Here I am in a condo on Tybee Island, Looking at the sun rising over the ocean. Beautiful, but really cold. I wonder how many other people are here this weekend. A few cars have gone by and I can see people walking on the beach. It's even too cold to go out to breakfast. According to the computer, it's 37 out. And it's windy of course.

There's something about being at the beach, or on vacation, that makes me want to write oodles and oodles. Perhaps it's because there is not much else for me to do. No dishes to wash yet. No dog to feed. No laundry or cooking.

Yesterday morning, Ray and I packed our suitcases, made up the bed for my Dad, and tidied up in preparation for being away. We took time for a walk and went by the site where the fire was. There was crime scene tape, so we didn't go down the driveway. There were at least 3 fire department cars there, figure out the cause, I suppose. One of our neighbors heard an explosion at 7:30, but whether that was the cause of the fire or the result, I don't know yet. And probably an insurance company investigator too. We waved and went on home, keeping Cameron close. It kind of makes you hate to go out of town...thank goodness my Dad is staying at our house with the dog.

We drove to Ray's office and left him there while I went to what we call in Georgia, the tag office. Where you get your tags, or license plates--the DMV. I had a call earlier in the week from the dealer where we bought our new (used) Prius. There was some problem with the title--the mileage was wrong--so they can't get the license plates before the expiration of the temporary tag (Jan. 13). I thought about saying, "okay, why does this mean I have to go to the tag office--shouldn't it mean you have to?" We couldn't go the day before or the day after and we had to bring the bill of sale and proof of insurance. As it turns out, we also needed Ray's driver's license number. I know his social security number and date of birth, but since they protected us by not letting us use our social security numbers on our drivers' licenses, I don't know that. Fortunately, it was on some of the paperwork for the loan, which I had brought with me, figuring it was better to have too much extraneous paperwork than not enough. Alternatively, I might have called him and if he was not in class, he might have answered the phone and given me the number. Also fortunately, there was not much of a line on a Friday morning. Good to know. Now I have a new temporary license plate and a stern admonishment to get onto those people at the dealership before Feb. 11. Oh, okay.

Then I went to Plato's Closet. I had promised to get rid of the clothes and jewelry I had in the back of the car. So I parked illegally and briefly in a handicapped spot closest to the store and carried in two loads of things, mostly on hangers.

I went to Schlotzky's, where I was meeting Becky for lunch. She knew she would be late and I wouldn't have much time, so she texted me her order. I gave her order and the lady asked a question that I couldn't answer about which turkey sandwich...the drink cup was styrofoam. "Do you have any sizes that are not styrofoam?" I asked. "No," she said. "But we do have some bottled water (plastic) and (expensive) fruit drinks in glass." "I have water in the car," I said. I guess I won't be eating at Schlotzky's again. It was at least half an hour before Becky came. I had ordered a small pizza and kept eating small slices of it waiting for her. By the time she got there, the potato bacon soup was cool enough to eat--and pretty yummy too. We chatted a little and then I had to get going.

The OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) Back-to-School Bash was at Central Presbyterian, a church 2 minutes away. My Dad was not there, so I called him. "I figured I didn't need to be there for the business meeting," he said. "I'm in my car on my way." I sat next to Mary Jean. Ron was in front of me (in his suit and tie, representing the College of Education). I worked on my knitting. After the business meeting, my Dad found me and we chatted with some people. We went into the gathering space. There was a long line for coffee and snacks. We wandered around the room, introducing each other to people we knew (all women, I think). He signed up for the group that gets together to sing old songs and the new vegetable gardening group. By the time we left, it was after 3.

I zipped back over to Plato's Closet, but had to park a ways away. When I went back in, they said they did not want any of the things I had brought. Darn! I had to lug them across the parking lot and put them back in the car. There wasn't time to take them to somewhere to donate before I was supposed to pick Ray up...okay, so much for my promise...

Ray was ready to go, but he wanted to stop downtown and turn in some paperwork he had been carrying around all week. I was adamant that we should start driving right away and turn in the paperwork next week.

One of the problems with going to the beach from Athens is that it is really too far to drive without a break. Generally, you'll want a meal during that five hours. And there is not much you would want to eat. It's a lot better than it was 20 years ago when we first drove to the coast with two small girls. But then, we were happy to find a fast-food chain we could eat at. I have eaten pretty well in Milledgeville and Statesboro, but that is thanks in part to the iPhone that lets us know where every restaurant anywhere near our route is. On this occasion, we decided it was too early to stop at Milledgeville. It was still light at Dublin and I really wanted to drive in the light as much as possible. I was making some progress on the hat I was knitting. By the time it was really dark, there was not much to choose from. We could wait all the way to Statesboro, but I kept asking my trusty phone (Urban Spoon) if there wasn't something sooner. I managed to located Bevrick's Char Grille before the battery died.

For some reason, Bevrick's, the best place to eat in Metter, amused me tremendously. I should say that I actually had a ham and cheese sandwich that I ate when it got to be too dark to knit. It was fine, but I wanted a little something more. Bevrick's (probably two people's first names) is a large new building. I expect they outgrew their old location. It is reminiscent of a barn, with high ceilings and a big open floor. Needless to say, at 7 on a Friday night, the place was jumping. I saw one big guy with a Stetson hat, a bunch of men with baseball caps, and one guy with big shoulders and biceps and a bright orange, tiny knit cap on top of his partly-bald head. He looked like a cartoon character. In fact, the scene looked like something from a movie.

The cashier, about 17, had blond hair and a tiny waist. She wore a short black dress with a wide belt and black tights--and cowboy boots. She probably thought she was the most fashionable thing in Metter. And maybe she was. The real hostess was about 10 months pregnant, still rushing around busing tables and sweeping the floor and keeping everything going.

The Friday night buffet featured seafood--low country boil, fried and boiled shrimp, fried fish and even crawfish for $14.95. Ray was not in the mood and I just had the salad bar. It reminded me of places we ate when I was growing up. Green salad, cherry tomatoes, sliced beets, with ranch dressing, bacon bits and yes--French fried onion crumbles. Also cottage cheese and canned peaches on the side. I resisted cole slaw, potato salad and macaroni salad. Ray ordered a chopped steak with fried okra and a Caesar salad. He enjoyed it very much. There are few things that I would refuse to taste when offered, but I admit fried okra is one of them. Of course, we both had sweet tea, which we have learned to order half and half (half unsweetened). The first batch was pretty good, when I stirred it up with the straw, but the refill seemed to have two halves unsweetened...I was entitled to soft ice cream, which I had on top of some sweet rich peach cobbler I scooped out of a big pan into...a styrofoam bowl! The whole meal cost us $19.63...plus tip. The experience? priceless.

Back on the road in full dark, we had a little over an hour more to go. I remembered a CD Rosemary had given me of a Canadian radio program called Vinyl Cafe. The two episodes on it were Polly Anderson's Christmas party and Dave Cooks the Turkey. Pretty funny stuff...google it. That took us nicely to Tybee Island. Our instructions about the condo were clear and it was tidy and well appointed, not cluttered as some are. We unpacked and sat down on the couch. Looking through the TV options, we found the Dr. Who Christmas episode, with some homage to A Christmas Carol. We enjoyed it very much, but it did keep us up until 11:30. The bed was good and I slept well.