Cottage Crazy

Still Cottage Crazy!

2016-06-25T08:21:00.001-07:00

We LOVE OUR Paws & Paddles Cottage on Tybee Island, Georgia. A year or so ago I retired. That enabled us to spend the fall and winter of 2015 at the Cottage. It was great fun and we avoided the super cold weather, snow and ice in Virginia. Previous to retirement we were only able to spend a few weeks at the Cottage each year. The extended time we spent there in 2015 allowed us to make a number of improvements. Under floor insulation that reduced the humidity in the cottage which made the Cottage seem even warmer during cooler weather. The biggest visible change was adding beautiful pavers. We wanted to be able to walk through our Cottage gate and have our feet stay on pavers to the front door and to the back door. We also created new outdoor seating/grilling areas.

The view from the front and walking down the side towards the back yard.

A great place to enjoy a glass of Wine and reflect on the day.

A couple of shots of the side yard walking to the back porch/patio and Outdoor Shower

The New back patio for grilling/eating & relaxing.

The pavers were installed by Olde Savannah Gardens. Heather & Ross Harrison were great. We were very pleased with the completed project.

We liked it so much we have been discussing since March if this should be our full time residence? As in most things in life there are many pros and cons.

We LOVE Tybee. Fresh seafood from Bowie's just across the street...major yum. Painting classes, shops, restaurants, library, Y.M.C.A., the Monday Farmers Market, & the local grocery store are all a short bike ride away from our Cottage. Best of all...beautiful Savannah is 25 minutes from our front door. We love Savannah and all of her charms.

We also LOVE Virginia's Blue Ridge mountains and enjoy spending time at nearby Smith Mountain Lake in the summer. SMLake has 500 miles of shore line. Lots of coves, a huge dam, and large expanses of beautiful blue water. We think it is the prettiest fresh water lake on the east coast. A few photos follow to give you an idea of what this area is like.

First kayak lesson with The SuperWonderfulGrandBoy! June 2016.

Captain Mike piloting the Toon around Smith Mountain Lake.

Mike, Daughter and SuperWonderfulGrandBoy swimming at SMLake June 2016

A pretty little sailboat under way at SMLake. Lots of power and sailboats at the lake.

A nice young man paddle boarding with his dog on an INFLATABLE paddle board! Looks like fun.

They both are wearing life vests which is always a good idea when out alone on the water.

Our Favorite SMLake Home. It is NOT ours. Great and generous friends let us pretend to live there several times when they were traveling. It is an amazing home the photo wasn't large enough to take it all in. The water and sunset views, the beautiful large decks, a lovely boat dock and entertaining area, screened porch, & amazing landscaping, plus the stunning interiors was and is still the nicest place we have ever stayed!

Our SuperWonderfulGrandBoy and his Mom live near Smith Mountain Lake and it is nice being close to them. We both have lots of family in the Roanoke area as well as some great friends. We also have made many wonderful friends in Tybee. Friends and Family enjoy spending time at Tybee and we have 3 bedrooms so that can work too. Lots to sort through on many fronts. We spend time hiking, walking the many greenways and biking in Virgininia.

I wanted to share these photos to give you a sense of the dilemma we face in deciding to move full time to Tybee Island or continue to maintain two residences. I miss our light bright Cottage with all the happy colors. We are living in an urban environment and it is wonderful in so many ways. Walking distance to everything. A garage and elevator. Our building & living space is beautiful. We have realized we miss the light that we have in the cottage and nature. The little things like having hummingbird feeders, flowers & herbs, sun coming thorough the window, grass and outdoor spaces that are just yours. So we have spent months trying to figure this out.

Oct. 4th to November 20th 2015

2015-11-20T19:19:00.001-08:00

I always wondered what it would be like to be " Retired ". I thought it might be interesting at least to me to blog about my transition from going 100 miles an hour with my hair on fire to being " Retired ". Retirement brings about many new firsts. That first morning you don't have to go to work or be anywhere you don't want to be is great. Not having to be on schedule is great. Being able to come and go where and when you want is great. It feels like you are on vacation for quite a while. Then it doesn't. Things still happen that you don't plan on. And you begin to notice some subtle changes.

Since retiring on April 1st 2015 I have been experiencing a number firsts and noticing subtle changes. The first month of retirement I landed in the emergency room. I was surprised to find I had a perforated appendix. The surgeon didn't want to take a chance on operating and gave me heavy meds and sent me home after a few days. My follow up several weeks later with another surgeon sent me back to the hospital in late June to have the appendix out. Due to concerns with the perforation he opted for a full incision vs the scope method. I was sore and uncomfortable for a week or so. After two weeks I was back to getting in my 10,000 steps in each day. In a few more weeks I was able to enjoy boating and swimming on our boat at Smith Mountain Lake. We enjoyed many days on the water with family and friends. We spent lots of time with our SuperWonderfulDaughter and the SuperWonderfulGrandson at the lake and in Roanoke doing fun things like walking and biking on the Greenway, visiting the Mill Mountain Zoo, the Taubman museum and enjoying lunches at many of the Downtown restaurants from our home at the W. This was the first time since I was a child that I had the Summer off! Walking to the Farmers Market to buy fresh fruits, plants, and veggies was a daily treat. Living in Downtown Roanoke encourages you to leave the car in the garage and walk. I have found that is something I enjoy. It is fun to have a purpose for my walk other than just getting exercise.

