I am so happy with how our writing retreat in Kiawah Island, SC went. Not only did we get a lot of words and a lot of work done, but my writing friend Keely and I also had a relaxing and wonderful time!
First of all our travel magic (h/t to our friend Angele) was in full effect when we arrived, as they decided to give us the white wrangler to drive around despite that not being at all what I reserved.
Then, we swung by the amazing Angel Oak tree on our way — this tree is estimated to be over 400-500 years old, possibly one of the oldest living things in the country! When you touch the bark–you can feel the energy. It’s truly special.
Perfect way to start with some inspiration!
Then we did a little drive around tour of Kiawah Island, got into my condo, made some lunch, and then took a walk to the beach to get the energy flowing again and set our intentions for the trip.
We got after some writing when we returned, setting up on the screened in porch, which turned out to be our primary spot of word-smithing for the trip–shocker–and I got in a solid 2367 words before we had to get ready and head to dinner at the River Room. Not too shabby! We pretty much gorged ourselves there–it was the beginning of us spoiling ourselves for all our hard work. 😉
The next day, we made breakfast, then went for a bike ride around the island to see some of my favorite homes and again get our blood flowing, and saw a big old gator! There’s something about those prehistoric predators…
We got some writing in afterwards… made some lunch, and did a virtual check-in with another writing friend Gabriel who we were missing… then it was off to the Sasanqua spa!
We didn’t enjoy that at all, ha. Drove over to the beach, passing by some deer buddies who we saw constantly throughout the trip:
And enjoyed a lovely walk to wake us back up after supreme relaxation!
Returning to the condo, we got back to work, reinvigorated and our writers’ bodies not feeling quite so pinched. My masseuse had literally called me out for my chest muscles being too tight from sitting at the computer ha! I was like, uh, that’s what I’m here to do. But all in all, I netted another 3037 words on Friday, so no complaints from me!
Off to the B-Liner at the Beach Club we went, with my favorite waitress there Sara, and really it’s one of my all time favorite restaurants, so there is no going wrong. We ate well, we drank well, and had so many good chats about our work and our lives.
The next morning, we ate breakfast and then it was off to beach yoga outside the Sanctuary and man was that special. And the warmth of the sun on our faces during savasana at the end, I really didn’t want to get back up. Our instructor was fabulous and the zen was in full effect, so we didn’t get more words in until after lunch at the Marsh House!
However, there I did get in an additional 1617 words in after lunch, before having a writer’s revelation that I need to do a bit more research on a specific topic, because I was beginning to feel like I was BS’ing my way through it, LOL. But that’s okay. So that’s where I left off with my writing, and that’s what I have to get into this week.
We ended the trip by sitting out on the beach for golden hour, which was entirely out of control gorgeous and peaceful and perfect, and then enjoyed some shrimp and grits at Jasmine’s Porch, which you kind of have to have while in Kiawah, SC. Lastly, we enjoyed LoveHard on Netflix, which was an adorable romantic Christmas flick–which we highly recommend!
Sunday morning I dropped off Keely, and got in one final really inspirational moment… kayaking with the dolphins!
All in all, pre-trip I was at 23% complete with my novel, with 19,648 words written. After our trip, I’m now at 31% complete, with 26,669 words written. Whoop whoop!
I don’t know if I can still get this book done by the end of year, but damn it I’m making good progress, and it’s only a matter of time!!!