Travels with The Rayman

 

 

Yesterday we checked out of the hotel and headed to Costco.  Had a shopping list that was compiled by our group.  The rest of the group flew to Savannah.  Savannah does not have a Costco.  We flew to Charleston.  Charleston has a Costco.  And that’s how we ended up with the shopping responsibility.

Oh, and you say that the picture above is not us?  Well.  You are right.  And it wasn’t taken in the Deep South either.  It was taken in Istanbul.  But I didn’t have a picture to share with you so I decided this would pique your interest.

Salmon, lamb, pork ribs, cottage cheese…the list went on and on.  We dutifully selected everything on the list and piled it into our rented Corolla.  Oh, and it was 94 degrees so we needed to buy some coolers and ice.  Rayman entered the portal of Piggyly Wiggly market and emerged some time later with three 6-pack size styrofoam coolers.  That’s all they had.  Oh, and the ice.  So, we loaded what we could into the three (read not much).  Then we drove to CVS and he rushed inside to see it they had coolers.  They did.  He bought one.  It was much bigger.  Still it was not big enough to hold all the groceries so we retraced his steps and emerged with another one of the same size.  Finally, everything was squeezed in and iced down.  And off we drove.  When we arrived at the condo on Hilton Head, we brought everything in with the help of our friends and hosts, Tom and Ruthie.  “Where’s the yogurt?”  No one had seen the yogurt.  “Where’s the cottage cheese?  The eggs?  The turkey?  No one had seen these items either.  OMG.  We arrived with exactly one less large container than we had bought…and a lot less food.  WHAT?  HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?  Don’t know.  But it happened.  We left $37 worth of food on the side of the road (parking lot actually).  OMG.

Everything else that happened paled in comparison to that doozie.  What a couple of numbskulls.

We went out to dinner and kept getting lost and we were in the backseat I’m happy to report.  There was a guard shack at the fancy entrance to Harbor Town.  They charge $5 to enter.  We kept getting lost and asking the guy in the shack to let us turn around so we could find our way to where the heck we were going.  Three times that happened.  And we (me and Rayman) weren’t driving…did I mention that?  Ruth and Tom made us feel good and cheered us up with those moves.

Also went shopping after dinner.  We descended upon the store, each with a list in our hands so shopping could be done quickly.  Ray had beverages, me fruit and veggie etc.  You get the idea.  Man, are fruit and veggies expensive here.  And the stuff isn’t nearly as good as home.  On the other hand, gas is $3.49/gal.  Trade-offs, I suppose.

Today we played golf in very warm conditions.   I did not distinguish myself on the course.  That’s all I’m going to say about that.

Tonight Ruth and Tom did the cooking.  Homemade mac and cheese, honeydew and raspberries, broccoli salad, pork ribs.  Peach ice cream.  And did I mention wine.  Lots and lots of wine.  The food was fabulous.  We do eat good food when we cook in.  The plan was to barbecue and Tom and the Rayman almost blew themselves up trying to light the barbecue without instructions.  Perhaps a few eyebrows were singed.  Just saying.  And as luck would have it, it started raining and rained steadily during the cooking time.  Tom had par-cooked them earlier so they were finished off in the oven, thereby saving perhaps burnt arm hairs.

And the wine was Hahn from California.  Pat, organizer extraordinaire (pictured above), upgraded to first class and was able to carry on 2 cases of wine plus a few more in her suitcase.  She discovered that you are allowed to bring any alcohol 24% or less (alcohol level) on board in first class.  Pretty cool, that Pat.  She knows how to figure all the angles.  And this allowed us to enjoy CA wine in S.C. – yes we are in South Carolina.  The reason this is such a big deal is because I announced on my Facebook page that we had landed in Charleston, N.C.  My cousin, Walt (resident of Tennessee) immediately corrected me by saying, SOUTH CAROLINA.  And this proves that half the time I have no idea where I am.  On the flip side of things, North…South…all part of the confederacy…so what the hey?

And I have no pictures from tonight so I thought since I’m all confused anyway…a picture from last year would be okay to use just so you could see two of the people I’m referencing.  Creative, no?

We also squeezed in a swim this afternoon.  Small warm pool.  Fabulous.  And now it’s time to turn off the lights.  The party of over.