It is surprising how much " More " you see walking as opposed to driving or even biking. I no longer have lots of work problems to solve. I do continue to notice things that might need fixing. I had never contacted the City maintence team before retiring. Another first. The head of the Roanoke City maintence team may be sorry I retired. I am tactful, nice and persistent. Suddenly I noticed there seemed to be large amounts of dog poo on the sidewalk in front of my Valley Bank on Church Avenue. It seemed to continue for more than a couple of weeks. I contacted the City and let them know of the problem. It took a week or so but it stopped. The bank staff let me know that increased patrols and conversations had fixed the problem! Next I noticed that someone had thrown broken glass everywhere and generally made a huge mess at the Carilion Healing Park. This is the lovely small park with the swing by the river on the Greenway were we walk every morning. I contacted the City and they emailed me back to thank me for bringing it to their attention. They not only cleaned up the glass but freshened up the mulch and more importantly posted no smoking signs. The healing park had become a smoking area for the employees at Carilion and hundreds of butts were discarded all over the beautiful flower beds and mulch. It made me feel good that I had helped to get the park cleaned up. It is the little things in life that can make your day. All was well in my little downtown oyster for several weeks. Then I noticed on our early morning walks that one of the large decorative and thankfully bright street lights was out making our walk in the dim morning light dark and slightly scary when someone popped around the corner in the semi dark. The next day several more lights were out. I contacted the City. This problem took quite a few weeks to solve. It seems that these particular lights were on privately owed buildings. I understood that would take some additional time. After a few weeks I received an email that they were fixed. Great. Well not great. They were still not working. I mentioned what a struggle I used to have with the timers on the bank's lights. I was pleased to get another email and the timers were the problem. The lights were turning off too soon. Problem fixed. I am sure my new friend at the City was probably cheering when I left for Tybee Island for the fall. I share this long winded account to demonstrate how I have already changed with retirement. I used to drive in and not notice when Mike spent the entire day working in the yard. Before retirement it was like I had blinders on after a too full day at work whacking at too many problems. After retirement more time to slow down and be more aware of my surroundings. Another subtle change.

Since we have owned the Cottage we could only spend short vacations of a week or two there. This Oct. we were able to go and stay until the rental season starts again on April 1st. More about our stay thus far in the next blog.

Cloudy Day Fun...Home Goods Shopping!

2015-09-19T10:37:00.001-07:00

We had a cloudy day with drizzle earlier this week. So...we headed to Home Goods in Savannah. I always enjoy checking out what they have. I " needed " a few ideas to help smooth out the cooking process at Paws.

I realized that I didn't have a nice (non-plastic) drink pitcher. I thought this one would be perfect for some ice cool Bellini's or Sangria.

Colorful and heavy enough not to be fragile.

We love cooking those fat white Georgia Shrimp on the stove. My pots didn't seem to be either the exact right size and they didn't mesh well with the smooth top cooking surface. I usually also drain the pot with a separate colander. That means two items to clean up. Well I found one super nice pot that also drains. Perfect for seafood or pasta! Yea.

It heats up so much faster. Very important when you are starving after a day out on the beach!

I also needed several different sizes of rubbermaid mixing bowls...found a nest of three in my favorite red! They each have rubber non-slip rings on the bottom and pouring spouts. Great for mixing up a salad or a batch of brownies. I made brownies on our last trip for the gang and had to mix them up in a large metal pot! It worked. These are much better. Cuter too.

This morning (Saturday, September 19, 2015) the Sun came back out to greet us. Everything looks and feels so much happier when the Sun Shines!

Still some clouds...but the sun climbed over them and popped out all at once. Great breezy morning about 73 degrees. Perfect temperture for a long walk.

Lots of seafoam this morning. The white puffs were rolling after us in the breeze.

My walking buddy...

A favorite new sign...

Great advice for all of us...

I spent some time while it was cloudy planning a late November trip to Atlanta. We are looking forward to seeing the Aquarium, High Museum, the Carter Library/Museum, CNN, the Zoo, and the Botanial gardens. Looking forward to this roof top view at the Glenn Hotel in Atlanta.

If any of you have any suggestions of sites to enjoy or great places for lunch or dinner...let us know.

Off to grab some sunshine...

Tuesday, 09/15/2015 Tybee Fun...

2015-09-15T12:15:00.001-07:00

Enjoyed biking yesterday after dinner to the far north beach to watch the sun slide into the channel heading to Savannah.

Lovely view enhanced by the strong wind coming on shore. It dropped quickly. We biked back to the Cottage just as darkness begin to fall.

This morning we had the second morning in a row where the sun resembled a large glowing orange as it rose in the east.

Note the dripping effect just before it cleared the horizon. Love it.

We decided to bike down to the South Beach this morning at High Tide. It was amazing yesterday at Low Time to see all the sand bars and how it seemed you could almost walk to Little Tybee. Big difference today. All the sand bars where well underwater.

Very wild and natural looking as it makes the turn from the ocean to the back river.

A number of sand dunes with sea oats...

We enjoyed the swing. The breeze was so strong it handled the swinging!

I love that Beach Cottage to the left of the picture. It has been featured in Coastal Living in the past.

Fishermen and Kayakers love this part of Tybee.

We biked a number of miles. The return trip was near A.J.'s restaurant...tomorrow may be raining ig the forecast is accurate. So...since it was a beautiful day to enjoy the deck at A.J.'s we treated each other to lunch. Mike loves their fried oysters and scallops. I like the grilled Mahi/salad. I didn't have a problem eating a couple of his fried oysters. I couldn't resist.

Later this afternoon the small yellow fleshed watermelon was calling to us. Refreshing after a Mikie nap in the front yard. Yep the breeze through our palm trees lulls you right to sleep as it rattles the palms.

Monday, September 2015 at Paws & Paddles Cottage

2015-09-14T10:17:00.001-07:00

A feeling of Fall has arrived suddenly. A much cooler 68 degrees this morning for our Beach walk.

A stunningly beautiful sunrise. The kind where the large orange like sun slides up and seems to be dripping molten lava into the ocean before making it's accent into the heavens.

This picture so doesn't convey how beautiful it was...the strong breeze and the cool air felt like heaven just a perfect morning. We were both looking forward to coffee when we got back to the Cottage. Funny how cooler temps make certain things taste even better than usual.

We had fun at the new Tybee Farmers Market taste testing a number of goodies this morning. The Farmers Market is open on Mondays from 10 till 1:00. Located off Meddin at the American Legion building parking lot. LOVE IT... So many wonderful things. Just a couple of hundred steps from the Cottage. We loaded up on produce. Yellow watermelons, tomatoes, cukes, squash, avocados, and apples. All from Davis produce. Catie's Confections had a darling booth. She is super nice and even though we Don't eat desert...mostly don't that is...We tasted her soft homemade ginger cookies...yes we bought a bag. We will have to walk additional steps due to this purchase. But they were good. Mike wanted one of her small Chicken pot pies. Then we had to try the smoked Barbecue pork and chicken. A whole chicken hitchhiked back with us. Pork Que sandwhich for Mike's lunch...I tossed some on my salad for lunch. That chicken and some squash/tomatoes/cukes will likely be Dinner. I also picked up 3 white pumpkins for decoration. Muscadine grapes for Mike. He loves the Sweet Mountain Laurel wine that our local winery makes from these grapes. Lots of sweet pulp but very tough skins. A fun time...many other things available there. Our arms were full. Next time we will have to try some of the special flavored ice pops and check out additional vendors.

