Beach Day

We haven't had too many beach days this summer.  I've been working a lot of overtime and on other weekends, the weather hasn't cooperated.  Today was Chamber of Commerce weather -- 80 degrees, low humidity and a slight breeze.  Usually if we get to the beach before 9:00, there are plenty of parking spaces.  Not today.  Everybody must have watched the weather and headed out early like us. The parking lot at Jenness was full, so we went back to the main drag.  We didn't have luck getting a place close enough.  That made us try a side street.  It looked like I had found a space -- Selim got out and directed me in.  "A bit more to the right...just a tad bit more...the back end is sticking out too much."  I'm a pretty good at parking, but not today.  Then we heard this lady calling us from her yard, "just park in my driveway.  It's OK.  I don't have a car today."

I got out and asked her if she was sure.  "You had such a nice young man helping you into the spot, and he was doing a great job.  I don't want you to get a ticket.  Please, use my driveway."

And we did.  It was a short walk to the beach and I was thankful for her generosity.  The beach was packed, at 9:00.  There were tents set up on the sand, piles of surfboards, huge beach umbrellas, and lots of people.  We staked out our small section of beach and went in the water.  Selim went in before I could finish my coffee.  And the water was cold.

We had such a good time.  We had three long swim and boogie board sessions with intermissions of snacks and walks along the tide line.  I  brought my camera and enjoyed taking pictures of all the surfboards.  While we weren't in Maui with other members of our family, we did our best to imitate their beach activity.

On our way back to the towels from our longest walk, I asked him if I could take a picture of his back.  He stood still, hunched his shoulders and dropped his head.

"Not that look.  Can you stand up straight, please?"  And he gave me this, a back with some attitude!

The waves were bigger than the last time we were there.  Selim rode some great waves that took him all the way in.  Epic and boss were adjectives he used to describe his rides.  On his last big ride, he stayed on his board and enjoyed the warmth of the sun and his success.

After four hours, we were ready to leave.  When we got back to our car, we thanked the lady for allowing us the use of her driveway.  "I love the beach and am happy that I live so close by.  There is no reason why others shouldn't get to enjoy it as much as I do.  And, if I had a granddaughter around your son's age, I would try to marry them off."  All righty then.

We left Jenness and continued south on Rt. 1.  Not too far down, we came across a large number of seagulls hanging out in the marshy area with all the lily pads.  We parked and watched them for a while.  They were so funny -- squawking at each other, wiggling their back sides, shaking their feathers.  We sat in the car and laughed.

We had a great day.  I am so thankful for these times when Selim wants to be with me and we can be together and so happy.