This was a 'get out of Dodge' kind of weekend for us, especially for Peter Kevin.  Friday night we went shopping for birthday presents for Kate (yes, Kate, that's presents with an s).  She's going to be 22 on Friday (I'm not sure how that happened.  I'm pretty sure I'm not old enough for this).  We got home and had an early night since we were going to get up early to go to look at tools.

We travelled to Lambertville, about an hour and a half away.  I took some knitting.  One of my favorite sock patterns, Embossed Leaves, done in a yarn called Mirkwood.  The greens and browns and greys seemed perfect for a leaf pattern.  I figured it was a nice day, I could sit in the car and wait while Pk talked to the tool selling guy. 

This worked for about a half hour until I started to feel an urgent need for a bathroom.  Since I hadn't gone in with him, I didn't want to knock on a stranger's door and ask to use the facilities.  I sent him a text asking how long it was going to be.  No response.  I texted again explaining the urgency of my need.  No response.  Finally, I moved over to the driver's seat and went to find public facilities.  Thank goodness gas stations still have public bathrooms is all I can say.  They might not be ideal but they are handy in a pinch.  This one was fairly clean and I was back parked outside of the tool guy's house before Pk even knew I was gone.  Crisis averted. 

We then did the grocery shopping (at the fancy store).  It was so crowded with the most oblivious people I've ever seen all congregated in one place.  Leaving carts willy nilly in the aisles, cutting in front of me as I pushed the cart along.  We only go to this store two or three times a year to liven up the grocery shopping.  Partly because they're higher in price than our regular store and partly because they seem to attract a very oblivious crowd. 

Sunday, Pk went to Washington DC to the Galoot Fest.  The east coast galoots get together once a year to talk tools and learn a new technique.  I'm not sure why they always decide to do it in the heat of the summer.  I think maybe next year they'll gather in the spring or fall.  He left early in the morning and came home by dinner time.  A good time was had by all according to him. I putzed around the house, played with the spinning and did the laundry.  A nice quiet day which I enjoyed immensely.   I made some omelettes for dinner and we watched some stand up comedy. 

Today, we got up early and headed eastward to the beach.  We decided to go to Cape May.  New Jersey is a long state and Cape May is at the tip of the bottom.  It's a small beach town filled with gorgeous vacation and permenant homes.  We got down there by 10:30, found a place to park on the street and bought our beach tags and I had my toes in the sand within minutes.  It was a glorious day!  We almost didn't go because the weather report was for thunderstorms.  When we got up, the sky was clear and cloudless so we went for it. 

And it was a glorious day.  The beach became fairly crowded quickly.  Lots of folks for a Monday.  We would never go to the beach on a weekend day, too many people, too much traffic.  A Monday is a good bet, though.

The ocean was calm and the waves were gentle.  The sand is full of broken shells and it was an adventure to walk to the water.  We've always laughed at people who wore 'water shoes' but today, we understood the necessity.

The water was cold.  Very cold.  Get in and get out cold.  There must have been a storm off the coast somewhere because there was a lot of plant life floating in the sea water.

And dolphins!  We saw pods of dolphins frolicking out in the waves.  It was so cool!  They were jumping up out of the water!  There are large sightseeing boats that are for Whale Watching and Dolphin Watching but I'd think the large motors would scare them away.  They don't.   A few dolphins were chasing the boats, jumping up and down in the wake. 

We stayed until about 4 o'clock and got home shortly after 5:30 with intentions of going back in two weeks.  I have a tendency to forget how much I love the beach when I don't go often.

We got home between thunder cells.  I could tell one had passed through by the puddles and bits of trees on the ground.  And while I was putting some dinner in the oven, another one passed overhead.  Bright lightning and cracks of thunder.  It seems to have passed on now and the sky is brightening.  It rained somewhat but nothing like they were predicting (Large Hail! Gusty Winds! Heavy Downpours!!). 

We're getting ready to eat dinner and then get ourselves back together for going to work tomorrow.  Sigh.  We'd really rather go back to the beach.