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Sue's January 2023 Hilton Head Trip - Day 1 of 6
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Sue/WDW1972
Jan 11, 2023, 8:14:37 PM1/11/23
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DAY 1 – Wednesday 1/11/23
Who: Sue (64), DVC Member
Holli (58), friend & co-worker
Vickie (58), Holli’s best friend & college roommate
Plan: Drive to HHI, Kroger, Poseidon
Actual: This morning Holli & I both worked until 10. I pulled out of my driveway at 10:02, stopped at her house and we were on the road by 10:06. This is definitely an advantage to living at work – getting on the road sooner! The drive was easy, with great weather and no traffic. We arrived at the resort just before 2.
The cast member checking us in was very nice and I was getting my hopes up that our grand villa was actually ready, but she soon dashed those hopes. Someone on the resort facebook page mentioned they were checking out of the grand villa in building 18 today. That’s the one we had last year, and the only one that faces the marsh, so I was optimistic that we’d get that one. There are only 5 grand villas, so what are the odds more than one would be turning over on a Wednesday?
We left the car parked at Live Oak Lodge and walked over to Shelter Cove. Holli really likes the specialty food store there so we browsed in there and talked briefly with the owner. He recognized me as having been in there before. We walked to the end of the marina then turned around to head back. Holli suggested stopping at Top Dawg Café for a glass of wine while we waited, so that’s what we did.
They had the vinyl flaps down and the heaters on so it was warm and toasty in there! It wasn’t happy hour yet but we each ordered a glass of their house wines and I caught up with work emails on my phone. Vickie had gotten on the road from her chemo appointment at 10:30 and tested to indicate her estimated arrival time was 4pm. Just before 3:30 I got the “room is ready” text, so we gave Vickie the room number and told her to meet us at the resort.
Holli & I walked back to the resort, got the car and drove over to park by building 16. I didn’t like the parking options there so I parked between 14 & 15. We loaded everything onto one of the wooden carts and headed to the building we’d had last year, thinking that’s where we were staying. First the key didn’t work on the first level room, but I remembered the grand villa entrance is on the second floor. We went up there and spotted the basket of firewood and “knew” we were in the right place. The key didn’t work here either. Then we noticed this was building 18 and our villa is in building 16.
We went back downstairs with our stuff and moved the cart over to 16, and this time the key unlocked the door. I think this might be the villa I had with SB, Chris & Amanda and SB’s daughter & husband back when the grandsons were 18 months old. I took pictures for facebook and we moved all of our stuff inside. We weren’t able to fully unpack before Vickie arrived. She got her stuff moved inside and we left to walk over to Poseidon, arriving about 4:30.
They had a pretty decent crowd at the Nauti Bar but we were able to get a nice table. Vickie caught us up on the latest cancer stuff, and we each ordered a glass of wine. She’s very realistic and appreciative that she’s here – she’s been looking forward to this trip all year but couldn’t be certain she’d be here. That’s not being morbid – it’s just reality. We’re glad she’s doing well!
Holli & I ordered from the happy hour menu, while Vickie ordered the sushi from the regular menu (repeating what she got last year). Holli got 3 Virginia oysters and 3 Northeast oysters and shared them with Vickie. Holli & I each got the pimento cheese spread w/naan bread. Vickie tried it and liked it as well. Overall everything was excellent! Holli & I both had pimento cheese and naan bread leftover, which we took “to go”. We walked over to Kroger and got the remaining groceries – mostly cheese & charcuterie, but a package of gooey chocolate chip cookies ended up in the cart somehow. I’ll admit, my dna is on the package.
After checking out we walked back to the resort. The paths in Hilton Head are not illuminated so Holli used the flashlight on her phone while Vickie & I each carried a bag of groceries. Everything was going fine until we got back to the resort. As we were walking down the stairs after the bridge and out to the walkway at the marina I evidently tripped rather than stepping up and went flying slow motion towards the railing. They fully expected me to recover and come out of it, but that didn't happen. I fell into the fence, which kept me from falling into the water. In the process, what was in the bag I was carrying got scattered on the ground. Holli & Vickie both came over and helped turn me over so I could sit upright and we sat there for a while until I felt I could move again.
