Beach life can be weird life

Earlier tonight, a group of us headed to a local volunteer fire department's station for an evening of regional professional wrestling.  We're not talking WWE here; oh, no.  These matches came from a small regional promotion.  We learned about them from a hand-painted sign we spotted on the side of the road.

As you can see, the setup was a far cry from Madison Square Garden, where the WWE holds some of its biggest events.

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We nonetheless had fun watching both the matches and some of the more enthusiastic members of the crowd.  A few of the wrestlers were clearly beginners, but some, including these two, put on good shows.

Back at the house, our own combat continued, as we assaulted the second CaBobcake.

Yes, it's standing firm against our onslaught, but we are many, and we are determined.  

The Bobcake is attracting more attention through its Bobcakely majesty, so we are moving through it more quickly.

I do believe we have a shot at finishing this year's Bobcake in record time.

Such are the excitements of beach life.

The first cake to fall...

...is CaBobcake #1, which we finally finished late tonight.

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The battle raged for over two days, and several paid a dear price in blood sugar spikes, but in the end, we triumphed.

Of course, this was but one battle; the war continues, with a fresh CaBobcake awaiting us.

Speaking of the cake wars, we are gaining ground on the BobCake, with over half of it now down our collective yaps. 

As you can see, though, it is not going quietly into the cake good night.

And now, to read, and then, to sleep.

Beach life update and lesson

After lunch today, a group of us stopped by a local shop to check out its wares.  As we left it, we noticed that another nearby shop offered an intriguing combination of products:  wine, art, and yoga.  We decided we had to visit it.

Right outside the store, we found this rather horrifying mermaid; Sarah did her derpiest expression while posing with it. 

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From this mermaid and the shop's exterior, as well as from the odd variety of products it sold, I entered it quite certain it was going to be a place in which I found only ironic amusement. 

I was wrong.

Though a little of the art was of the grade-school variety, much of it was interesting, and the jewelry was quite lovely.  The woman who made the jewelry was working there, and she was not only talented, she had great taste in music.  We ended up buying three pieces of jewelry and quite enjoying our time in the store.

I took this trip as a reminder that any time I am stupid enough to feel superior, I deserve a boot to the head. 

Back in the house, we ended the day with a good chunk missing from the Bobcake

and a bit over half of one CaBobcake down our gullets. 

Yes, we have a lot of cake work to do, but we're up to the challenge. 

Another day at the beach.

The Bobcake arrives!

Today, the Bobcake arrived.  For those who don't follow this blog, the Bobcake is a huge, dense, rich, insanely delicious chocolate cake that Bob makes for us each year.  This cake is so big it has a name and may soon get a zip code.

In the past, we've also asked Bob to bake for us his wonderful carrot cake, the CaBobcake, a creation that weighs almost as much as the Bobcake but takes up only half the space.  When we last encountered a CaBobcake, we consumed it in about 28 hours.  This year, we're embracing the notion that the beach is an "and" place, not an "or" place, so we asked Bob to prepare two CaBobcakes. 

Here we see the cakes preparing for their ride home in the back of the rental van.

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Note the quiet dignity of the Bobcake--and the fact that it's almost as wide as a car seat. 

From above, right before we cut into it, the Bobcake looks like a giant chocolate battleground. 

The CaBobcake, on the other hand, could almost pass for a light, fluffy desert, did we not know just how dense it truly is.

The question before the house is simple:  Can our hearty band of adventurers consume the entire Bobcake and not one, but two CaBobcakes, or will the cakes carry the day?

Ah, the challenges of beach life.

Stay tuned for updates in the humanity vs. Bobcakes battle.

Today's shopping trip

When we're feeling ambitious, we detour after lunch to a shop, sometimes two.  Today's post-lunch adventures took us to an ice-cream store that makes all its own ice creams and whose confections are extremely tasty.  From there, we made a second stop at a kite-and-wind-thingy store; if the wind might move it around, this place sold it. 

The shop sits in exactly the perfect spot for the wind to keep its offerings moving, as you can see in this photo.

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Yes, we're in The South.  I particularly like the contrast of the peace and Confederate banners.

Another beach day, another distinct lack of work.  As it should be.

Beach life

Wake up around 10:45 a.m.

Gather fellow walkers, walk two miles, chatting.

Splash in pool.

Shower.

Lunch.

Read and hang.

Walk to ocean, splash in ocean.

Splash in pool.

Hot tub.

Shower.

Dinner.

Read and hang.

Movie.

Movie.

Hot tub.

Two desserts, some snacks, some writing, all fit in along the way.

Sleep around 2:30 a.m.

Sometimes a nap fills the spaces.  Sometimes more sleep.  I always need more sleep.

Aside from the enormous number of excess calories, beach life is a pretty great life.

The beach, email, and I

Email and I normally have a very tight relationship.  I spend a lot of every day with email, I receive a ton of it, and I send a ton of it.  If you correspond with me, odds are that I've been very rapid to respond to your messages.

At the beach, I do my best to break the bonds of that relationship.  I go completely off work email, a change that I sincerely find good for my heart and soul.  I tend to check personal email once a day, but I don't guarantee to do that; if some messages have to wait, so be it.

So, if I'm slower than usual in responding to you, please cut me some slack.  I'm on vacation, and I'm just not going to be glued to my various email clients.  I promise to answer all messages in time, but I don't make any promises about just how quickly I will get to them.