Sounds of life!

Today ended at Buck Hall Recreation Area situated along the Intracoastal Waterway with access to Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge; part of the Francis Marion National Forest in South Carolina. We arrived late therefore had to use the overflow camping with no electric hookup; a lush green grassy field surrounded by live oaks, cypress, magnolia and palm trees. Only two other campers in this area; a young couple tent camping with their dog and an RV where the people were hiding out! Quiet, peaceful and relaxing, to say the least.

Sounds are astounding on the Venzaliner50 journey and they differ significantly from the sounds of last week. Rather than the 5:30am default ringtone from my Motorola cell phone, I awoke to the sounds of nature—an owl hooting the traditional “hoo hoo”, while a bird (sorry, I don’t know bird calls…mom, where are you?) had a story to tell and wanted to make sure everyone within a mile radius could hear. Although I did not comprehend his story, it reminded me of the enjoyable sounds of the previous night.

Brooke, Lori & Judy

The cackling was reminiscent of the joyous laughter shared with my roomie from younger years, Lori, and her husband Todd, my son Josh and his friend, Marc. What an awesome time; Todd was our tour guide of Jax Beach and he shared many tidbits of area information, followed by a scrumptious dinner at Joe’s Crab Shack (one of the few restaurants on Jax beach). Our waitress, Gucci, served up some awesome shrimp, mussels and great balls of fire and then we were totally entertained by the wait staff singing happy birthday backwards; by a patron donning a cowboy hat, riding a pony and shouting about her crabs; and by another patron who totally rocked the chicken dance…guess you had to be there!

Timeout for a little did you know….

·       Jacksonville has the oldest volunteer lifeguard station in the US and just celebrated its 100 year anniversary with over 4,000 alumni serving this station.

·       Lori was the maid of honor in my wedding, a co-worker at Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt back in the days, and an awesome roomie!

·       It’s a small world; Josh’s college roommate, Matt, lives in the housing development next to Lori and her family; that is definitely less than 6 degrees removed!

 

One may think sounds of daily life in the wilderness are quiet, peaceful and filled with solitude. However, not always true; the morning can be filled with everything but QPS! Today came alive by the sounds of the owl and bird noted above, followed by a dog who wanted to claim his territory and then the crickets and frogs chimed in along with a lone mosquito (pesky critter). Hence, that was it; the morning began with the hum of a motorboat crossing the bayou and soon after the sounds of footsteps and voices. Good morning world!

Guess it’s time to get going. However, first I leave you with this thought…STOP and listen to the world around you; it is filled with many joyous sounds even when they appear pesky.