It's starting to feel like Fall even at Tybee...warmer weather is still around and will likely bounce back in a few days.

Catie's cookies and a small lemon cake. Did I say we don't eat desert...well it is quite small...really!

What to do on a cloudy Saturday with a forecast of RAIN...

2015-09-12T14:54:00.001-07:00

Well we counted on the Tybee Dome to keep the rain away. It worked. Well for a while. We got in a nice beach walk and a second longer neighborhood walk to get in our 10,000 steps. By noon it was clear we were not seeing the sun today. So...

Off to Savannah. We were planning on the ART WALK later around 4. It was only 1:30 so we decided on SOHO for lunch on West Liberty. Our favorite lunch spot. It was great as always. We just scooted in they were closing early to get ready for a big private party. Free parking on the street on Saturday. Parked a couple of streets over. Darn just happened to be near the SCAD store. Always enjoy browsing in there. They had really interesting floor cloths rubber type material kinda like a thin yoga mat but with amazing designs. 23 wide by 36 long...thinking they would be perfect in front of a sink or stove. They were so thin that they lay perfectly flat. The designs were awesome but at $90 it didn't jump in my arms...still thinking about them though.

Then we wanted to stop at Smith Brothers Butcher shop. We saw a Savannah TV show that showcased their new business. Fine Meats, Cheeses, Produce, and Wines. We tasted a couple of wines, some cheese, bacon and sausage. All wonderful. The cheese was like butter only better. I would enjoy shopping there again. Great displays and friendly people.

Smith's is located at 535 East Liberty near Broad Street in Savannah.

I had been wanting to go to Bottega Bellini at 417 Whittaker Street since it opened last December. A Facebook friend's daughter had opened the shop. She is enjoying living upstairs over the space while managing the business on the street level. So we stopped there next. It is so pretty with all things Italian. I have this big desire to travel to Italy and this shop was so much fun to visit. Loved everything. Decided on buying things we could consume! We have downsized and if I bring anything else in something has to leave! Pasta, Sauce, and Peach Bellini mix! We are ready for our own taste of Italy.

We enjoyed meeting Ashley. She told us she had lived in Florence at one time. I only wish I could tag along if she makes another trip there soon.

It was still drizzling. We decided to do the Art Walk another time when the weather would enhance the fun. It is a monthly event. We will try again when it is sunnier and cooler as well. Now the only thing I need is a NAP! A fun day.

Our tropical flowers from the W have relocated to Paws & Paddles Cottage!

2015-09-12T14:17:00.001-07:00

We decided to bring our plants from our terrace at the W in Roanoke, Virginia to Tybee with us this trip. We will be down here the marjority of the fall/winter. We are hoping they will winter over successfully in Tybee. So far they are looking pretty happy.

Mr. Mandevilla...

Ms. Hibiscus with Basil & Rosemary lurking by the Door! Several more blooms set to open...

The herbs are just steps to the kitchen...quite handy! A little basil chopped up with tomatoes on hot scrambled eggs with a dusting of grated cheese...yum.

I enjoy using the rosemay in cut flower arrangements. Smells heavenly!

September in Tybee

2015-09-11T10:45:00.001-07:00

So far September is as hot as August. The weather forecast for the next week shows a cooling down to 80s during the day and low 60s in the morning. Sounds just right for me! Enjoyed a great afternoon on the beach yesterday...strong wind and low tide. I finished listening to my first for me audio book. Great for the beach. I had read South of Broad by Pat Conroy...I have read ALL his books multiple times. Listening to it was even better. Almost 18 hours...free from my OverDrive Library App that my friend Luke recommended.

Mike is working on taming the Cottage's yard. Our great smelling Jasmine vine is taking over the white picket fence. He has cut it back and it looks much better. We moved our some of our plants down from the W on this trip. They seemed to be doing well. Pictures soon. The Hibicus is sporting about 5 buds getting ready to open. The Basil and Roseberry are good. The Mandevilla is starting to climb on the porch rails...still has lots of ruby red blooms.

I spent the morning sorting through 5 years of collected shells. I know have one bowl of just olive shells collected from the North Beach. Another of a mixture of my other favorites. Moon shells, augers, and baby whelks. The less favorites went into a lamp base for the middle bedroom. Filled it UP!

I love that old bait trap/can too...purchased it for the Cottage from our friends at Black Dog Salvage.

I found a perfect pink bloom to enjoy in a found glass that came with the Cottage.

I hung my turtle painting on the Turtle wall. We have a small wall with several turtle scupltures.

Clouds blocking the sunrise. But the color was amazing...

Looking forward to attending the Savannah ART WALK tomorrow from 4 to 8. More later...

Tybee Family Fun

2015-09-01T09:07:00.001-07:00

We enjoyed our SWGBoy, SWDaughter and SWSon/inlaw's visit with us to Tybee. We ate good and got to play some too! The Hurricane fizzled out YEA! We still had way more rain than we have ever experienced in Tybee. Lots and lots over the last several days. Charleston, S.C. about 90 minutes north of here recorded the third most Rain in August since they started keeping records.

We enjoyed being treated to lunch at A.J.'s by Lorrie and Marcelino. Awesome Flounder/Shrimp & Oysters with great salads. We convinced the SWGBoy that we needed a picture of him pretending to ride the big metal rooster! He is a great sport. Love the designation signs there too. I keep saying I am going to build a designation pole and signs for Paws & Paddles. My thought is to review the Guest book and make signs for the top 10 or so places where our Guests hail from. Maybe this fall/winter while we are being Snow Birds for the first time we can make it so!

Marcelino and Alex in the BIG Chair at A.J.'s

I enjoy capturing the sights we see at North Beach as we get our morning walk in each day. We have proof you CAN surf on Tybee. The surfer did great getting up on the board. He must have remained

vertical at least a half second. Not sure how I caught him standing. He was up & DOWN in a flash.

We are still seeing lots of beach weddings...

