorgeous 'purple' right now during the summer. Go find it.

Walking on the beach

Tonight I went for a walk on the beach after work. It was really nice. Calm. Gentle. Peaceful. I hadn't done this in a few weeks, and because I am more and more on a regular training schedule now for my marathon, I am consequently running a lot before work, skipping evening walks.

However, today was my "rest" day and I didn't run this AM and was just dying, almost craving, to be outside afterwork. So tonight I walked.

Walking is another joy that I am recalling here in this blog because it is truly so wonderful to do on Hilton Head. Yet everytime I go walking on the beach, I am so surprised that I don't see more people out there doing it with me. I personally am fulfilled everytime. Up until I began all of this running, I walked on the beach regularly-- about 5 times a week--at least! Long, hour walks that would exercise my body and refresh my spirit. Making time for me to think and to dialogue with the Lord. Creating time for my eyes to ingest the vibrant, radiant colors of the earth, sea and sky...the greens, blues, tans, browns, and greys of the land...and the fiery oranges or fuschias of the setting-sun above.

I can't fathom existing on Hilton Head Island, or anywhere for that matter, and not spending time outdoors. It blows my mind people who choose to stay inside ALL the time, epcecially here. And, in referencing my earlier blog regarding the 'ocean swim 'afterwork, my exclamation of "I should really do this more" was not about me NOT getting outside, because I get outside all the time. It was about swimming...in the ocean. And not taking advantage of that specifically.

So, hopefully I will do that more, swim (or surf!). And, also, even with all of this running, I want to keep walking. And now that most of my evenings are free, I hope that I will walk in the evenings, even if not very far (a nice stroll). Maximizing our fantastic summer. Enjoying the beach in the waning sunlight and feeling the soothing salty air (like the salt water!) - how life-giving, wonderful and great.

After work - ocean swim

Yesterday was a long emotional day at work. Long meetings and long conversations. It all turned out well in the end, but had me spent. So, after work, all I could think about was being outside...and going to the beach and swimming in the ocean began calling my name. So I went!

I don't do this enough living here, after work, and there is no excuse really-- especially in the summer! I live on Hilton Head Island, and should do this all the time. Where else in typical USA can you go swimming in the Atlantic Ocean afterwork? When I was in Atlanta, I definitely couldn't do this...I was usually stuck in traffic for at least an hour everyday.

Well, going to the beach last night was refreshing and relaxing and wonderful. Thank God, literally, that I live here. I am blessed and very grateful. I swam in the salty, soothing water, I took a nice walk to check out the Folly and its topographic changes since I last studied it 20 years ago (a peculiar spot on the Hilton Head Island beach...what I call a "geomorphic special spot" on the island) and then I sat in my chair with my towel wrapped around me and just listened to the gentle waves and the sound of the ocean breeze. Magnificent.

Ahh..the beauty of this place...my home...Hilton Head Island.

Jessica's First Day Surfing

Here is an acount of my first day surfing on Hilton Head Island:

"I had an incredible time surfing (learning how to surf) yesterday. I was thrashed around in the waves like a rag doll (at Burke's Beach with a lot of wind and big waves). Made me feel like I was a kid again, playing in the waves at the Shipyard Beach. Sooo much fun. I was laughing almost the whole time. And I am worn out still!"

Well, I am not worn out anymore but am looking forward to doing this again. What a wonderful thing to do on Hilton Head! If you read this blog and are visiting the island, you should stop by Sunny Daze surf shop and request a lesson. Hilton Head IS actually a place where you can surf! The conditions, from what I understand, have to be right, but no doubt a lot of fun if you can catch the right waves and the right timing.