The Flying Fish

We did not get up at 5:30 when Chris' alarm went off. I don't remember it, but he says he asked me if I wanted to go walking on the beach and I said 'no'. It was more like 9 when we got up. I heard the kids go off to the beach for their morning swim. I read a bit of e-mail, then fixed my breakfast for later. I put on my suit and joined them at the beach. The sand was warm, and the surf was cold, but not icy like before. I was able to work my way into the water, but it was hard to stay in. I think the surf temperature was deceptive. James and Becca and Olivia came in to jump the waves. We had a good time until we couldn't stand the cold any more. Then we swam in the pool for awhile, leaving Cecily at the beach. Olivia and I got in the hot tub, too. Then it was breakfast time for me. After breakfast, I read e-mail, and hung up my suit and towel. I heard knocking and went downstairs to look, but there was no one there. I looked out Cecily's bedroom window and still didn't see anyone. Then I heard her bathroom door open. It opens to the deck. A man was setting a gift basket and balloons inside. When he saw me, he mentioned a name that I didn’t know. I told me there was no one by that name, and he left. When Chris finished his e-mail, he took me to thrift shops in the area. I was looking for wooden alphabet blocks for Alec and some informal comfortable goes-with-everything shoes for me. I have such shoes but they are wearing out. We found 4 or 5 shops. I got some kids books and some tops. Then we stopped at the dollar store and got magnetic letters and some bubbles. When we got back, Olivia and I tried to blow bubbles under the house. She had a sunburn and had to stay in the shade. The bubble juice was a dud, so we added some shampoo. That worked much better, but the wind didn't help. Then we played in the sand. When she got bored, she went inside to watch TV. A man came to the house. I walked over to meet him. He mentioned a name and it wasn't one of ours, so he decided he must have the wrong place, and he went next door. Cecily wondered if I was trolling for strange men. Since I am the only one that sees them, Becca wondered if I had too much sun. I read e-mail for awhile, then decided to go to the pool. Without the kids. Chris said we did not have much time. I looked at my watch and thought of Confucius. He say “Man with one watch knows what time it is”. He forgot to add that if that man vacations in another time zone, he could be unsure. Chris went along to the pool to track the time while I swam laps and then floated. I was floating face down when William saw me from the deck above and yelled out because he feared I was dead. I reassured him by standing up. Then I came in to shower and dress for supper. We rode with Al and Cecily to The Flying Fish. Olivia loves that restaurant because they have the best chicken fingers and they give the kids crayons to write on the paper tablecloths. You can see what Olivia wrote. She drew other things while we waited for our food. It was all good. When we left, Al went shopping with James and Becca and the rest rode with us home. It started to rain a bit. Chris and I read e-mail until J, B and A returned. Chris and I took a walk on the darkening beach. We saw crabs scuttling into the surf looking for food. I almost stepped on one. The beach was deserted because of the raindrops. When we returned, we joined the group on the deck to chat. When Cecily went to bed, the group broke up. Chris read e-mail while I wrote this post.