Home again

Not fully settled back in--that will take another day--but home.  I'm going to sleep a ton tonight, enjoy my last day of vacation, and then hit work hard Monday morning--as I always do.

Now, though, it's sleep time.

It's the last night at the beach

and I'm fighting the inevitable sadness of leaving, focusing instead on how lucky I am to have been able to come, so I'm going to keep this short.

If you can, when you can, go offline, enjoy the world, read a good book, watch a good movie, be with good people, and enjoy the non-electronic life.  The electronic life will dominate the time of most of us, so it will be waiting for your return even if you occasionally leave it.  I intend to enjoy the rest of this evening, and then focus on the good parts of going home, moving toward normal life, and so on.

I wish I could treat every single one of my friends to time at the beach.

A storm rolled over us

and the show it put on was magnificent:  huge masses of black and gray clouds, thunder, lightning, and, after a few opening gambits, vast torrents of rain.  Many of us watched its approach from the pool, and three of us sat in the hot tub for most of the storm, the hot water warming us even as rain pelted our heads.  Lovely.

Gina was kind enough to let me share a couple of the pictures she took, such as this one of the approaching clouds.

Click an image to see a larger version. Sorry about the timestamps.

The view toward the ocean was also gorgeous.

At lunch today, the fine folks at Archibald's had created another sandwich--and wondered if I would order it.

Of course I did!  I also sampled the strawberry soup.  Both were yummy.

Another easy day at the beach.

Because, after all, it is a beach

at the ocean, a picture of said ocean seems in order.

Click an image to see a larger version.

I truly love it here.

Because we walked down together today, and because she is a wonder of the world--and also my daughter, and with her permission, here's Sarah at that ocean.

With Sarah and Scott I am blessed to have the best kids in the world.  Getting to spend time with them at the beach is an enormous treat.  They are the very heart of me.

An unexpected lunchtime treat

When I'm here at the beach, I eat lunch every day that the restaurant is open at my favorite local place, Archibald's.  Bob and Rose, the owners, and all the folks who work there are great people, and the food is very tasty.  Today, when I walked into the building, the specials board brought me a nice treat.

Click an image to see a larger version.

I ordered the Mark II, of course; how could I not?  (The II, by the way, is a reference to the sandwich they created for me last year.)  It was a delicious sandwich that I very much enjoyed.

I also had a cup of their watermelon gazpacho, which was very good and just the right refreshing soup for a hot day.

Not everyone or everything at the beach is so nice to me, of course.  Politically, here as everywhere in the U.S., many folks disagree with my positions.  For example, I strongly believe we should have nationalized health care, and so I support ObamaCare as a first step in that direction.  Other people disagree, as you can see from this lovely statement in front of a local store.

As I was leaving the shop, a young woman was posing behind this contraption.  I'm glad we are all free to agree to disagree.

Lest you think the beach is only about cake

check out this bit of choice weirdness on offer at a local shop.

Click an image to see a larger version.

He is a fine fellow indeed--and he bobbles!

Oh, yeah, the beach has way more to offer than sun, sand, and calories.

Speaking, though, of calories, and because the beach is also about cake, it is my duty to inform you of the passing of the Bobcake.

It fought well, but it was only one--a huge one, but only one--and we are many.

Tomorrow, CaBobcake A faces serious threats.

The first cake falls

CaBobcake 1 was the first of the mighty Bobcake army to fall to the attacks of the beach people.

Click an image to see a larger version.

Its brother, CaBobcake A, still stands tall, though a chink has appeared in its armor.

The mighty Bobcake is definitely showing signs of fading, but it is still there, despite our best efforts.

On other dessert fronts, we are falling behind on ice cream consumption and have serious work ahead of us.  I am cautiously optimistic that we can handle the task in front of us--but it is a large and challenging task.

Water, sun, books, movies, cake, ice cream--the beach.