The clouds prevented the sun from breaking through. The breeze, birds singing, and the sound of the ocean made for a nice moment.

This Trawler was fishing a short distance away and very close in to the beach.

The Trawler in the background and my favorite pelican/pole. I wonder if it is the same bird every morning. All the others are in large groups and do fly bys. Not this one. I wonder if there is a story. Perhaps his/her mate has perished?

Mike got a nice shot of the full moon and the Tybee Light...we can hear the Fog Horns from Paws whenever the fog rolls in. A very pretty but somewhat lonely sound. I like it though.

The rain and thunderstorms have moved lots of sand around on the beach. They also deposited lots of new large pieces of driftwood on the Beach. I forgot to get a picture of the Huge shell Lorrie and Maricelino found near this piece of driftwood. It was almost as big as your head...almost. Still a lovely shiny peach color inside. We later found two similar shells for her. So they now have a Daddy, Mommy, and Baby shell that are alike.

These rocks always remind me of our trip to Bar Harbour, Maine...would love to return for some of that amazing Lobster and fresh Blueberry pancakes...

Another wedding...

Anne and I just biked to the IGA using the Bike route...a great ride from Paws on streets with almost no traffic this morning. I love riding my bike. I will have to " need " something from the IGA everyday this fall/winter...

Laters...

Tybee Tymes...

2015-08-29T07:46:00.001-07:00

We always find something interesting going on at North Beach when we go up for our Morning walk.

During the night we had some wind and heavy rain for an hour or so. A little thunder and a bit of lightning. I love listening to the rain on the metal roof...makes for relaxed sleeping! This morning was very wet at the beach and the parking area. Not the best day for a wedding but the couple was lucky and they stayed dry and were married on the Beach in front of the Tybee Lighthouse. In addition a large church group of 40 or so appeared to be holding services and perhaps baptized several people.

The breeze was nice and eventually we saw a bit of sun...

We try to get most of our 10,000 steps in each morning with a combination of walking to the North Beach, walking on the Beach and then usually enjoy the nice Greenway path through J.C. Park which takes us back towards Paws & Paddles.

The SuperWonderfulGrandBoy and his parents arrived yesterday afternoon. TheSWGBoy and I squeezed in a Bike ride. I showed him the best way to the North Beach, and that Soloman road goes pretty much down the middle of the island and isn't paved so very few cars accept for the folks that live there. He knows where the Bike path starts not far from the Cottage on Second street. It is one of my favorite streets. So many delightful old Cottages dressed up in Happy Colors. We enjoyed swinging together in one of the wonderful old Tybee porch swings that are located on the Beach. We had a great conversation about how things are going as a 7th grader. He loves learning and does extremely well in school. He is such a sweet and senistive youngster...about to become a teenager next May!

We celebrated his Dad's Birthday with a Shrimp Boil and Birthday cake. Fat White Georgia Shrimp...YUM. We enjoy eating at our A.J.'s style table that a friend of Jane Coslick's made for us. We looked and looked and couldn't find the right table for the sunporch. We mentioned to Jane that we liked the outdoor tables at A.J.'s one of our favorite restaurants on Tybee...she said well that works...her friend made THEM! So she had one made for us...Perfect for us! We had not been able to love any of the chairs we had tried with the table. We saw this style of metal chairs at SOHO restaurant in Savannah and they were comfortable. We ordered to be delivered to us at the W in Roanoke and brought them down in May. They still look brand new and they have heavy duty rubber on the legs so they don't scratch the floor...apparently we only like Restaurant Furniture!

Cloudy this morning...with sprinkles...hoping for clearing later this afternoon so they get some Beach & Biking Tyme!

Keeping an eye on the hurricane in the Atlantic...it seems to be breaking up and may be a tropical storm by the time it reachs south Florida. I am blessed with my own weather Team. Mike has always been a weather hound and Alex is all about the weather. He wants to be a Metorlogist so he has plenty to do monitoring the weather and giving us up dates...more later.

Back on Tybee for a Summer Week or Two in August!

2015-08-26T19:18:00.001-07:00

It is August and it is hot as it should be in Summer on Tybee. Enjoying the warm ocean water.

We enjoyed lunch in Savannah at SOHO CAFE on West Liberty on the way in. Stopped and stocked up for groceries for the next two weeks...

Paws & Paddles is now ready for a fun 2 weeks.

Enjoying the morning sites on Tybee. This morning we caught a photo shoot, surfers, and made friends with a new Tybee resident.

Mikie watching a huge ship slip by early this morning.

Mike and Anne enjoying the waves...

Nice sunrise...then...

Sad news later this morning from our Hometown of Roanoke Virginia. Two local employees of WDBJ-7 were shot and killed during a live broadcast. Such a sad and senseless tragedy.

In remembrance...

So very Sad...

We loved our quick adventure to Paws & Paddles in May 2015

2015-05-25T08:32:00.001-07:00

We found the weather in May to be Perfect for Walking, Biking, and Sunning on the Beach. The water was a good temperature to walk in and we even waded in a few times waist high or better to cool off. We were there before the Memorial Day long weekend from Sunday to Thursday and it was quiet which made biking on the island nice. Another nice benefit was being able to get lunch at A.J.'s on the Back River dock without a wait. It is such a nice bike ride from Paws it is hard to want to eat anywhere else...when the weather outside is so perfect. Lots of great food for sure on the island elsewhere. There is just something about sitting out on the water and listening to beach music while knocking back a gallon or so of ice tea and eating great fish and seafood! A.J.'s sure does it for us.

We need to add a sign pointing back to the W in Roanoke, Virginia!

Mike at " OUR " Table.

The sunrises were also amazing each day. We were blessed with perfect weather.

We enjoyed just hanging at the beach several afternoons. I read Natchez Burning by Greg Isles (we heard him at the Feb Savannah book Festival) which kept me on the edge of my sand chair. Natchez Burning ends and the Bone Tree begins...I am hooked will order this week. The Bone Tree is already #7 on the New York Times Bestseller List. Anne started a Mary Kay Andrews book. I am saving MK's Beach House for some lazy afternoon at Summer Place on Smith Mountain Lake.

This isn't our umbrella. We have a large shelter/umbrella thingie which is great for coverage/wind...just not beautiful. This one made my heart sing with all the Happy Colors as Tybee legend Jane Coslick would say.

