Surreal

Another week down here on Hilton Head Island; I still can’t believe I only have 5 weeks left! This whole experience has, and continues, to fly by. I have created a bucket list of things I must do before I leave this beautiful and fun area. I can’t believe how much there is to do, how much I have done, and that there is still so much on the list!

As usual this weekend was loads of fun. For the 4th the girls and I headed to Harbor Town which is right on the water where a bunch of yachts are docked. The sizes of these yachts are, for a lack of a better term, amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing! I’m not sure they can even be qualified as yachts; “mansion that happens to float on the water” would suffice. A friend of mine that I met down here said that one year he saw a “yacht” that had two jet-skis and a HELICPOTOR on it! Ridiculous.

We spent the evening walking around the marina and popped into all of the cute, touristy shops. There was live music, fun games, and plenty of food to celebrate the holiday. Before the fireworks we watched the sunset over the horizon. I have some incredible photos that I will try to upload ASAP! This sunset was like no other one I had seen before; truly stunning. Vibrant blues, pinks, and yellows streaked across the sky as though I had dipped my finger in paint and pressed it directly over the clouds.

There is so much going on here at the institute it is near impossible to sneak away for some alone time. Every couple of days when I bike down to the beach after work and see that the sand and ocean is once again waiting for me I can’t help but smile. This is the most incredible way to spend a summer; lots of work accompanied by lots of play! The sand feels like flour between my toes and the water as warm as bath water. As I watch the waves crash over evening swimmers and the diving pelicans chasing their dinner, I can’t help but think how surreal this whole experience has been. Before I left Washington I kept saying, “it hasn’t hit me yet that I’ve been accepted to something this amazing, I can’t believe I’m going there!” Now that I’m here, and have been here for 11 weeks I find myself continually saying “I can’t believe I have been accepted to something this amazing, I can’t believe I AM here!”

Be looking for photos, I’m going to try and post them soon! Love and miss everyone bunches!