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Although I have been going to Hilton Head Island, SC for my vacations for over 25 years, I have never had the same experience twice. This last one was no exception. After arriving and getting settled into the condo at South Beach, I went over to the Salty Dog Cafe to have a drink after my long drive. As I was sitting on the patio and people watching, I noticed a pelican sitting on one of the poles close to me. He seemed to be people watching as well. Suddenly, he flew into the air and buzzed just over the heads of some people passing by me. They screamed and hit the deck as if being shot at by someone. I started to giggle and think, “This is going to be a fun vacation.” The next day, I went to the beach to walk, and noticed the dolphins swimming their usual route. I stopped to watch them, when I noticed one fin was unusually close. I stood in the water up to my mid-shin and watched the fin disappear. I was the only one on the beach, and the solitude was wonderful. Suddenly, I looked down, and noticed a dolphin’s nose on my foot…the dolphin looking up at me. I was frozen; I could not move. In my more than 25 years of coming to this particular beach, I had never seen the dolphins come to shore…much less to a person. The dolphin had come up to me as if to tell me, “Hello. Everything is going to be OK.” I had gone to get some worries off my mind and think about some personal things this vacation. And, the dolphin seemed like a “sign” for me. Another person came running down the beach, and the dolphin scooted off my foot and swam away. He asked me if I was OK, and I told him I was. He said he had never seen that before, and I assured him that I hadn’t either. It was by far the best vacation I had ever had, and I had not even been there a full day yet. I still had not been Para-sailing or swimming or bike riding, yet. Those things were made even better this last vacation by a ’simple’ visit from the little pink-bellied dolphin on my first day of my vacation.

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