Monday, August 1, 2011

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. 

8 comments:

amy said...

We went to the beach today too! The beach we've been going to this year is a state beach but in our town, and the road leading to it is lined with vacation rentals. "Cottages," they call them. I finally looked up some prices online tonight, curious. One really nice one was $4500 per week plus security. I think we can handle the 12-minute drive and the reasonable mortgage. ;) (These are the homes that keep property taxes so low, relative to neighboring towns, for us average folk.)

I love the beach too. It had been two weeks since we'd gone, since the boys had art camp last week, and I was feeling a bit crumbly inside...

Bells said...

Oh the beach sounds so peaceful - all that lovely calm.

Embossed leaves is a stunning pattern. I've done it three times. You're inspiring me to do it again. I never tire of it. Gorgeous in that green!

Galad said...

The beach looks wonderful. Glad you had a good time

Saren Johnson said...

Yes, I think we need to go to the beach next March.

Rose Red said...

Embossed leaves is my all time favourite sock pattern!

Going to the beach is one of life's simplest and best pleasures! We had a weekend away this weekend and stayed in a cabin overlooking the beach. It was wonderful to hear the waves all day. And we saw a whale from the deck of our cabin! Fantastic!

roxie said...

Oh, your beach trip sounds idylic! Good for you. And I applaud your bathroom solution. Way to solve the problem, girl!

Anonymous said...

yes, let us all go back to the beach. its been strangely warm here this week, 24, 26 degrees celsius (its still winter for crying out loud) and all i want to do is take the dogs for a swim. the pacific is still pretty cold though! i have to say tho it is so weird to see you have to get tags etc. all our beaches are completely free and open. i think there'd be a revolution if someone tried to change that!

Amy Lane said...

That DOES sound glorious-- but the adventure of going to the bathroom sounds all too familiar. And Mirkwood? Gorgeous... some of my favorite colors.

Happy Sunday!  I am sitting here working on my sweater made with the cashmere yarn my husband gave me for my birthday last year. I’m further...