By Ross

It's time to play a little catch up. We spent a week enjoying Tybee Island and making some day trips into Savannah. One lunch stop was particularly memorable. After our first two choices turn out to be closed, we found a nearby restaurant on Trip Advisor called Mrs. Wilkes House. Known for traditional southern cuisine, the reviews looked pretty good and it opened at 11:00 AM. It was 10:45 AM so that was perfect. As we pulled up to the restaurant, there was a line down the block waiting to get in the restaurant. What!?! Not wanting to miss out (FOMO is a thing now), we got in line and waited. Surely people wouldn't wait in line unless the restaurant was good! Our anticipation grew by the minute.

They began seating people 10 at a time at large family style tables already served with tall glistening glasses of iced sweet tea. We were seated with strangers who appeared to be veteran patrons of this establishment. They tucked their napkins into their shirts, grabbed a fork and knife, and snarled. Actually, that's not entirely true, not all of them tucked napkins into their shirts.

When the servers arrived with about 30 bowls of food, the sharks went after the chum in a feeding frenzy like I've never seen before. I was thinking, "I better get mines!" The bowls began to go around the table. Meatloaf, fried chicken, collards, sweet potato casserole... All conversation ceased and everyone focused on spooning out food. Sweet corn, green beans, mac and cheese, biscuits, cornbread... I was struck with a feeling I might never eat again, so I better get while the gettin' was good. BBQ pork, black-eyed peas, butter beans, okra, pot roast... I could see Robin out of the corner of my eye (I didn't want to look at her and take my eye off the bowls coming around). Mashed potatoes, potato salad, sliced cucumbers... She was gnawing on a fried chicken drumstick, I think, because still watching the bowls.

And even though the servers were replacing half emptied bowls with hot fresh ones, I shoveled food in my mouth as fast as I could. And so did everyone else around the table. After all, this is what makes America great: eating more food than you need while sending thoughts and prayers to the starved. We were 10 patriots sitting around the table exercising our God-given right to eat and eat and eat.

In this week's health news half of all U.S. adults will be obese by 2030. Currently that figure stands at 40%, including 18% with severe obesity. The connection between obesity and type 2 diabetes is well established. What's less well known is the large number of "healthy" people with a pre-diabetic insulin insensitivity that's a precondition for so many chronic conditions, like heart, brain, and autoimmune disorders. Let's put this another way: many Americans with normal biomarkers (like blood glucose and hemoglobin A1C) are destined for a chronic condition that will cause them suffering and pain down the road.

After Tybee Island we stopped for a few days at one of our favorite places, Hunting Island State Park near Beaufort, SC. We chased a few sunrises and spent some time on the beach sitting, walking, or riding the bike through the dead trees. Hunting Island is known for being the film location for the Vietnam scenes in Forrest Gump, one of my all-time favorite movies.

The other big news is obviously the coronavirus, or COVID-19. We just call it "Cyrus", like in c-virus or Cyrus the virus. Every virus appreciates a proper name. So because of Cyrus, we're accelerating our trip back to Oregon. After a brief stop in Charleston, we're heading to Kentucky to visit Robin's folks. From there we speed West and hope to be home in a few weeks. Regarding the pandemic, we're planning for a worst case scenario and look to be in our own place in the event we meet Cyrus and need to self-isolate with the comforts and resources of home.

Tybee, Hunting, Charleston, and COVID-19

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