Hatchlings

Olivia wanted to sleep with me last night, so she lay down in my bed and went to sleep. I crawled in later. Then this morning I awoke at 6 so I took my camera and went to the beach. She was still sleeping. When she got up she thought I had forgotten to come to bed. Walking to the beach I saw many animal tracks from holes on the dunes meandering to the water line. I think it was newly hatched sea turtles! I heard they hatch during a full moon. I watched the sun rise, hoping for enough light to take a good pic of the tracks, but when the sun fully rose, it was red and not that bright. So I went in for breakfast and fresh batteries for my camera. After beakfast we all went to the beach to swim. The waves were strong, but not quite as strong as yesterday so I went in up to my waist. I had fun challenging the waves. Then while the others went to the pool, I showered and lay down for awhile. Lunch was next, then we sat and talked about what we needed to clean and pack before leaving early tomorrow. At 4 The kids went to the pool, and Becca and I went back to the beach for shells. I wasn't planning to swim, but now the waves were much smaller and the water so clear that I couldn't resist. We were both tired when we returned to the beach house. Supper was next. Being our last one, we had to try to eat up everything that was leftover. We did prety well I think, but stuff did get thrown away. After supper we vaccummed the place and swept the decks and carport. We also did some packing. Tomorrow we get up at 7, finish packing, turn in the key and head back to Richmond Virginia.

Breathing in the sunrise

Last night after supper Becca and I decided to go in the hot tub. It had been having problems with the jets cycling on and off. But when we got in it was calm, and only 110 degrees. HOT!! The jets weren't working so we tried flipping the breaker. That got the jets working for a few minutes but not long enough to cool it off. So, we added water with a nearby hose and removed water with a bucket. We got it down to a more comfortable 105. Then we had a fine time chatting until it was time for bed.
I awoke this morning at 6. For the first time I didn't feel like jumping out of bed. Was it soaking in the hot tub? Anyway, I took a full water bottle to the beach and waited until sunrise. Then I poured the water out, letting the bottle fill with beach air. It occured to me to put in some sand and a little sea water and some shells - my own little beach! But I didn't think Immigration would let it through. Then I took a walk south. I saw a few sectons roped off as sea turtle nesting sites. I also saw an elaborate sand castle someone built. There were a number of people out photographing the sunrise. It was nice, but not as spectacular as yesterday. Then I came back to get on the internet before everyone was awake.
After breakfast, we all went to the beach to swim. But the water was still cold AND the waves were very strong, so we just waded in the surf and lay on the sand. But the sand wasn't hot, barely warm so I went in to the pool for awhile, then inside for a shower.
After lunch I went for a walk to a nearby hardware store. I wanted fishing line for making a necklace, but they didn't have it. I did, however, buy two small nuts, hoping that one of them is the size I need to fix something in Korea. On the way back I walked into a surf shop. He didn't have fishing line for sale, but when I mentioned that I only needed 6 feet, he got out his rod and cut off the required amount. He wouldn't even let me pay. What a nice guy!
Back at the house, we sat around until it was time to leave for the restaurant. It took over half an hour to get there. Olivia remembered it from last year and wanted to go. She is almost 5. I got an appetizer of salmon, lemon grass, and ginger. It was wonderfully spicy, but I couldn't finish it and took some home. I think everybody had leftovers. Then we went to the grocery store for a few items, then headed for home. Back at the house, the kids went to bed and Becca and I set out the beads for the necklace, now that we have the fishing line. Olivia is asleep in my bed. I am the lucky chosen one tonight.

Fourth Day

I got up a little after 6. I went to the beach for a run, but it was too uncomfortable in the sand, so I settled for a fast walk. It took me 20 minutes to walk to the pier. I was watching the sunrise the whole way. With the cloud formations it was amazing! Too bad I didn't have my camera. At one point it looked like a giant hand had grabbed the sun.
Then I had breakfast and hit the puzzles. I have finished 4 and am working on a fifth, but it is 1000 pieces, so I may not finish it as it is not my top priority. AFter lunch, 4 of us went to WINGS to get some stuff. I got a frisbee. Then we hit the grocery store for wine and milk. On the way back I saw a hardware store that I want to visit. I think it is in walking distance from here.

