Home--and the beach movie report

Though I was sad to leave the beach and still miss it, I am glad to be home.  I depart for a work trip Monday morning on an early flight, so I don't have long here, barely enough time to unpack and then repack, but I knew that was coming.

The next two months will contain a ton of travel.  I signed up for it, but at times it is nonetheless daunting.

In news of the beach movies, the night before our early-morning departure, a small group of us watched this classic.  

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Or maybe not a classic; you decide.

While at the beach, our hearty group, in various sub-groups, watched these 21 cinematic gems.

I must confess that not all of these gems are equally shiny.

The order in which they appear here, by the way, has nothing to do with the order in which we viewed them.

We also caught Snowpiercer via Amazon and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes at a local theater, and we devoted the bulk of three evenings to UFC events.  

And that's a wrap for the beach movies, 2014 edition.

It's the last night at the beach...

...and I'm fighting sadness at having to leave this very wonderful fantasy world and return to the real one, so I am going to keep this entry quite short.  I have greatly enjoyed my time here, and I wish I could stay another month.  I feel lucky, though, to have been able to come at all.

I live the vast majority of my days at a jagged intersection of exhaustion, guilt, and inadequacy.  Each year here, I achieve moments of peace.  I cherish those moments more than I can express.  

I so love this place.

I already look forward to returning next year.

A cake too far?

It's beginning to look like the second CaBobcake was a cake too far for our team of eaters.  With the BobCake itself, two CaBobcakes, and the SmiBobcake, we may have exceeded what we can consume.  After tonight, we still had these two chunks of cake.

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Of course, the worst case result is that some cake goes home with us, but, still, that would be an eating failure on our collective part.

In other news of the beach, at a local thrift shop we discovered this store within a store, the Man Cave.

We're not even going to talk about the weapon Kyle is brandishing.

Ah, the weirdness that is the beach.

Sunset sometimes says it all

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Yes, yes it does.

A new cake enters the house

At lunch today at my favorite local restaurant, where I eat lunch every day it is open, I was surprised and honored to see the specials board feature a new sandwich.

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Last summer, they created this sandwich's predecessor, which was quite tasty.  This year's version was even better.

Thanks, Bob and Rose, for this treat.  I greatly appreciate it.

While running errands after lunch, we encountered a drive-through restaurant I had never seen:  Speedy Weenie.  Who could resist such a place?  Not I.  After a conversation with the young woman stuck in the small hut revealed that they were out of the pimento cheese bacon dog, I settled for a Diet Coke and a t-shirt.  I will wear it proudly. 

For dinner, Sarah made her justly famous 7-P pasta.

This huge bowl of cheesy deliciousness fed us all multiple helpings and looked afterward as if we'd barely touched it. 

Sarah also baked us many trays of incredibly tasty butter rolls.

The CaBobcake is still with us, but it is losing ground to our slow but steady attack.

We learned a while ago from Bob and Rose, who are both from Maryland, that Maryland has a state dessert:  the Smith Island Cake.  We also discovered that Bob knew how to bake this eight- to fifteen-layer beauty.  Armed with this knowledge, we had no choice but to order one from Bob.

Today, we picked up the first SmiBobcake. 

From the outside, before you cut into it, the SmiBobcake appears ordinary enough.

Okay, we had cut it once, but as of this shot we had yet to remove a piece.

Once you see a slice, you realize how amazing it is to encounter a normal-height cake with so many layers. 

Boy, was it yummy.  Part of the reason the CaBobcake is in such good shape is the damage we inflicted on the new SmiBobcake.

I will be surprised if either cake makes it to Friday.

And the Bobcake falls

Tonight's dinner was pick-up Chinese from a local hole-in-the-wall joint that produces surprisingly decent basic food.  The quantities are also huge.  Check out this architectural construct of beef lo mein.

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That is a small serving bowl, by the way, not a standard bowl.

As today's headline proclaims, we polished off the Bobcake this evening. 

Ah, the Bobcake, we knew him well.

The second CaBobcake is all that remains of Bob's baked delights.

Never fear, though:  Tomorrow, we pick up a special treat from Bob.  More on it in Tuesday's blog entry.

Beach life can be simple

Wake up.

Walk two miles.

Splash in pool.

Brunch.

Buy some supplies.

Read.

Hang out.

Catch end of World Cup.

Hang out.

Get haircut.

Splash in pool--and sit in hot tub.

Forage for dinner among leftovers.

Watch multiple movies.

Read.

Blog.

Sleep.

Beach life is often best when simple.

In news of the Bobcake, its end is now in sight.

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The second CaBobcake is faring a bit better, with just over half remaining, but it, too, shall fall.

Our weights, alas, are more likely to rise.

As they do, here at the beach.