Zunzies

Today is Old Town Bluffton day. Karolina drove me around the town to give me the lay of the land. Basically it’s one main street with all these cute shops and galleries and old houses. At one end is the coffee shop and the other end is the beach.

She dropped me at the beach end to start. I walked down to the dock and it was so quiet and peaceful. The water was still and the sunshine was warm. I plopped myself down on the dock and opened my journal and Bible. After a few minutes I realized how tired I was. Nobody was around so I put my bag behind my head and laid down to take a nap. I woke up 30 minutes later and heard splashing. When I looked out at the water I could see the dolphin going up and down. I grabbed my camera and ran to the edge of the dock.

I was glad I was now awake as more people started to join me. I made friends with the old woman who came down to see the dolphin.

I decided I needed a coffee so I walked back to the other end. I made my plan that I would scope out all the cute shops I wanted to go to and then I could wander back with my coffee. And I did just that. I also sat in the coffee shop for a while. It was nice to have a place to just be for a while. So I downloaded a book and listened to a podcast while I sipped on my latte.

By the time it was done it had really started to warm up. I also was feeling more like a vagabond. One of the things about being out for the day means you have to carry everything with you. Anytime you want to move you have to back up all the things.

But I started down the street taking pictures as I went. I also heard there was a farmer’s market at the other end so I was trying to time it well so I could get there when it started and get a late lunch. I walked through the galleries and I was surprised how much fun I was having. Normally I’m not a fan of art and I always feel so lost in museums. Usually when I look at a painting I just think either it’s pretty or I could make it myself. I told all this to the gallery owner and she giggled before giving some advice.

She said she usually thinks about which ones draw her attention and why. It is the color or subject. She also thinks about how it makes her feel or if she would want the painting or photo with her all of the time. Something in her living room or family room. She also thinks about if she doesn’t like it. She also likes the abstract paintings and how an artist can do something with very little strokes.

I started practicing some of these things as I walked around and I was so surprised that I was actually enjoying it! I was bold enough to even think that I didn’t like some and I realized I liked the abstract ones. I was also so surprised how an artist could make you know exactly what something was even with a simple little stroke. I also picked my favorite of a sailboat on the ocean that I would always want with me.

I made it to the farmer’s market just in time. I walked around and bought some oranges and then I had a funny interaction. I was taking this picture of a cool bus and there was a woman in the picture. I kept walking and heard her say she was from Pittsburgh. My ears perked up and I had to stop and ask where in Pittsburgh. When she said she was from my town and my jaw dropped. Then come to find out that we go to the same church and didn’t even know it. We exchanged numbers and we are hoping to get dinner when we are back. So funny!

Then I made another friend at a stand. She made these gluten free dairy free cookies and muffins which are my jam!! So I asked her what the story was for starting her business. Come to find out she was on her death bed in the hospital with all these medical issues. She had a come to Jesus moment and decided she was going to try something different other than the medicine. So she did an elimination diet all the way down to fruit and vegetable juice and started to add things back in. She then found out that gluten dairy and nuts were causing her issues. And when she took those out she was completely healed. She then decided to start living her life and did a trip in her car up and down the east coast sleeping in her back seat. When she got back she decided she was going to help others and started her business.

Then I took all my treats and went to listen to live music and enjoy some people watching.

Then I went back to the dock and found a bench to sit. I still had a few hours before Karolina finished at work. I read my book for a little while but then was getting tired again so I decided to take another nap. It was so nice to have my big back pack as a pillow. I also think it’s funny because I wonder if people around were starting to wonder who the homeless girl was that was sleeping all over the town. Well no worries, I’ll never see them again.

Karolina picked me up and we were off to her Bible study! I was so excited to see all the people I had met on Monday night. We had an hour drive to Savannah and it was fun to catch up about our days.

We got to the church and I loved seeing everyone! They are so kind and made me feel right at home. We had a Christmas study on the relevance of Christmas. My biggest takeaway was how the most unapproachable God made himself approachable and vulnerable in the form of a baby. That still amazes me.

Then it was time to go out to dinner. The tradition every week. And everyone started saying “ Zunzies Zunzies Zunzies” that I started to think it was a word I didn’t know. But it’s actually their favorite restaurant. So we all walked over and everyone ordered their favorites. It was so fun listening to how much they loved this place and it lived up to the hype! We had a blast sitting around the table talking and we completed one of the girl’s roommate Christmas cards. The four of them did Mad Lib and we had to guess who it matched.

Karolina has such a cool community here. I loved hearing them talk about all the things they did together and wanted to do together. And how well they knew each other. Their main community was this 20’s group and they were all in. They wanted to live life together.