January 2025

Weather: 35° and cloudy. Calm winds. Threatened wintry mix, but luckily it held off.

Exercise: 3.0 miles with Teddi on the Causeway path.

Weather: 34° and cloudy.  Snow flurries threatened with little snow accumulation. Strong winds last night into the morning. 56° and fair in Beaufort, SC.

Exercise: none. Getting ready to travel.

Weather: overcast and 30° with a light wind.

Exercise: none. Hooked the trailer up to the car. It went much easier than I expected. Loaded up the trailer and the car.

Weather: 20° and bitter cold with a stiff wind.

Exercise: none.

Musing

Got on the road about 9:00 am this morning. We drove south down the back way, Route 7 to Route 22A, in Vermont. When we hit Rutland, we look Route 4 across into NY, then we used a couple of connector roads to hook up with Highway 87 south to the NYC area. We spent the night in New Brunswick, N. J.

It was smooth sailing all the way, The consternation that has stuck in my craw about pulling a loaded cargo trailer for several months was for naught. I laid in bed on more than one occasion, since we purchased the trailer, worrying and fretting about the process. I keep telling myself that if the simple geezers I see driving bus sized RVs, towing a small car, can do it, then this geezer should be able to tow a 10×5 trailer without incident.

So far so good.

Weather: New Brunswick NJ, 26° and cloudy. 44° and sunny in Roanoke Rapids, NC. 57° and fair in Beaufort, SC.

Exercise: none

Musing

It was a long day on the road in fine weather that was forecasted to get bad in the late afternoon. What should have been a six-hour drive to Roanoke Rapids, NC turned into a nine-hour drive, an hour and a half of which was spent sitting in a traffic jam fifteen miles from our hotel.

We were sailing along when we spied columns of dark smoke rising directly above the trees, then moving almost horizontally over the tops of the forest because a moderate wind carried it away from the highway. Hard to guess distances, but we think it was about half a mile directly ahead of us.

It did not take long for both lanes to come to a complete stop. Soon after, we could hear the sounds of sirens. Moments later I could see the lights in my passenger side-view mirror. One after another, five ladder trucks, two ambulances, and a couple of police cars, siren and horns blaring, sped by us in the break down lane. About thirty minutes later, two flatbed trucks followed the other vehicles up the shoulder to the accident site.

Over an hour after the traffic was halted in the southbound lanes of highway 95, we saw two ambulances traveling north. Each had its emergency lights on, but with their sirens silenced. Both Jill and I commented that it seemed eerie; it implied that there was no living cargo on board. That is dark, but after we saw the accident site we felt confirmed in our supposition. Shortly after the rescue vehicles passed, the traffic slowly started move again on highway 95 in the southbound lanes.

As we passed the accident site we saw one vehicle, still on the pavement, completely burned to a crisp. A second vehicle was on a flat bed and it looked twisted and cooked, too. Sobering.

Weather: 32° and a light freezing rain. we will be travel delayed about two hours until the temperature raises a couple of degrees.

Exercise: none.

Musing

Dicey drive this morning. Once the temperature rose above 33° the tension dissipated in my neck and shoulders from worrying about possible ice on the roads. Fortunately, there was no ice. The rest of the day was the normal tedium and monotony caused by driving in the rain.

Once we reached the low country in South Carolina the change in topography is immediately apparent and we began to see Spanish moss hanging from the trees, catching the eye as it blew gently in the wind. The low-lying land on both sides of the highway is under water in places and pine trees line the median separating the northbound from the southbound lanes on the highway.

We pulled into Beaufort about 5:00 pm and entered the city on the main drag. For a small city there are lots of restaurant options. Can't wait to explore.

Weather: 46° and a light wind. Very sunny. 21° in Colchester, VT.

Exercise: 3. 0 mile walk with Teddi on the Spanish Moss Trail.

Weather: 50 ◦ and sunny with a very light wind. Hardly a cloud in the sky.

Exercise: 5. 0 miles on the Spanish Moss trail.

Musing

Hardly any other people on the trail. Calling it a rail may be a little overstated. It is paved concrete over what once was a railroad track that ran along what is now route 21. So, at least as far as I walked, one can see or hear the traffic. One section, very close to where I access the trail, crosses a brackish salt water marsh with a water route cutting through it out to the sea. There are nice homes with docks along the canal on one side and tall grass lines the opposite side.

