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O Ten days away from stress, responsibility and to-do lists That's Life Andy Juniper Guest Contributor 7 | Thursday, May 15, 2014 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com ur Global Positioning System (GPS) precisely measured the pain in both distance and hours. According to the tiny, talking technology, my wife and I were covering 1,614.9 kilometres over two days just for the chance to recharge and reconnect. That's 18.3 hours of pure driving -- more time of course if we had dared to take bathroom breaks or stop for frivolous things like fuel and food -- just to nd sand, surf and sun, antidotes to the recent soul-sucking winter. But we persevered. We found what we were looking for in Hilton Head, S.C., returning to the east coast island paradise for the rst time in ve years. And en route, we also found an oasis in an unlikely place. All told, we had ourselves a vacation -- 10 days away from our offspring, the hounds and homestead, from nagging every-day stresses, responsibilities, and to-do lists that of late had begun to seem unmanageable, if not insurmountable. Leaving home, we would have been giddy at the prospect of time away, but it was 6 a.m., far too early to be anything other than propped up by coffee. We barely talked on the way to the border, save for the witty one in the relationship asking every ten minutes or so: are we there yet? We left Ontario, crossed New York State, and headed into Pennsylvania, settling into a rhythm with the road, decompressing, debriefing, getting caught up on anything and everything (of late we'd been two ships passing in the night). By the time we reached the postcard-perfect Blue Ridge Mountains, we were getting stir crazy. Still, we drove through West Virginia, Virginia, and kept `truckin' right into North Carolina, nally looking for lodgings and hoping to nd food that in no way resembled the junk we'd eaten earlier. Trouble was, we were in the middle of nowhere. No accommodations, no decent restaurants to be found. Night was approaching and we'd been on the road too long. We were punch drunk. Finally, we came upon an exit offering one burger joint and one lonely lodging, thankfully a reliable Hampton Inn. We checked in and asked at the desk where the heck we were and was there anything to eat around here other than greasy burgers? We were in Dobson, N.C., population: 1,586. And the inn is actually af liated with Shelton Winery (the largest in the state) and the winery's Harvest Grill Restaurant, located two miles down the road. Talk about lucking out. Talk about an oasis in the culinary desert. An hour or two in a picturesque setting, a glass or two of Shelton's nest chardonnay accompanying a marvelous meal, and we were again ready to face the world. And the road. Early morning wakeup call and six hours to Hilton Head, we arrived at noon and were shocked to nd people outdoors wearing nothing but sunny smiles, shorts and Tshirts, beaches littered with bikinis, well-stocked poolside bars, and the island just as we remembered it, festooned with ne dining. Each night, after a day of cycling, beach-walking, gol ng, or doing a lazy lot of nothing, we entered one of these establishments and feasted on fresh sh, ne wine and welcome conversation. Honestly, it took us about 60 seconds to fall in love all over again. With the island -- and with each other. -- Andy Juniper can be contacted at ajjuniper@gmail.com, found on Facebook www.facebook.com, or followed on Twitter at www.twitter. com/thesportjesters. 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