Lovin' It Here!

It's Friday already. Hard to believe.  I fly home Sunday, so that "end-of-vacation-is-near" awareness is all-too present. My nephew Patrick leaves the beach house today, continuing on to Florida State University where he starts classes on Monday. I'll miss him. We had quite the checkers match last night. He's the reigning king of checkers, but I gave him a run for his money! In the end, my last three options for moves were all fatal, so he won, but it was a good battle!

The storms of the previous night gave way to a hazy day, so yesterday afternoon we decided to go to the beach. Rather than pack a picnic and take the canopy, we took only our chairs and towels this time. The water had cooled considerably, the waves were bigger, and the lack of bright sunshine made for a different beach experience, but equally enjoyable. We still used sun block as if the sun were blazing. My dad always used to say that a hazy day was worse for a sun burn, for whatever reason. The beach was busy, with a lot of people in the water. Every few minutes, a flock (is it a flock?) of pelicans flew overhead.  Patrick and Will played frisbee and we all jumped in and out of the water, read, sat, relaxed, and took it all in (see picture below).

Patrick and Frisbee

The Boys Bishop - My Handsome Nephews!

L-R: Jack, Patrick, Will, Ben

For Patrick's fare well, we had an incredible dinner last night: slow-cooked baby-back ribs, barbequed chicken, corn on the cob, and potato salad. We had been marinating the chicken for a couple of days in an Italian/Balsamic dressing which flavored it beautifully. I can't remember ever having had ribs. I never order them out, and I never make them, so they were a treat for me. John had used a dry rub, seared them on the grill, and then slow baked them in the oven. When we got back from the beach, I made a chunky potato salad with little red potatoes and lots of celery. The kids loved it. It was my favorite dinner so far. The best part about dinner here at the beach house is eight of us sitting around the table, enjoying a meal together, and lingering for a long while after dinner.

It's about time to say good-bye to Patrick.  I'm going to miss his affectionate and sharp sense of humor.  He's a lot of fun to have around.  Fortunately, his three brothers are all equally good company, and I will enjoy every second with them until we all leave on Sunday.  Checkers, anyone?

Our House Is a Very, Very, Very Fine House!

Captain's Quarters is a very fine house, indeed. I can't imagine how completely cool it would be to live in such a place year-round, though most people don't. Most of these homes are built to be rented, week by week, during the tourist season, and beyond. The lyrics "By the sea, by the sea, by the beatiful sea..." keep playing in my head!

Day 2 at the beach house was just what we figured it would be. I slept late, until about 9:30, having earned about 11 hours of sleep from the previous busy day and days before. Man o man, I must have more exhausted than I even knew! After an easy breakfast, Will and I put together sandwiches and drinks and packed for lunch on the beach. The boys went ahead and set up the beach canopy and chairs, and Anne and I followed right behind them. As I was on the walkway heading to the beach, there were two young girls ahead of me, maybe fourteen or fifteen, both so confident in their bikinis. It made me realize how much time has passed between "then" and "now" and also curious about what kind of bathing suits they'll be donning forty years forward, after life and children, perhaps, have had made their marks on what are now flawless bodies. Oh, cynical me! I hope they appreciate their current perfection!

Walkway to Beach

The beach was more croweded than usual yesterday afternoon. Canopies and umbrellas lined the beach in both directions. This beach actually runs east and west along the Crystal Coast, North Carolina's southern shore. Waves roll in at a bit of an angle, depending on how the wind blows. Eventhough there were a lot of families on the beach, it didn't feel crowded. We spent a few hours and then headed "home" to the pool. Soon it was time to get dinner going, so we all headed in for showers and I started the beginnings of the sauce that would be the foundation for our Italian dinner. Ben helped me make the meat balls. I cooked up some sweet Italian sausage and put together a huge tossed salad. We toasted garlic bread under the broiler and then all sat down to a great spaghetti dinner. Anne uttered those wonderful words, "It smells like a restaurant in here!"...music to my ears.

Ben in the Kitchen

The Aftermath

The kids did the dishes, and we played board games and later sat outside on the 3rd floor deck, late into the night. It was dark but we could hear waves rolling on shore. I went to bed, tired and happy, for another happy day in Emerald Isle, North Carolina, in a very, very, very fine house!!