Had a pretty productive morning so far. I got up just before 7 and ran for 35 minutes. Downtown, through Big Spring Park, around the Embassy Suites, across the new bridge, past the post office, and back home.

Then I worked on the flower beds for 2 hours. TWO HOURS. My legs are achy -- not from running but from 2 hours of doing squats (i.e., weeding.)

I went on the "hidden gardens of Olde Town" tour last week. I noticed a garden where a woman had painted a mural on a really ugly garage (like mine -- it's sheet metal.) Now I want art on my garage. I am not an artist, but I want something really funky. Maybe I could do funky? What I need (a-hem) is some really talented graffiti artists to take over and paint me something really cool.... Since it faces inside my fenced-in yard, I don't have to deal with the historic commission.... I suppose I should run the idea by Jeff, but if someone WANTED a really awesome spot to paint, you know, where it would be appreciated all the time, (KUNI), I know of such a spot...!

I spent much of the day yesterday indoors. I'm not terribly burned, but I was red enough that I didn't want to deepen from hot pink to crimson. We had our first showers here yesterday. Nice timing for our no-beach day. Bad timing since we had decided to hit the outlets! The shopping was okay -- typical beach outlets. Elyse bought a sundress. I stopped by Barnes & Noble and bought more books! (It sucks to run out of reading material while on vacation!)

Last night, against Mike's objections, we went out for dinner. Dined at The Salty Dog on South Beach, then hit the playground at the lighthouse. I found a Christmas ornament store, so bought a Hilton Head lighthouse for the tree. Came home in time for the kids to hit the pool for a final dip. No sun at night and the pool is heated, so no problems with night swimming.

This morning, we plan to bike to the mini-golf course. We just needed a destination, and checking mini-golf out seemed like a good plan!

After a VERY LONG DAY, we are crashed out in a 3 bedroom condo on a golf course on Hilton Head Island. The condo is beautiful, but we're not directly on the beach. We're close enough, and there's a bike trail to get there. There's a lagoon with alligators. This makes me happy. It brings back memories of tormenting the gators on vacation when we were kids. (We threw empty Coke cans to them. They'd snap at the cans, then get mad and chase us. It probably wasn't the smartest way to spend time on the island... Of course, I always knew that I biked faster than Darren. Sacrificial lamb and all that.)

Tonight we chill. Tomorrow we chill. The next day we chill. (Sensing a pattern here?) I read one book on the way down here. I brought 3 others with me. I'm perfectly happy to buy more or borrow from Elyse if I run out.

I love vacation.