Day 161 and 162

A taste for the Atlantic

The weather has finally turned beautiful once more.  Blue skies with mild temperatures that make one desire an iced tea and a comfortable hammock for a nice long nap.  We made the most of it and took the children to the beach for a little fun in the sun.  I was quite keen on the idea of trying out our newly acquired body boards, so we set out for the beach with both vehicles loaded to the brim.  The beach was teaming with folks.  Both clothed and somewhat less than clothed if you know what I mean.   Nothing says a cultural experience like public nudity and I was glad that our guests got to witness this scene in all of its bare chested glory.  We set up shop on the beach and were quickly warned by the life guards that the current was too strong for body boarding.  A bit of a bummer but the warning was well given.  Wading in just knee deep water, my youngest was nearly swept ashore with a thunderous splash.  Fortunately he was sandwiched in between mother and grandmother who both sprang into action the moment he seemed unable to spring to his feet.  We spent an hour or two splashing in the short surf until the tide calmed a bit.  Finally we were able to break out the boards and hit the larger waves for some serious recreation.  I have two observations to make about the questionable sport of body boarding.  First of all, this is a young man’s game.  An old fart like myself has no business being pounded to a pulp by rolling surf.  After swallowing gallons of the Atlantic and frantically snatching for my trunks as they were ripped off of my bare white ass, I began to question the sanity of it all.  The second observation is that it is absolutely intoxicating and soulful.  I can see why so many hippie types give up their day jobs in favor of a beach side shanty and a VW bus in search for that perfect wave.  Get it right once and it is like flying.  The world stands still and you become one with the ocean.  Get it wrong and you will go through one of the most horrifying drowning scenarios you could possibly imagine.  It is in fact true what they say . . . an infant can drown in just a puddle of water.   Unfortunately, I am now well aware that the same holds true for a 36 year old adolescent that should frankly know better.  After several near death wipe outs and with nearly all of the flesh fileted off of my belly I decided to call it an afternoon.  The kids seemed to have a less traumatic experience with body boarding.  Their diminutive frame lets them skip across the water like a thrown stone.  My somewhat less diminutive frame means that upon contact, the board sinks like a wet boot.  Even the three year old seemed quite acclimated to the sport and had little trouble gliding along the somewhat smaller waves closer to shore.  He was quite the stud, catching waves on his little Backyardigan printed board (Those who are parents of youngsters will know what a Backyardigan is).  Strutting his stuff and winking at all the bare chested beauties, he seemed to be in his element.  The kid has moxie.  I haven’t given up on the sport just yet, but I know now for certain that kite surfing is NOT in my future.

Back at home, we pushed the hot water heaters to their limits in an effort to wash off all of the salt and sand.  I love the ocean, but having sand caked in every orifice leaves something to be desired.  With itchy nuts and a solid coating of brine, I was glad to wash myself clean of this day of recreation.  The following day was spent in a much more low key fashion.  I tended to some domestic affairs while the kids played and the wife attempted to decipher the list of school supplies that we must obtain for the next school term.  The list is long and contains school supplies I haven’t ever heard of.  I am still uncertain whether we are sending them to primary school or Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  I am almost certain I read something about a wand and pewter cauldron.  As soon as our guests return to the States, we will likely have to spend the better part of a day at an office supply store trying to make sense of it all.  The remainder of the evening was spent worshiping the glowing box of moving pictures until we were all ready for another long night’s sleep.  The leisurely pace we have been keeping during our Summer Break is going to be a hard one to recover from when school starts again a short month from now.  I am hoping for one more family trip before the end of the month.  England maybe, but we will have to see how it all plays out.  On a side note, I am finding it harder and harder to continue this project at its current pace.  I have so much to say and so little time.  The lack of internet connection is starting to marsh my mellow a bit.  I have pages and pages of material, but the necessary bandwidth just isn’t there at the moment.  Hopefully I will soon be able to return to my daily routine.  If not, my head is likely to explode from the inability to purge the content that usually fills these paragraphs.  I think for tonight, I am going to keep my comments brief in hopes that the ending of the weekend will allow me some additional time to jot down my remaining thoughts and observations for the week.  I wish you all well and will hopefully talk again soon.