Back In Jacksonville

TEL_0384, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

We are back in Jacksonville. Rachel woke up with a temperature, so I wasn't able to go to Church and play guitar this morning. Bummer. Rachel seems to be doing fine though. Her temp has gone back to normal now. Now, she's just saying, "I'm bored". It's good to be home, though. I'm not looking forward to my work inbox, though. There's over one thousand unread e-mails in there right now.

I had someone say, "Hey... there's no pictures of you on this trip". So, I thought I'd include a self portrait.

Our Last Sunrise on Hilton Head

TEL_0643, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

It's time for us to depart Hilton Head Island. We had a great time. I feel rested (I hope Heather does, too). I loved having extra time with just me and the kids. Don't get me wrong. I missed Heather during the day, but it was good to hang with just Rachel and Brian.

Sunrise was at 6:44 this morning. I got out there at about 6:15, set up my tripod, and just enjoyed the morning air. It was very peaceful. There was a strip of clouds right at the horizon, so it hid the sun for a while, but I still enjoyed it. I have many more photos, but I liked this one for my blog entry. Enjoy.

The Frozen Moo

TEL_0566, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

Who doesn't like ice cream? We sure love it, so we went across to Coligny Circle, which is near the Shipyard area on Hilton Head Island. There are a lot of cool shops and venders (surf shops, coffee shops, restaurants, necklace vendors, etc). I got a T-Shirt! Amongst all the vendors is a great little ice cream shop called, "The Frozen Moo". A lot of different flavors, including several candy bar flavors. We got some scoops and wandered around there different shops. It was a very nice night. There was a cool breeze, a nice crescent moon, and a clear sky. To hang with my most favorite three people in the whole world makes it a fantastic night!

The Smokehouse

TEL_0563, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

After a relaxing and fun day at the pool and on bikes, we went out for some local South Carolina Barbeque. It was quite good. We had a late afternoon thunderstorm, which helped cool things down a bit, so we sat outside and enjoyed the early evening. The kids were making "menu hats" and I convinced Heather into joining in the fun. Don't they look cute?

TEL_0564, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

If you find yourself on Hilton Head Island, and you like Barbeque, you should definitely try out The Smokehouse.

Chill'n Poolside

TEL_0546, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

Heather is finally relaxing. After breakfast this morning, we rented bikes and went for a stroll down the beach, then through town, and back around to our hotel (we made a big circle). It was good time, the tide was low, so plenty of hard packed sand to ride on. After that, we were hot and sweaty so, we all jumped in the pool to cool down.

After swimming for an hour or so, we ate lunch at the poolside grill. It hit the spot. Then, back in the pool! Heather is laying out enjoying doing nothing. Which is exactly what she deserves.

I also think she's wicked hot!

Finally... Breakfast Together

TEL_0538, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

Believe it or not, this was the first breakfast that we've had as a family on this vacation. Each morning Heather has been getting up very early and getting breakfast on her own because she's had to be at Van Der Meer early. Today, is her day off. It was really nice to have breakfast with her. I've missed her. She doesn't look at that thrilled in this picture... I think I embarrass her when I take pictures in public. Ha!

Meet Norman

TEL_0540, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

This is Norman. He fixed us Omelets and Waffles almost every morning while we were here. Norman is very friendly and makes a mean omelet. We'll miss Norman when we are gone.

Snack Time In Hilton Head

TEL_0536, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

Another night is over here in Hilton Head. We went out to another restaurant, this time we thought we'd play it safe and go to a very popular mexican place. The place is called "Aunt Chilada's". Another massive Hilton Head dining disappointment. If to you a great vacation also includes good food, Hilton Head isn't the place for you. I'd recommend finding a good rental home or condo instead of a hotel so that you can cook for yourself. I'm beginning to believe that cooking for yourself is the only way to get a decent dinner. The Jazz Corner, however, was very good. Breakfast in our hotel has been very good as well.

As you can see in this picture, we had a very tired crew tonight. We got some snacks and some milk and had snack time in bed in the hotel room.

More Studying

TEL_0534, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

Heather is down to the final stretch. This is it! Just like every lunch break, dinner break, breakfast, lying in bed before going to sleep break; Heather is studying. After returning from lunch today, she will take the final three of her five tests. Pass or fail, she's my hero. She has amazing focus and resolve. I couldn't spend this much time in focused studying. She rocks!

A side note... Heather has worked her fanny off and has not had a single chance to rest and just enjoy herself. So, I booked an extra day so that she can just relax and do nothing. I'm going to make sure we do whatever she want or get out of her way if she just wants to sleep all day.