Missing pieces

After I posted yesterday, I laid back to read a book and finished it. By then it was time for supper. We had two roasted chickens, wild rice, salad, and something else. It was all good, as usual. Olivia and James went to the beach to fly her kites, but there wasn't enough wind. I spent some more time separating puzzle pieces and working on a hot air balloon puzzle. I went to bed at 10:30 but woke at 6am. I swear I am not getting up early on purpose. But, being awake, I put on my suit and took my Cd player to the beach. The sunrise was not visible for the clouds, again. But I sat there and meditated for an hour and by then the sun was above the clouds. It was beautiful. I took a walk along the beach and saw some birds trying to bob in the water, but they kept getting unsettled by breaking waves. I headed back for breakfast and more puzzle work. Then we all went to the beach together. This time I went in the water. COLD, again, but they say being cold burns calories. I left when a man on a bougie board kept 'surfing' too close to me. I didn't want to get run over. I hung out by the pool, watching the kids swim, then went in for a shower and lunch. After lunch I went through every puzzle on the shelf looking for pieces that didn't fit. I found a few more pieces to the balloon puzzle and a few pieces that don't fit any puzzle. Every one of them had extra pieces. I finished the ballloon puzzle with only 58 pieces missing. At this rate maybe it is not worth separating the pieces.

Second Day

Yesterday evening about sunset, Al and I walked from the beach house across the peninsula to the sound. You could almost see the sunset except for a cloud partially covering it. But I took a pic anyway and caught a windsurfer in the shot. The water in the sound is much calmer and warmer. But there are very few houses on that side.
Last night I stayed up until after 11 sorting puzzle pieces. The house we are renting at the beach has puzzles. But it seems someone mixed the pieces to about 5 different puzzles before filling up the empty boxes. Some are easy to separate because the backs are a different color. But the others have to be sorted by size (they are very close) and two 500 piece puzzles are exactly the same except for the picture. At least one of the others is a 1000 piece puzzle.
This morning I woke up about 5:30. So I walked to the beach and took a video and some pics of the sunrise (what you could see of it behind the clouds). I stood in the surf until a particularly large wave soaked me. Then I came back to put on dry clothes, and I had breakfast, returning to work on the puzzle mixture. I have three puzzle outlines on the table, trying to identify which pieces go with each one. Marie got up later and had to pack and leave. We were sorry to see her go. Then we all put on our suits and went to the beach. The water was still cold, and a few jellyfish were seen in the water. But I stayed long enough to accidently get a face full of salt water. I put on my goggles then which helped a lot. Then I wanted to see how waterproof they were so I went back to the pool where the kids were. The goggles performed very well. After a little swimming around we all came in for lunch. I had a shower, and hit the puzzles again. When Al and James went to the store, he let me use his computer, so here is today's entry.

First day at the beach

Sunday we left just before 10:30am. I rode with Marie in her rental Camero, 2010 model. VERY nice car! But the passenger seat is very low, so I could barely see over the dash. I felt so short! (no comments, please) We stopped for lunch at a DQ and had salad. Then we drove a long time and stopped at a grocery store to stock up on food. Next stop: rental agency to get the key. Finally we drove to the beach house. Unpacking the food and kitchen utensils we'd brought took a while. Then we walked over the high dune to see the beach. But a storm was coming, in fact it had rained on us several times. So we stayed in the house after that, fixed supper, talked, read books, fell asleep at the table. I was awoken and told to go to bed. So I did. Unfortunately I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't go back to sleep. I had a meditation CD but the batteries kept spluttering out. I must have gone through 4 sets. They were rechargeables that I bought at WalMart and had just charged. Maybe they have to go through a few cycles to get to full power?
When I finally did get to sleep, I slept 'till 7:30. So glad not to be awake at 6. I took a walk on the beach, then a shower. We all had breakfast, then went to the beach with the kids for a swim. The water was COLD! But persistance paid off and I could inch my way in. Actually, the water did not get deeper than knee height between waves for a quite a ways out. It was surprizing. But then I had to get out and warm up again. We finally went in because I was starting to feel burned, even though I was wearing #50 sunblock. We all had sandwiches and fruit for lunch. Then the kids played whle the adults read or went on a food run. I borrowed Al's computer while he was out shopping. Thanks, Al.

Visiting

Yesterday I stayed up 'till 10 hoping to sleep past 6am, but no luck. SO I cleared out my e-mail and took a shower. Then Cecily drove me over to my parents house. I spent the day with them, looking at sewing projects me mother started, and watching my father hang Michele's portrait in the living room. All too soon it was time to return so we could all go out to eat. AFter a marvelous salad, we returned to the house. My s-i-l came in time to eat with us. Then not too long after, My b-i-l and his wife and kids arrived. Let the fun begin!