The Savannah trip to see the Tall Ships was Ray’s and my last special event in Hilton before our trip north. The last two days were spent mostly packing and organizing, and photography had to take a back seat. But – I did manage to take photos on those days.
Sunday, May 6th was a Sunday, and after church – and before settling down to serious packing – I noticed a few more magnolia blooms were out. The tree is rarely covered because the squirrels get the blooms, smash them to the ground and I suppose find the seeds within. But – this one was still securely on the tree and just about ready to open:
365 photo #127
By the following day – Monday, May 7th – both Ray and I were mostly packed and our stuff was “staged” in the living room in readiness to load the cars. The idea was to get most of this done the day before we left, so we could leave pronto on Tuesday morning, May 8th. When I took this photo, a certain percentage of the luggage had already been packed in the cars, so you get an idea of the magnitude of what we transport each time we move from one abode to the other. I often wonder how we could cut back on the amount, but it doesn’t ever seem to happen….
365 photo #128
No bonus photos 
Next Stop — Eastern Long Island!
When you find the secret to cutting back let me know! Maggie and I can usually fill a car but this time Larry flew out and will be going us for the return trip so I have to fit him I’m too:)
I don’t know if we’ll ever totally be able to cut back the way I’d like to do. going away for 6 months requires that certain things travel with us that might not have to if it was only a few weeks or a month. We have important papers, like stuff for taxes, and papers from Ray’s parent’s estates which are not quite settled yet. I have all my flute music, Ray has two guitars, I have two flutes, Certain books, CD’s etc. travel with us back and forth – bill paying materials (check books, etc.), computer software for reload – just in case of a computer crash. Add to that several canvas bags of cat things — and the cats, too.
You can see where I’m going with this. The stuff adds up. We have purchased some clothes that stay south, and some clothes don’t go south. But – even so, I have two suitcases and a duffel bag of shoes worth of stuff – and Ray has his stuff. I keep thinking we can let things go – and not transport so much – and I know I’m a bit heavy handed when packing, so I suspect I could cut back – but don’t.
We are hoping that after Ray’s parent’s estates are totally settled we can leave those things in our house in Hilton Head. But – that is just two huge accordion folders.