I thought I would close with the Tybee Light & Flag for Memorial Day 2015.

Laters...

Cottage Crazy: Back in Tybee May 2015

2015-05-18T10:35:00.001-07:00

Cottage Crazy: Back in Tybee May 2015: Delighted to be back in Tybee. Seriously needed some Tybee Tyme after some life challenges and a brief hospital stay. Arrived May 17th in Sa...

Back in Tybee May 2015

2015-05-18T07:31:00.001-07:00

Delighted to be back in Tybee. Seriously needed some Tybee Tyme after some life challenges and a brief hospital stay. Arrived May 17th in Savannah and enjoyed lunch and piano music at SOHO before heading to Paws & Paddles. SOHO is our favorite lunch spot in Savannah. Tons and Tons of great places but SOHO does it for us. Shabby Chic decor and a relaxed vibe with great local food. Professional wait staff and everyone makes us feel at home.

Paws looked so good to us when we walked in. Roger our caretaker does an amazing job keeping things looking sparkling clean. We also had fresh flowers awaiting us. How sweet!

We unpacked in just a few minutes and walked over to the North Beach/Lighthouse for the rest of the afternoon. I captured a shot of our shadows as the afternoon sun dropped.

Yep that is my knee! LOL.

Several interesting things happening on the beach. A wedding, darling superman and spiderman super heros, and surfers.

Monday Morning Sunrise

May 18, 2015

Off to do some biking. Hoping we end up near A.J.'s on the back river for Lunch! It COULD

Happen...

Saying Goodbye to Tybee till next Tyme

2015-01-19T16:19:00.001-08:00

We enjoyed a quick January get away to Paws & Paddles over the Martin Luther King holiday weekend. The Sunny weather was welcome. Temperatures here in January this week have been warm enough for us to enjoy walking, biking and beachcombing. We have been wearing jackets most days but the local folks are often in short sleeves, shorts, and flip flops.

You never know what you will see on Tybee especially on our early morning walks.

That water is only 50 degrees by the way...one hardy model! She was out there for an extended time. I just snuggled in my jacket a bit more...lol. We see many photo shoots, weddings, you name it. Often the SCAD students will be working on creative photos. Fun to watch!

We found lots of shells this week. Not sure if that is due to the beach nourishment project that added tons and tons of new sand this fall or perhaps due to the season and winter storms. I am selective on the shells we collect. My favorite are the heavy Olive Shells. I love how they are often still so shiny that the sunlight glints off of them. I have a good eye for spotting them at a distance. The Moon Shells are also a favorite as are all sizes of the whelks.

We got in lots of walking this week. We enjoy walking to the Lighthouse and North Beach for the morning sunrise and we made a circle most mornings this week and came back down the beach to the unpaved Solomon Avenue which made a quiet and pretty walk. We have been trying to get 10,000 steps in each day and it has been so easy to do here. At home and work it is so much harder. I have to get to the gym at 5:30 a.m. before work and do 2 miles on the Tread Mill to get a head start each day or I can't get to 10,000 steps with all the sitting at work. Tybee is so small we just walk pretty much everywhere we need to go so our feet or our bikes are our primary means of transportation.

Today we took the bikes up to the bike trail near Fort Pulaski. Six miles up and Six back. It was a perfect sunny afternoon for a ride by the water. We have not been biking in the last couple of months. We both did well but Twelve miles was plenty! It is fun having the water and marsh on both sides of the trail. As we were pedaling along we looked up and noticed we had company.

The trail is right next to the channel heading in to the Port of Savannah. These are BIG ships. It looks so strange to see them glide out from behind land. It always surprises me.

The sun rise this morning was beautiful. In a cloud less blue sky it poked up as a perfectly round orb on the horizon.

I love to look at all the interesting beach houses and usually manage to find a favorite or two along the beach.

This house has a foot path right to the ocean. Tons of large windows to enjoy the view. I love the driftwood trees on the beach.

I tried to catch an interesting photo of the fencing to manage the dunes. The light was beautiful from the early morning sun. The photo didn't quite capture it as I had hoped.

These fences went as far as you could see. The early light made them look a reddish pink color. In reality they were just an unpainted wood color.

We managed to enjoy an outdoor lunch at one of our favorite spots. North Beach Grill did not disappoint. Great food as always.

It looks and felt tropical! By the time we left it was standing room only. We arrived at just the right time.

We enjoy bird watching and walk up to the end of our street frequentlly at sun down to see what birds we can find roosting. We caught a number of egrets by the water.

Across the water we saw over 40 Egrets and Wood Storks roosting for the evening as Mike watched the sun setting.

We hope to eventually spend our winter months here after retirement. We have been able to enjoy the outdoors here even in January. We both think we would enjoy being here during the winter months. It can get really cold here but it seems to bounce back quickly. The marjority of the days are sunnier and warmer than in Virginia. Getting outdoors for some exercise and fun makes these January days sped by faster. That is a Good Thing!

Looking for the SUN...

2015-01-16T17:15:00.002-08:00

January has been a dreary gray cold wet month in Roanoke Virginia at the W. So we escaped for a few days on a mission to find a bit of sun. This is the long Martin Luther King bank holiday so we took advantage of the situation and fled to Tybee Island. It rained all the way down but we found our sun today. We spent a good part of the day outside. It warmed up slowly and by 11 we were out walking the beach. The high just exceeded 60 here 63 in Savannah. Jacket weather but sunny and nice.

We saw these 4 gentlemen sailing in on the back river side of North Beach. The picture doesn't do the sailboat justice. It was a beautiful shiny navy blue and it was huge. Plenty of room on deck for the four large fellows. They motored in about 20 minutes before sundown. Note the pink tones in the sky behind them. They had just enough time to set the anchor before the sun dropped in front of them and us.

Just stunning. The camera couldn't capture the huge glowing sun as it slid quite quickly into the water. We had biked over and spread out a blanket an enjoyed a couple of hours of warm sun. We were soaking it in like syrup over hot pancakes. We packed up after the sun deserted us and biked back to the cottage. Biking back we enjoyed the smell of wood smoke and pluff mud along with the salt in the air. Nothing like it. Wood smoke usually makes me hungry. Thinking brick ovens I guess. Today it didn't.