There is no real bank on the marsh side and a man that I talked who walked the opposite direction as me, stopped to chat. He told me to make sure not to let Teddi down in the salt marsh, because although the shore looks like solid ground, it actually soft mud, more like quicksand.

A particular concern of mine are alligators and poisonous snakes. My worry is more for Teddi, she has no experience with either, and beside losing her in the quicksand, the thought of her in the jaws of an alligator or being bitten by a Cottonmouth snake has weighed on my mind. He assured me that neither should bother me. Since the water is brackish with saltwater, the alligators avoid it, preferring fresh water. Apparently, the only time the alligators come into the tidal salt marsh, is to rid themselves of parasites. As for snakes, the salt marsh variety are not poisonous and he has never seen on off the trail, having walked the Spanish Moss trail for over a decade.

I talked to another man, about my age, who carried a rod and reel with a soft dull green grub lure hanging off it. It hung on about three feet of line, swinging back and forth in time to his gait, as he walked in the opposite direction toward me. Before he passed, I asked him if he fishes off the bridge that at spans the canal. He said, "All the time. I caught a handful of winter trout there this morning." He uses ten-pound test line to catch the Spotted Sea Trout and he emphatically endorses using the green lure that he was getting ready to deploy again, once he reached his spot on the canal bridge.

Once I passed through the salt marsh the trail emerges alongside a supermarket. The street is lined with businesses. I walked past this area and back into more marshy terrain again, but the trail, although lined with trees on the highway side, they do not obscure the sight or sound of the traffic. I look forward to riding my bike further away from town to see more of the trail when the weather warms up.

Reflection

The American Gulf

Weather: 45° and sunny with a light wind. 15° and cloudy with snow in the forecast for Colchester.

Exercise: 3.0 miles on The Spanish Moss trail.

Musing

This time I went turned right towards Port Royal when I got on the trail that runs behind our Airbnb. My first couple of walks I followed the path to the left. Today’s walk is a much better experience. Virtually no traffic noise and, although I crossed a couple residential streets, there no cars to worry about. I was able to let Teddi off leash, because of the absence of any traffic, and because I my fears about alligators and snakes dissipated when I spoke to the man who explained what to expect in salt marsh areas, that is, respecting the absence of dangerous animals.

Weather: 40° and raw with rain most of the late afternoon.

Exercise: none.

Weather: 40° and raw again. The storm is moving out to sea this morning and it should become partly sunny this afternoon, and the temperature should rise into the upper forties. Colchester, 21° and snow expected.

Exercise: 3.0 mile walk on the Spanish Moss trail toward Port Royal with Teddi. This will be my go to direction to walk from now on.

I discovered one of the trail heads with an adjoining parking lot right before the three mile marker. I was curious if the paved trail continues into Port Royal. The map indicates that it takes one to the outskirts of the Port Royal area, but then the map shows a hyphenated line to the city center. I only walked to the three-mile marker, two miles short of the beginning of the Spanish Moss trail. So, there are two miles left to explore in that direction.

As an aside, this concrete paving is pretty tough on the body for running or walking. Well, at least it is for an old body like mine. Our Airbnb is right off mile marker 5.55. This is a perfect location for us. At this point, I am hoping to do a repeat in 2026. My first five-mile walk was to mile marker eight and there was still trail left to explore. Soon, when the weather warms up a little, I will ride my bike to do some more exploring.

Weather: rainy and 43° with no wind to speak of. It was supposed to clear up this afternoon, but it never did clear.

Exercise: 3.0 mile walk with Teddi on the Spanish Moss trail.

Weather: 55° and fair with moderate to strong winds in the morning. The winds laid down in the afternoon.

Exercise: 5.0 miles on the Spanish Moss trail sans Teddi.

Musing

Today was by far the most enjoyable walk outside. It is hard to describe the intensity of the southern sun, even at 55°. The air temperature in the shadows was as cool as it would feel in Vermont; the real difference is in the sun. 55° felt hot in the sun, unlike just mere warm in Vermont. Maybe it is just my imagination. Whatever is accurate, it was a wonderful walk.

I met a transplant from Ohio fishing off the platform just over a mile down from where I join the path. The water was flowing rapidly under the bridge and into the salt marsh below where he was fishing. This same area, on both sides of the bridge has protruding platforms overlooking what will become mud flats in a few hours when the tide reverses course, back out to the sea.

As opposed to the fellow I met a few days ago that uses 10lb line, he mainly uses 20-30lb test line to land winter trout. He also angles for Red fish and Sheephead. I recoiled a bit when he said Sheephead, which he noticed. “Not like the Sheephead up north." he said. "They are not a bottom muck feeder."

