Typical day at the beach

I awoke to the sounds of running children. They were up at 6. I stayed in bed for awhile longer. Then I dressed and went down to the ocean. The surf was quite cold. The sun had already risen, but I could still watch as the view changed. The clouds shifted, and different parts of them were illuminated as the sun climbed. So I sat on the edge of the boardwalk to the beach and played with the sand. After a bit, big biting flies found me. I fought them bravely for awhile, then retreated to the safety of the house. I prepared my breakfast and at it while using Chris' computer to check e-mail. When he had finished eating and showering, I let him have it back. I decided to put on my swim suit and go back to the beach. James and Olivia came along, but she reconsidered her decision fairly quickly. Then Becca and Michele came out. They found it to be too cold, and did not stay in long. There was only one jellyfish today and I think it was dead. It floated into my hand accidentally and did not sting. I brought my goggles along and tried to look at the bottom. But it was hard, so much sand in the water. And I kept floating up. Finally I came out and helped them look for shells. When I felt a twinge in my back, I lay down on a mat in the sun. It was so relaxing. But I started to worry about burning, so I came in, too. Cecily had come out with a book and elected to stay longer to read it. After changing out of my suit, I started in on some Sudoku variation puzzles that Cecily had given me. Then it was lunchtime. After lunch, there was more sudoku. And then Chris, James and I went to Food Lion to get a few things for supper. I got on Chris' computer for awhile to clear out more e-mail. Some video segments take as long as an hour. Chris made burritoes for supper, laying out the ingredients buffet style. I did not take a burrito shell, but ate my share of fixins. After supper, I went out the to surf and discovered it was amazingly warm. Then I sat on the step and played in the sand again. When the flies started biting, I came in. No one knew where Chris was. I found him in Michele's room. They were on their computers ready to play with 'the voices', but not enough voices 'showed up', so the game was canceled. Very sad. I went upstairs and selected another book to read. Cecily went to bed, and then Becca. Finally James and the kids turned in. It got very quiet until we heard fireworks. Alfred and I went out on the deck to watch, but the show was unspectacular, and short. Finally I went down to ask Chris for his computer to write this blog post. He is asleep already.
P.S. Although we waited all day to see the pipe in action, it never happened. People flocked to the beach just like on all the other days. They gave it no personal space, setting up chairs near it, and swimming around it almost as if it weren't there.
* People watching the pipe-float being carried off *