A New Motto For Hilton Head

TEL_0505, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

I've got a new slogan for the marketing folks at Hilton Head Island. It would go something like this: "Hilton Head Island... like one of those free, extremely high pressure time share sales vacations, only at Hilton Head it's definitely not free, it's expensive AND we'll charge you twice what we should for all our expensive, but not so great restaurants."

How does that sound?

Don't get me wrong. It's very pretty, but in a very neutral way. All the buildings are the same color, there are barely any street signs, you have to be slightly mental to find your way around. I'm having a good time, but I really do feel like I'm on a free time share vacation sale pitch thing. They are EVERYWHERE! We go to a restaurant and the have sales people at every entrance and exit. We went to Wal-Mart and they have a team out front selling. I almost went to a dinner for Breakfast, but when I saw the "red shirts" (all these sales people where a red polo) surrounding the parking lot I just kept going. You can't do anything without getting accosted by these people. What's also weird is that everyone that owns property here or a timeshare is from Ohio. Very strange...

Time For Bed

TEL_0531, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

After tennis today, we cleaned up and went out to dinner at Marley's Island Grill. It was average at best. I'm finding that most of the places to eat around Hilton Head are very average to below average, despite the $25-35 per entree price tag. We are talking about local seafood restaurants with 2+ hour waits that aren't even as good as a Red Lobster. It was OK, but worth $15 for entree, tops!

Back at the hotel, we are all bushed. Of course, the energizer bunny (Rachel) is still raring to go, despite the bags under her eyes. What do kids like to do in a hotel room? Jump on the beds, of course!

Guinea Pigs

TEL_0502, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

The PTR training needs guinea pigs for the potential pros to "teach" as part of their evaluations. Yesterday and today Brian and Rachel participated and got free tennis lessons. It was a lot of fun and they did great. Rachel is a natural... Brian... well... needs a few more lessons. To his defense, Rachel has been taking lessons all summer and Brian has only stepped onto the courts like twice before this week.

They had fun and I had a blast watching them.

What Happens When...?

TEL_0520, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

What happens when it's almost 11 PM, the rest of the family have gone to sleep, all the lights are off in the hotel room, and you have nothing to do? Well, for me, I have a computer and a camera. The computer is the only light in the room. So... I take a picture of the computer. It turned out a bit soft. I should have used a smaller aperture. Maybe tomorrow night! Visit my blog tomorrow night to see if I can do better.

A Night Stroll On The Beach

TEL_0511, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

Heather In Action

TEL_0494, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

Who's That On Drums?

TEL_0452, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

We are sitting there enjoying our dinner when the singer, Bobby, starts asking where people are from. Then he asks if there are any musicians in the house. Brian blurts our, "I play the drums". Next thing you know, Brian is invited to sit in on stage. Of course, the band jokes around with what he might know how to play. The guitar player is playing recognizable rock song licks. Bobby asks Brian what he wants to play. Brian says, "maybe something in a mid-tempo swing". For the life of me, I can't remember what song he chose. My mind was more focused on, "Oh God, please let him not screw this up". This is a very nice place. I was really hoping he'd remember his "jazz sensibilities".



He did great. Not only was his dynamics great and his time solid, but he also put in some really tasty fills. He swung really well. Despite being so nervous that he almost had to go throw up after, he read his "band mates" really well. Popped some good accents on the snare and toms, and finished with a big ending. It was really great!

I was SO PROUD! We had everyone in the place coming around to our table to shake Brian's hand. Someone even offered to buy him a shot... Ha!

The Jazz Corner

TEL_0441, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

This was a place I found on the Internet before we even left Jacksonville that I knew I wanted to visit. They have live Jazz every night of the week, and I don't mean a guy playing sloppy standards on the piano. I mean, they bring in talent from all over the country. Last night was a local quartet, "The Bobby Ryder Quartet". Big bad style songs, but in a quartet. Great singer sax player that sounded a lot like Tony Bennett.

This place was pretty pricey, but the food was fantastic, the atmosphere was great, and the jazz was swing'n! Oh... if you visit, call ahead for directions. It's not a big place, but every table is a "good seat".

Check out The Bobby Ryder Quartet:

The Jazz Corner

Late Afternoon Swim

TEL_0433, originally uploaded by Thomas Lester.

The kids went for one more late afternoon swim before we had to go pick up Heather from camp for the day. The kids posed for me and allowed me to play around with my camera. I'm learning to use my flash off camera. In this shot, the flash was about 3 feet away from me on my right (camera right). This was triggered wirelessly from my camera.

They make good models.

Right after this shot, we retrieved Heather, and got cleaned up to go to "The Jazz Corner". A very cool jazz club and restaurant in town. They had a fantastic quartet playing tonight. More to come on that in my next post.