We had already eaten a decadent for us lunch on the water at A.J.s. We even had Wine at lunch!...on Friday! A work day! That made it all the more fun and part of the escape.

Back now at the Cottage with some hot coffee and chilling. We are both trying to get at least 10,000 steps in a day and I am happy with my 12,000+ today. Here that is so easy. At home on a work day it means I get up at 5:15 to walk to the gym to then walk on the treadmill. Then I have to still really work hard during the work day to get the rest of the 10,000 steps. Here it was so enjoyable and easy to do.

I almost forgot we also caught a glimpse of another boater racing to get in before that sun dropped. A man in a very nice Kayak slid by and he made it to shore just a few minutes before the sun dropped as we were biking back.

I have to say even in January life on Tybee seems pretty good.

Tybee in early January 2015

2015-01-06T05:48:00.001-08:00

We arrived on January 3, 2015 at 1:00 a.m. Unpacked and hit the sack. We woke up refreshed to a Tybee morning.

Cooler of course here too. A jacket is needed at least for us in the early mornings when the temps are lower. Many of the locals are still wearing shorts and flip flops with short sleeves. We have enjoyed being able to get outside and walk, bike and spend some sunny moments on the beach. We walked up to the end of our street to see if the Wood Storks that winter here were back. We found them!

We biked around and enjoyed seeing some of the Tybee Christmas decorations that were still up.

This house on the way to North Beach was the clear winner for Best Christmas Decorations!

We love the far end of the North Beach and found it to be as quiet and peaceful as usual.

We even found a new Cottage just steps from the beach...

Complete with Wicker rocker. We loved it!

We noticed that many fruit trees were full of fruit...

We decided to visit A.J.s on the Back River for Dinner. We were surprised to see an early thick white fog roll in about the time we arrived. It was so thick the river behind the restaurant just disappeared! The fog added to the ambience and made for a cozy dinner.

We had one rainy day and took that opportunity to go see UnBroken. A movie I would highly recommend about personal courage. We opted to pass on dinner at SOHO in Savannah due to the wind and rain and opted to stop by Thunderbolt for an early dinner at Tubbys. More cute Christmas decorations.

Both the wreath and the bow was made of Burlap. A cute rustic look that fit the restaurant well.

After an outdoor lunch at North Beach Grill. We spent the afternoon on the Beach. Then we got Brave! We Cooked Blue Crabs! A first for us. Beautiful before and after. Amazingly good and messy fun. You have to work for the sweet white meat but what there is of it is wonderful.

This morning we donned our jackets and grabbed a Tervis of hot coffee and headed to the North Beach to catch the sunrise. The first thing we noticed was that the Full Moon was still up and was smiling at us right beside the Tybee light. The sky was a perfect pale pink and the moon huge. The photo doesn't capture the beauty of the moment.

The sun didn't let us down.

We are looking forward to temps of 64 today. Hoping to do some more biking and beach time this afternoon. Temps are plunging tonight when that huge cold front arrives across most of the country. Temps will dip down here as well. We plan to head back to Virginia in the morning. Have to reserve some of the precious vacation days for more future trips. Sniff. We'll be back in a couple of weeks. We are also looking forward in February to attending the Savannah Book and Author Festival again!

So very glad we came. January for us is just fine on Tybee.

Bye till next time...

Art Show Saturday and Lighthouse Market on Sunday

2014-08-31T10:03:00.001-07:00

We really enjoyed the Art Show near North Beach yesterday. We walked up from Paws. Lots of great items. Paintings, jewelry, pottery, photography, metal/driftwood sailboats, pillows, polished wood items and so on.

Found two Ibis paintings for Paws & Paddles!

A very cool wood medallion necklace with adjustable cord.

A wooden dish with a heavy brass basin insert for using just a few flowers to make a Japanese like flower arrangement. Small and beautifully made.

I enjoyed talking with the local artists. Many live on Tybee or nearby islands. They also have art classes there...ummm...would love to do that someday. I could have my own booth perhaps in the future?

The Lighthouse Market today (Sunday) had a variety of items. Many were not handmade but still interesting. We enjoyed walking through and seeing everyone's displays.

The Lighthouse is always watching over us as we enjoy the North Beach area.

It was much warmer than typical today and we were delighted to return to Paws and break open an ice cold watermelon on the sun porch. Eating ice cold melon under the fan with the windows full of live oak/and just everything green was very serene and pleasant. I was however Very surprised to find we had purchased a YELLOW watermelon...as yellow inside as a pineapple! Still tasted like watermelon and quite sweet! I would have loved to have seen the look on my face when I realized it was bright yellow inside.

Chilling and reading for a few during the heat of the day...beach tyme later as the wind begins to pick up later this afternoon!

Oh! we did enjoy the three whole Flounders that we grilled on the Webber last evening. Great with an ice cold white wine, fresh corn on the cob and a few red potatoes. Snickerdoodles & Coffee for a late desert!

In the interest of full disclosure I forgot to score the fish so ours were not as beautiful but not a scrap was left so I think we all agreed they were just fine. Ours were also much larger...the 3 weighed over 3 lbs! Apparently we WERE hungry.

Planning on Large Fat White Georgia Shrimp for dinner tonight...The fridge is stocked up and is full for the week with liquid refreshments and lots of fruits, veggies, and seafood. Mike has turned into a great salad chef. He is turning out lunch now...

So Off to lunch...Laters..

Back at Tybee August 30th 2014

2014-08-30T07:52:00.001-07:00

We arrived after midnight Thursday. Buzzed around nesting and stocking the pantry and fridge. Put the clothes away. Totally unpacked and in bed by 1:30 a.m.

Up at 6:00 Friday morning for an " extra " sunrise...since we came down on Thursday night. Little traffic and Mike was a trooper and drove the whole way. Knowing this is the start of a holiday week (Labor Day) I think it was a great plan.

The beach, breeze and sun was great yesterday. The ocean still in the 80s so swimming was fun. Enjoyed a nice lunch at North Beach Grill. Recommend their grilled shrimp mango salad. Just a short walk from our beach camp. We just left everything under the beach shelter and walked to lunch. Tybee friends invited us to the Tybee Island Locals Drinking Club. We enjoyed meeting everyone and catching up.