Back at the villa I went to my room to assess the damage – bleeding bruise near left elbow, nonbleeding bruise nearby, both knees had multiple scrapes/bruises and most likely will feel pretty stiff tomorrow. Deep inhalations hurt a bit on the right side, and a finger was bleeding. Overall it’s all superficial stuff – nothing seems to be broken, and for that I’m thankful.
We regrouped in the living room and Vickie had brough Holli’s Christmas gift and brought me a gift to thank me for including her in the trip. Both were wordworking items she’d made – she’s so talented! Mine are wind chimes, which will be great when we retire back to Ft Myers. Holli had brought Vickie’s Christmas gift – a photo book capturing their time together since college. She loved it!
I started working on the report, but paused to give them gifts I’d brought for each of them. We enjoy puzzles, and Dowdle puzzles are the best. I’d gotten one of Savannah for Vickie and one of St Maarten for Holli. We’ll probably work on them both this trip.
One interesting/valuable thing I learned from Vickie is since she’s been on the cancer meds her hair has been thinning. I’m 4.75 years into a 5-year regimen of taking Tamoxifen to reduce the risk of recurrence of my cancer. I’ve had major issues with bruising at the slightest touch, leaving ugly bruises that last 2 weeks. My hair is also getting ridiculously thin. I recently found out both of these issues could be side effects of the tamoxifen. I see the oncologist later this month so I plan to bring this up and will probably just stop taking it. The marginal benefits are not worth these costs, if that’s what’s causing it.
We spent a lazy evening at home – didn’t even build a fire! I think we were all a bit tired after traveling, and we need to be up early tomorrow. Today was a great start to the trip, other than my silly attempt at crashing through the fence into the marina water. We’re all very happy to be here and have settled right back into where we left off last year. Poseidon was wonderful, as always.
Tomorrow we have a dolphin tour called Dolphins & Donuts at 9am, lunch at Hudson’s, and will have a fellow DVC owner who’s here right now over for wine in the evening.
Sue/WDW1972
Who: Sue (64), DVC Member
Holli (58), friend & co-worker
Vickie (58), Holli’s best friend & college roommate
Plan: Drive to HHI, Kroger, Poseidon
Actual: This morning Holli & I both worked until 10. I pulled out of my driveway at 10:02, stopped at her house and we were on the road by 10:06. This is definitely an advantage to living at work – getting on the road sooner! The drive was easy, with great weather and no traffic. We arrived at the resort just before 2.
The cast member checking us in was very nice and I was getting my hopes up that our grand villa was actually ready, but she soon dashed those hopes. Someone on the resort facebook page mentioned they were checking out of the grand villa in building 18 today. That’s the one we had last year, and the only one that faces the marsh, so I was optimistic that we’d get that one. There are only 5 grand villas, so what are the odds more than one would be turning over on a Wednesday?
We left the car parked at Live Oak Lodge and walked over to Shelter Cove. Holli really likes the specialty food store there so we browsed in there and talked briefly with the owner. He recognized me as having been in there before. We walked to the end of the marina then turned around to head back. Holli suggested stopping at Top Dawg Café for a glass of wine while we waited, so that’s what we did.
They had the vinyl flaps down and the heaters on so it was warm and toasty in there! It wasn’t happy hour yet but we each ordered a glass of their house wines and I caught up with work emails on my phone. Vickie had gotten on the road from her chemo appointment at 10:30 and tested to indicate her estimated arrival time was 4pm. Just before 3:30 I got the “room is ready” text, so we gave Vickie the room number and told her to meet us at the resort.
Holli & I walked back to the resort, got the car and drove over to park by building 16. I didn’t like the parking options there so I parked between 14 & 15. We loaded everything onto one of the wooden carts and headed to the building we’d had last year, thinking that’s where we were staying. First the key didn’t work on the first level room, but I remembered the grand villa entrance is on the second floor. We went up there and spotted the basket of firewood and “knew” we were in the right place. The key didn’t work here either. Then we noticed this was building 18 and our villa is in building 16.
