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Hilton Head Day 2

Sunday 31 December 2023

We've had that model plane for -- I don't even know how long. Over a year. Maybe more.

"At some point, we'll put it together," I assured E, and myself.

And so as we were packing for this end-of-the-year trip, we had the idea that we could take the model and put it together here, in Hilton Head. Most of it, though, the Boy did himself. I wanted to be involved, but I also wanted him to have the experience of assembling it alone. I helped when he requested it.

This morning, he finished it.

In the afternoon, a stop at Piggly Wiggly -- they still exist!

And in the evening, a walk on the beach,

some time in the hot tub,

and games in the condo.

Hilton Head Day 1

Saturday 30 December 2023

We started the day with a long sleep -- not a single alarm clock set in the entire condominium. None. Not a FitBit set to gently jingle one awake; not a phone set to start chirping, screaming, or whatever alarms various family members use to drag themselves out of bed. Nothing.

First up, a walk on the beach just beside our complex. It's technically not on the ocean but rather on the sound that separates Hilton Head from St. Helena Island and Parris Island just to the northeast of us.

The plan was to have an afternoon walk on Hilton Head's main beach in the afternoon after exploring the downtown area, but K so fell in love with the marshy beach that she wanted to return after a short walk on the main tourist beach.

But we'll get to that later.

One of the things Hilton Head is famous for is its wealth, and there's no lack of that around us. The house just to the south of our complex is a 10,000 square foot beast that is valued, according to Zillow, at $4.5 million. Probably someone's second home at that.

This kind of conspicuous wealth -- I just don't understand it. It screams lack of confidence in one's own being. The only way I can feel great about myself is by showing off how much wealth I have. That's how I've already seen it.

But that was neither here nor there as the Boy explored the shoreline (with the Girl still asleep in the condo), discovering at least a dozen horseshoe crab shells.

The place we're renting is in a somewhat-dated but still lovely complex that, according to one resident we spoke with, is 50% owned and 50% rented. There are tennis courts (used, as far as we can tell, primarily for pickleball), an outdoor pool, an indoor pool, a jacuzzi, a sauna -- a regular spa.

There's even an odd, enclosed but unheated porch area. Not sure how comfortable that might be in the heat of the summer, but in the winter, all one needs is a blanket or jacket and it's fine out there.

After our post-walk coffee and cake, we went downtown to do a little shopping. Not what I love doing, but I made it through the whole afternoon without even a peep of protest at the suggestion, "Let's go into this store!"

The Girl was shopping for a birthday present for one of her friends; K was shopping for a dress for the Girl.

In the end, they both walked away happy, and I even got something: a bottle of Ghost Pepper and garlic hot sauce, locally made.

"Is it hot?" the Boy asked after I sampled a bit in the store.

"It's definitely warm."

After shopping, it was time for lunch: Babcia's first time having sushi. The meal came with miso soup -- another first -- which Babcia liked but suggested: "it could use some potatoes."

After lunch, we headed to the main beach. At first, K was in love with it: "The changing rooms, the showers -- so charming!" But the beach itself -- nothing much, she proclaimed.

So in the end, we just headed back to our little beach to see the sunset colors.

Cracker Stop

Friday 29 December 2023

On the way to Hilton Head this evening, we stopped for dinner at Cracker Barrel. It’s not a place we ever go to on our own, but when someone from Poland is here—well, they have to try good old fashioned greens.

Warszawa Centralna

Wednesday 06 December 2023

Looking at some old pictures, I found a shot of Warszawa Centralna train station from about 2002. It was an exterior night shot, and there was little indication of what the station looked like inside. What it looks like now is vaguely similar, but there have been so many renovations and little additions that it doesn't look like the Warsawa Centralna I remember from the mid-90s.

So I turned to Google: "warszawa centralna lata 90." Instantly, there popped up a picture that looked almost just like it did in the mid-90s. According to the credits, it's from 1991, but the only real difference I see is in the ticket windows: the numbers were blue as I recall.

But that mass of people in front of the ticket window, those lines that were not lines, that bundle of confusion -- that is identical. How many times did I stand there stressing about getting a ticket on time, stressing about getting a ticket with reserved seating (I rode back to Krakow many times on a "standing" ticket, which meant I had to try my best luck at finding an empty seat), stressing about whether I was actually in the line or not, and once, stressing about the amount of money I had (did I have enough to get me back to my humble village?) -- just stressing.