Up early for sunrise and a bike ride and long beach walk this morning. I found the first piece of sea glass ever for me! Lovely light greenish turquoise.

The Clouds made for an interesting sunrise this morning. I never get tired of going over each morning to see what the morning will bring. Kinda like Forrest and his box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get!

Love that the birds wake up just before sunrise and start chirping and flying about. The reflection in the water was nice too.

We enjoy walking on the back side of the North Beach...different look and feel. Lots of birds, shells, and horse shoe crabs.

My Mike.

Heading out to the local Tybee ART Show and a little shopping...I am in the market for Fresh Fat White Georgia shrimp and 3 whole flounders for the grill later with a bit of white wine.

Laters...

Blessings...

2014-08-01T09:14:00.001-07:00

Blessed to be back on Tybee with our family. Awesome time with the SuperWonderfulGrandBoy, SWDaughter and her hubby. Loads of beach time, biking time and sun porch time at Paws & Paddles.

SWGBoy in the foreground...photo shoot in the background. At Tybee you never know what you're going to get when you get to the Beach.

Turns out they even wrote a song about Tybee. Where the Georgia " Peaches " Go!

Beautiful Sunrises this week...

Time with Grampie & Grammie to enjoy the SWGBoy!

Our aspiring weather man has kept us posted on the weather all week. The siren went off and warned us of a possible Thunder Storm just now and he got very excited. So far just thunder and no rain...we'll see.

Lots of time in the water...it s SO Warm.

Alex has learned a new skill. The art of the boogey board. I failed to get a good shot of him riding a huge wave in with the white water crashing well over his head. He loved it. Jumped up and went right back out. He has become very confident in the surf. Confident but careful. He even coached me on the dangers of drifting too far out with my noodle float. He kept checking on me to be sure I could still touch the bottom! We almost lost a fisherman our first day here. He waded out too far near the jetty and would have drown had a older former lifeguard not swam out to drag him back in. We were very worried about our former lifeguard as well. It took over 30 minutes for him to reach the man and it was a short distance. Rip currents are dangerous. Another swimmer lost his life on the south beach here this week between Tybee and the seemingly close Little Tybee. Very sad. I think both of these events impacted Alex to be careful around the Ocean.

The sea oats are full and beautiful right now. Love our Tybee Light!

Alex is always willing to let me play photographer. Such a sweet boy. Notice the lighthouse peaking between the sea oats.

He likes his beach time best. Next best biking. As he said to me this morning, " I am always up for a bike ride Grammie."

We love our Tybee Swings all over the beach. Borrowed this shot from a Tybee Web site!

We have had a great week on Tybee at Paws & Paddles Cottage. We are very blessed in so many ways.

My necklace was made from a piece of silverware...a knife. Made by an artist from Roanoke, Virginia. It was purchased on the Roanoke City market a short walk down from where we live in Downtown Roanoke.

Tybee Sand Art Festival - May 2, 2014

2014-05-03T06:56:00.001-07:00

We noticed 4 young men already digging sand on the Beach at 6:30 this morning when we arrived to watch the sun come up. The SCAD students started coming out in force around 8 and by 9 there was lots of activity! Many different designs, various outfits, sand tools, shovels, trowels, frisbees, buckets for water, cardboard, actual lumber, quite a odd assortment of things all rounded up to bring the creative forces to bear on the SAND. Great fun watching all the activity as they got started.

It's A Hermit Crab

Nessie!

This was actually quite good and very large.

Best of the Turtles.

Java the Hut?

This took an amazing amount of work. They built wooden forms and then sculpted the designs.

Coral Reef

This turned into a great Dragon.

Boat being over taken by a sea creature.

Saturday, May 3, 2014 Sunrise with Dolphins

It is promising to be another Sunny day with warm temperatures. Planning to spend most of the day over at the North Beach.

May 2, 2014

2014-05-02T06:50:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was mostly cloudy. Sprinkled rain for less than 5 minutes so we decided to head to the downtown part of Tybee near the large pier. We toured the tiny Tybee Aquarium to see their displays on Loggerhead turtles and the local types of fish and some of the shells. A nice touch tank for live shells and sea critters. Worth the $4 to walk through. Donations support the Loggerhead Turtle rescue programs. We actually found two live shells on the beach yesterday near the jetties on the far North Beach.

This one I believe is a Lightening Whelk. The animal inside was fully out when I turned him over. Very interesting to watch him quickly retreat. The brown shell like foot is how they push themselves along the ocean bottom.

This is a Banded Tulip Shell. Very pretty. You can see the sea creature's claws as he quickly withdraws inside the safety of his shell home.

A nice shot of the jettie where we found the live shells yesterday morning at low tide. Love the pelicans! Off to the side of the picture is a young man playing his guitar. Not sure if he was just entertaining himself or playing for the pelicans or perhaps trying to lure in a MerMaid!

Anne and Mike at Tybee Light.

Mike showing off his balancing skills and his good looking legs.

Sunrise this morning still a little cloudy. Alternating with blue skys.

The SCAD Sand Art Festival is this morning from 10:00 to 4:00. We saw four enterprising young men already digging like mad with shovels piling up a large quanity of sand. It looked like they were digging well below the high tide line...so that may be interesting later.

Off to see how they are doing with their Sand Art sculptures...

April 30, 2014

2014-04-30T09:25:00.001-07:00

We decided yesterday to take off to the water for a boat tour and dolphin watch with Captain Mike. His boats are located near COCO's Restaurant on the left just as you are leaving the island. The trip was fun and yes we did see plenty of dophins. It is always nice to be on the water. Fun to see the water side view of the houses and condos that we see as we bike around the island. Dolphins are tricky to photograph but we did get a few pictures.

Anne got this guy do his version of the Happy Dance!

The Three Amigo's enjoying the sea air and breeze. Love the smell of the salt air and the pluff mud.

Cockspur Light near Fort Pulaski

We took Captain Mike up on his offer of 10% off lunch at CoCo's restaurant at Dockside.

We sat upstairs on a open deck above the docks and watched the kayakers, and boaters come in and out of the small Marina. Lunch was very good. I would recommend Captain Mike and the restaurant.

We headed back to Paws & Paddles for some back porch time. Later walked down to a couple of shops. So nice to be able to walk or bike to most everything on the island. Our evening walk ended at North Beach Grill for fruity frozen drinks on the Gazebo overlooking the ocean at North Beach. Kinda handy having a restaurant/bar at your favorite stretch of beach.

