Our last night on Tybee

WHERE DID THESE DAYS GO? We just got here. Now it’s 2 hours to home on jets for the family and 1,000 road miles for me. Assuming I go the most direct route. I rode 1,329 miles on the way down, zigging & zagging around to visit friends. Dunno if I’ll ride at night or just stick with the heat-of-the-day plan. Depends on what you think is riskier, heat stroke or deer strike. I do have margaritas to sweat out, that argues for day, but I’m sure I won’t decide until the iron piggy’s motor is thumping and ready to run somewhere.

Call it five days here on Tybee: four days in the middle and a half/day travel day fore and aft. Lordy, we crammed an awful lot of fun into that little space.

On the way in from the airport in Savannah, Daughter #2’s significant other, Jonny Rezendes, snapped this pic of D3 and D2 at the Great Dane Trailer works. Already in tourist mode, not even on the island yet.

See if you can discern a pattern: The bride (right) and her sister, Janet Wheeler, insist on inspecting the condo’s rooftop deck for the danger of lightning strike. Big thunderstorm brewing. And…

And here they are inspecting for ultraviolet radiation at the pier. Hmmm….

On the lighthouse grounds, people with name tags confiscate even water bottles at the door. That led to a ruling of the matriarchs that safety was a given, no inspections required.

I have to get up to speed on this iPhone fad. Ryan Sheehan, D1’s S.O., panned this panorama while I’m over on the right snapping a completely worthless pic of him.

And he got one with Jonny, D2’s S.O., while I was fumbling with the new Canon I don’t know how to use. In Alaska last year I destroyed two cameras I did know how to use, so now it’s back to the learning curve.

I ran the risk of destroying a third camera on the ride down here. Before leaving Rhode Island, I googled Do GoPro camera mounts stick to Pelican cases? No certain answer, so I put a zip tie through the mount, on the chance that the 3M adhesive might let go. Sure enough, it did. So a 5-cent zip tie saved camera #3 from hitting the highway.

S.O.1 got a great iPhone video on a lightning flash from our rooftop deck. Here’s a still I lifted off it.

Here the 2-second flash slowed down to half speed.

A selfie by S.O.1, featuring S.O.1 and D1.

D2 and S.O.2

D2’s always kicking up her heels about something. Big enthusiasm about all things. Dunno what it was in this case. I’m too busy puzzling over my camera, holding it upside down, backwards, upside down and backwards….

Almost dropped it off the light. Accidentally got this shot when I grabbed for it.

A photo of somebody else’s selfie, which I guess would be an otherie. That’s a glimpse of Fort Screven over D1’s left shoulder. Big ship-sinking gun emplacements built for the Spanish-American War. Never saw action. Actual conversation ahead:

Me: I wonder where they got the sand to make the concrete for the fort?

Bride: The beach!

If I were a better person I’d feel bad about messing with someone who tends more toward math than language.

S.O.2, a house builder, is good in marine environments: fishing from blue water to fresh water, snorkeling in shark cages, whitewater rafting… In fact, he split out of Tybee a few days early to raft the Gauley River in West Virginia. Here, D3 gets a few pointers in casting for distance.

Got the hang of it. D2 is unimpressed. Busy texting.

But mighty-girl D2 jumps in to help when girly-girl D3 hooks something heavy.

They fought it & fought it… a crowd gathered… even some Amish chicks, or Mennonites, or Mormons. D2’s gymnast muscles to the rescue. When she was in training she could do her push-ups from a handstand.

Finally landed it… a pretty good-size ray.

Also called a sting ray. Mainly by those who have been stung.

S.O.2 prepares to de-hook the creature while the guy who rents the fishing gear attempts to hold down the tail with his flip-flop.

D2 got the shot of D3 throwing the ray back. The bait & tackle guy showed her how to pick it up without getting hurt.

Her Uncle Kevin from California got it on video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=em-upload_owner&v=AAKyMzwfvMw&app=desktop

Having vanquished the ray, D3 collects her high fives.

Every girl should have a sister to come to her rescue. Our three gals have always been a team. Best friends from Day 1. It was a pleasure for me to be reminded on this trip of how much they enjoy being together, and how they respect one another. You see it in their kindness, and politeness. When they’re working together on preparing meals, I hear them saying please and thank you. I like that. The bride has a gift for being a mom. She made our gals into good people like herself.

How liberating it was to see them become the young women they are. I put motorcycles on hold when they were growing up just because it’s kerrr-AZY out there. Even more so now, with professional drivers texting, cops texting… But when Emily, Jenna and Laura became young adults, I was free to go take my chances in good conscience. I like knowing that if things go unaccording to plan and I encounter misfortune at the intersection of Whoopsie & Daisy, the kids are all right.

Today, D2’s last day on Tybee and the final full day for everybody else. The bride and the gals assemble for the morning walk to the beach. Waiting on D3.

Just up the street, a cat walks out of the scrub and looks off into the distance.

Right on time, here comes his superhero…

… in the guise of an ordinary man.

Seven yesterday, one the day before, three today.

I guess it’s not illegal to ride around town putting out plates of food for stray cats.

Or the Catman wouldn’t strike just a few doors from the police station.

Tony DePaul, June 9, 2014, Tybee Island, Georgia