We went back downstairs with our stuff and moved the cart over to 16, and this time the key unlocked the door. I think this might be the villa I had with SB, Chris & Amanda and SB’s daughter & husband back when the grandsons were 18 months old. I took pictures for facebook and we moved all of our stuff inside. We weren’t able to fully unpack before Vickie arrived. She got her stuff moved inside and we left to walk over to Poseidon, arriving about 4:30.
They had a pretty decent crowd at the Nauti Bar but we were able to get a nice table. Vickie caught us up on the latest cancer stuff, and we each ordered a glass of wine. She’s very realistic and appreciative that she’s here – she’s been looking forward to this trip all year but couldn’t be certain she’d be here. That’s not being morbid – it’s just reality. We’re glad she’s doing well!
Holli & I ordered from the happy hour menu, while Vickie ordered the sushi from the regular menu (repeating what she got last year). Holli got 3 Virginia oysters and 3 Northeast oysters and shared them with Vickie. Holli & I each got the pimento cheese spread w/naan bread. Vickie tried it and liked it as well. Overall everything was excellent! Holli & I both had pimento cheese and naan bread leftover, which we took “to go”. We walked over to Kroger and got the remaining groceries – mostly cheese & charcuterie, but a package of gooey chocolate chip cookies ended up in the cart somehow. I’ll admit, my dna is on the package.
After checking out we walked back to the resort. The paths in Hilton Head are not illuminated so Holli used the flashlight on her phone while Vickie & I each carried a bag of groceries. Everything was going fine until we got back to the resort. As we were walking down the stairs after the bridge and out to the walkway at the marina I evidently tripped rather than stepping up and went flying slow motion towards the railing. They fully expected me to recover and come out of it, but that didn't happen. I fell into the fence, which kept me from falling into the water. In the process, what was in the bag I was carrying got scattered on the ground. Holli & Vickie both came over and helped turn me over so I could sit upright and we sat there for a while until I felt I could move again.
Back at the villa I went to my room to assess the damage – bleeding bruise near left elbow, nonbleeding bruise nearby, both knees had multiple scrapes/bruises and most likely will feel pretty stiff tomorrow. Deep inhalations hurt a bit on the right side, and a finger was bleeding. Overall it’s all superficial stuff – nothing seems to be broken, and for that I’m thankful.
We regrouped in the living room and Vickie had brough Holli’s Christmas gift and brought me a gift to thank me for including her in the trip. Both were wordworking items she’d made – she’s so talented! Mine are wind chimes, which will be great when we retire back to Ft Myers. Holli had brought Vickie’s Christmas gift – a photo book capturing their time together since college. She loved it!
I started working on the report, but paused to give them gifts I’d brought for each of them. We enjoy puzzles, and Dowdle puzzles are the best. I’d gotten one of Savannah for Vickie and one of St Maarten for Holli. We’ll probably work on them both this trip.
One interesting/valuable thing I learned from Vickie is since she’s been on the cancer meds her hair has been thinning. I’m 4.75 years into a 5-year regimen of taking Tamoxifen to reduce the risk of recurrence of my cancer. I’ve had major issues with bruising at the slightest touch, leaving ugly bruises that last 2 weeks. My hair is also getting ridiculously thin. I recently found out both of these issues could be side effects of the tamoxifen. I see the oncologist later this month so I plan to bring this up and will probably just stop taking it. The marginal benefits are not worth these costs, if that’s what’s causing it.
We spent a lazy evening at home – didn’t even build a fire! I think we were all a bit tired after traveling, and we need to be up early tomorrow. Today was a great start to the trip, other than my silly attempt at crashing through the fence into the marina water. We’re all very happy to be here and have settled right back into where we left off last year. Poseidon was wonderful, as always.
Tomorrow we have a dolphin tour called Dolphins & Donuts at 9am, lunch at Hudson’s, and will have a fellow DVC owner who’s here right now over for wine in the evening.
Sue/WDW1972
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