This morning was cloudy but we had an interesting sun rise.

Loved the Peaked Clouds...

The clouds took off quickly and the sky lightened up. We biked near the North Beach area and found a house with the most lovely rose garden.

The orange looking flowers are amaryllis. The flowers we grow in pots indoors at Christmas. Here they are outdoor plants!

We biked back to Paws for more coffee and a light breakfast on the porch. We are watching a renovation directly across the street from Paws. The closed Jitter Bug coffee shop is being redone and we have heard rumors that the folks who run the awesome Tybee Island Social Club are going to open something there! Now that will be convenient for us as well.

We have had 5 sunny warmer than normal days. Around 10 this morning we started to see some rain showers. A bit of rumbling thunder in the distance and the promise of more storms later today. So we are catching up on reading, word puzzles, and picking up around the cottage. We are looking forward to the SCAD Sand Art Festival on Saturday at North Beach. Hoping for clear skies for good pictures.

More later...

Week of April 25, 2014 Tuesday

2014-04-29T07:36:00.001-07:00

We have been blessed with Summer temperatures this week. Great beach time with nice breezes and beautiful sunrises.

This morning early the SCAD students were doing a mini photo shoot...

Yesterday we enjoyed biking and beach time followed by some adult fruity strawberry drinks.

The drinks are residing on our Georgia cutting board at Paws & Paddles. Anne gifted us with the cutting board...very fitting addition to the Cottage.

This shot was taken on Monday morning after sun up. Loved the pink glow in the sky and water. The sun was actually brighter and more red than the camera could capture. If I ever get my painting supplies together and find a place to paint at the W I would like to try painting this scene. Not sure I could manage the bikes...though...they look tricky to paint. I do however especially like the way my bike is setting with the front wheel looking like it is saying...O!

Last night we went for a walk in the area behind Paws & Paddles to Eagles Nest. Loved this house and it's beautiful western view of the Marsh.

Isn't that a beautiful view of dusk over the marsh? It was getting quite dark and with the tree canopy I was surprised it came out as well as it did...I almost didn't give it a try. There is a lesson there I think.

A cute lavender Cottage under constuction. Will be adorable once the pavers/landscaping is completed. Only on Tybee would that color be just so Right!

Our front Guest Room...at Paws & Paddles. It is my favorite. This week it is called Anne's Room.

Future updates to the Cottage at some point include pavers inside the fence for most of the front entrance courtyard and small decorative plantings of green sod.

This week we are updating the microwave over the stove and the dishwasher. Decided to replace with Stainless Steel units like the ones we are used to at the W. The rest of the applicances are in good shape so we will catch them later and do Stainless when we replace. I didn't think I would like stainless but living with it at the W has changed my mind. We continually are looking for opportunities for new ideas and improvements to make Paws even more comfortable and enjoyable for our Guests.

More Later...

Week of April 25th 2014: Lots Going on this coming Week

2014-04-27T19:40:00.001-07:00

We arrived after dinner on Friday, April 25th. Nested and settled in for the night. Up for the sunrise on Saturday morning. Tybee perfect sunrise.

A quick light breakfast and back down to the Beach to watch the Turtle Release and the Turtle Trot 5k Race. Apex was released. He was almost eaten by a shark. He lost part of a flipper and his shell was almost crushed into his body but luckily not quite. A big turtle that took many volunteers to carry and parade before the crowd.

Doesn't he look like he is smiling! He hit the water and paddled away.

We cheered the 5k runners as they took off and we stopped to buy the SuperWonderfulGrandBoy a Turtle Trot T-shirt. Then having been there and bought the T-shirt we headed back to Paws and Paddles Cottage to change for our trip into Savannah for the SCAD Sidewalk Chalk Art Festival.

We decided to find a good parking place and walk to SOHO Cafe for lunch. Our favorite cafe for lunch in Savannah. Reminds me so much of Wildflour Cafe in Roanoke on 4th Street. After some great food we walked to Forsthye Park. The Festival was very well attended and we enjoyed walking under the shady live oaks dripping with spanish moss. I took way too many pictures. I will share just a few.

This was one of the top award winners. Nice play on Words.

Enjoyed watching the artists creating these. We watched as they were working and then headed back to the Cottage for a while. We came by later in the evening and got to see all of the finished works. Very fun and like most events in Forsthye Park it was FREE. Nice to see all ages and lots of families with little ones enjoying the beautiful day. Many folks brought their dogs. We got to see and pet two Standard poodles which we enjoyed so much.

When we returned to Tybee we hopped on our bikes and rode to the campground to see the vintage camping trailers on display. I didn't get any pictures. But the trailers were awesome. Many totally different designs all restored beautifully. Some with matching vintage pickup trucks!

After viewing the Vintage Trailers we peddled back to the Cottage stopping just across the road from the Cottage at Bowie's Seafood for 3 Lb. of fresh shrimp. Dinner on the sunroom porch was fresh shrimp and tossed salad...washed down with a cold white Chardonnay. Awesome end to a packed first day.

April 27th

We enjoyed another bike ride to the quiet North Beach to watch the sun come up.

The large container ship sailed by just in time for the sun to pop up. Savannah is one of the East Coast's busiest port cities. It is always surprising to look up and see these large ships gliding by.

The weather was so perfect we decided this was a Beach Day. Very warm for April with a nice breeze. We threw up our new sun shelter and it was nearly as easy as the advertising suggested. More like putting up a really really large umbrella. It worked like a charm and provided enough shade for three or four. I took several long walks in the water...chilly at first but then just perfect. I walked across the parking lot to the North Beach Grill and brought back 3 Frozen Strawberry Drinks which we enjoyed on the Beach. Pretty cool to have a restaurant and bar in walking distance to the sand and surf. We all three then managed a nap on the beach with the breeze keeping us comfortable. The sound of the waves crashing makes me sleepy so I was a goner for a while. Nice relaxing day after a super busy one yesterday. Back at the Cottage we enjoyed some wine, cheese, salad, and more steamed shrimp.

The breeze coming through the windows on the porch as we ate was so nice. Add the birds calling to each other in the near by marsh and it was just perfect. A quick but enjoyable two days.