I asked him how he can tell the difference? "It's the way a fish's mouth is formed. If the mouth curves down, it's a bottom feeder. If it is straight or curved up, it feeds from the water.'' He said the difference between the freshwater sheep head and its saltwater cousin, is the ocean variety feeds on oysters and barnacles and other mollusks, making their flesh white and mild to the taste.

He fishes the platforms on both sides of the trail, starting about two hours before high tide. We visited for quite a while, during our time together he showed me his gear and his live bait and offered me some tips. I thanked him for his generosity and continued on my walk.

I walked further south for about one mile to my turnaround. When I came back along the trail he was still there, fishing, leaning on the rail and staring out toward the channel.  I was continuing north by the fishing platforms, on my way back to the Airbnb, noticing that the water level had noticeably dropped. One could clearly see the flow had reversed, flowing back toward the sea.

As I walked by, I hollered, "At what point are you just wasting time?"

He laughed and responded, "I'm ‘bout there now." With that said, he started reeling in his line. I passed him just as his red slip bobber and leader emerged from the water, exposing his empty hook as it was caught by the wind, drifting away in it, while he hauled his rig up and onto the bridge.

Weather: 53° and fair with a cold wind.

Exercise: 3.0 mile walk with Teddi on the Spanish Moss trail.

Observation

Tide’s Out

Weather: 55° and fair.

Exercise: 5.0 mile walk on the Spanish Moss Trail sans Teddi.

Weather: 60° and sunny with a light wind.

Exercise: none.

Musing

Lauren, Chris, Jill and I loaded Teddi into the Subaru and headed into Hilton Head. After a wonderful brunch, we visited the Coastal Discovery Museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate at Honey Horn estate. The gardens are landscaped wonderfully, but because we are smack dab in the middle of winter, not much is in bloom. That is, with the exception of the Camellia Garden, which was lovely.

We walked out onto three different boardwalks that jut out into and overlook the salt marsh, bisected by Jarvis Creek, a saltwater waterway that snakes along the Western and South property lines of the museum.

Until the 1950's the family, the third family to own the estate since 1859, gathered 16,000 acres on Hilton Head Island, about 2/3 of the island. This explains, in large measure, why Hilton Head developed as a resort community later in the 20th century behind Miami and Ft. Lauderdale. When I was a kid, growing up in Michigan in the late 1960's and into the early 1970's, all the snowbirds went to Arizona or to Florida. Later they began making the Trek to places like Virginia Beach, and even later, to Hilton Head.

Although I enjoyed walking the grounds, the highlight for me was the brief time we spent in the museum's gallery admiring the exhibition of art created by an 84 year old Hilton Head artist calling herself Aldwyth. Her exhibit is titled "This is Not: Aldwyth in Retrospect." At first, I did not get the title, but I was highly amused when I realized it was the artist yelling at us, "I'm very much alive and working."

I really enjoyed her work, but the kids were outside waiting with the dog, and Jill has a shorter attention span for art than I do. So, I took some photos and moved through the gallery fairly quickly. What a great day.

Weather: 50° and rainy.

Exercise: none.

Musing

Lauren and Chris returned to Denver. It was 4° when they landed.

The Detroit Lions who finished the season with a 15-2 record, 1st seed in the conference, got their heads handed to them by the Washington Commanders by a score of 45-31 in their first playoff game. So be it.

Tigers spring ball starts on February 22, 2025, against Philadelphia Phillies. "Play ball!"

Weather: 55° and cloudy with moderate winds. Humid.

Exercise: 3.0 miles on the Spanish Moss trail with Teddi.

Weather: 45° and sunny with a light wind.

Exercise: 5.0 mile walk on the Spanish Moss Trail.

Reflection

The Urban Vulgarian

Weather: 32° and cloudy with a moderate cold wind. Supposed to get two inches of snow tonight.

Exercise: 3.0 mile walk with Teddi on the Spanish Moss Trail.

Musing

I was all bundled up today like it was a late March morning in Vermont. As Teddi and I turned onto the path we saw a fellow about my age walking briskly toward us from the opposite direction. He was wearing a windbreaker and a ball cap, no gloves, and a pair of shorts. He was boogieing in his sneakers.

As he passed us. I said, "There's a man full of hope, wearing shorts on a day like today."

He laughed and showed a big smile through his full gray beard. "Might have made a mistake today."