details.

My roommate, Shelley, and I just took the shortest "vacation" imaginable. But it was great. We drove to South Carolina on Monday night/Tuesday, stayed 2 days with her parents, who live near Hilton Head, and drove back Friday. All day Friday. Here are the highlights.

I think all the trees that were supposed to be in the Midwest mistakenly got dumped in Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina. Driving through the Smoky Mountains was probably one of the best parts of the trip; miles and miles of green as far as you can see, fading to a blue haze in the distance.

The ocean is an awe-inspiring thing, even when you're there on a day the weather sucks. We decided to go to the beach on Thursday, but of course Thursday dawned overcast. We were determined, though, so we packed up and headed to Hilton Head Island for the beach. Even though we left with less of a tan than we had hoped, a little chilly, and covered with sand due to the extreme wind, I count it as a good day. There is nothing like the feeling of walking a beach, the sand squishing between your toes, the tide coming in and the water a pleasantly warm temperature swirling around your ankles.

We ate at a Jazz Club on Thursday night, which was possibly one of the most fun things I've done in weeks, maybe months. I hope everyone appreciates the skill level that jazz musicians have achieved. It was incredible. They played a 2-hour set before taking a break.

And on the drive home yesterday, I was bound and determined to stop at a Chick-Fil-A, since I love it, they serve sweet tea, and Shelley had never eaten there. Even though we had to go to a mall food court, it was worth the effort.

And I mustn't leave out the fact that I read aloud several chapters from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to Shelley while she drove. We are getting ready for the new movie and the new book, so since she hadn't finished book 6 yet, we were speeding the process along. Reading aloud is really fun. It made me realize how much I skip over when I'm reading silently, because it took forever to get through each chapter. And sadly, I can't do a British accent, so I'm afraid my version was less than authentic.

Of course, with much time to think come many new thoughts about life, my life in particular. These are still being processed and saved for another post. But God is beckoning me to let Him hold my heart for now, safe in the palm of His hand, and that His beauty is what restores my sanity.

Currently reading:
The Namesake--Jhumpa Lahiri
Orthodoxy--G.K. Chesterton