September 18; Day Eighteen

The sunrise this morning was gorgeous. To add to the beauty, the waves were very high and the water was speckled with surfers. The energy was palpable. You could see the excitement on the faces of the surfers as they ran past; eager to surf the swells. There were dozens and dozens out in the water. I wondered briefly if businesses would be closed; classes empty due to the surf. Do they have “surf days” in Florida like we have “sick days”?

We watched for a couple of hours then came back for breakfast. Since it was not safe for swimming the ocean, we decided to go do some touristy things again. The plan was to visit St. Augustine’s Lighthouse and Museum, then visit The Fountain of Youth. When we arrived at the lighthouse, a behind the scene tour was about to begin so we joined that. We were the only three on the tour, so we asked lots of questions. We spent three hours at the lighthouse. They also do maritime archeology which we learned a lot about on the tour. Fascinating. The time we spent at the lighthouse did not allow time enough to go to the Fountain of Youth. We will do that another time.

 

We came back to the condo, fixed some sandwiches and headed over to the beach. We stayed there from 5ish until almost 8pm watching the surfers. We also walked out on the pier. The breeze became chilly, but we stayed until it was getting dark. This was our last evening out there for a while. We wanted to prolong it as much as possible.

Tomorrow, we will get up for one last sunrise. We will probably stay out there a few hours before coming back and packing up. This makes me very sad. I really, really like being close to the water.

Tomorrow is a long drive back to Georgia. I wonder what adventures we will have along the way?

 

September 16; Day Sixteen

I woke up this morning around 6:40 a.m. Rolled over and went back to sleep. This vacation is about no stress. It’s about sleeping in when needed. So, sleep in I did. I didn’t wake back up until 8ish.

Today was a beach day. No schedule, no rush, no agenda other than hanging out at the beach. I did make an effort for us to eat, though. We haven’t been on a schedule which means we haven’t eaten regularly. This doesn’t work well for me.

We made it over to the beach around noon. The day was cloudy and we could see it raining all around us, but none on us. The girls went out in the water; I sat in my chair to read. That was interrupted quite often due to the fact that this is evidently love bug season. If memory serves from when I lived down here a long time ago, this will last a couple of weeks. Little black bugs that look very similar to lightening bugs. They are called love bugs because, well, they really “love” each other. They connect at their backsides and are stuck for a while. I think it is until the male dies. There are swarms of them. I had planned on taking a little nap while at the beach, but I had visions of waking up with these little buggers in my mouth, nose, and all over my face. So, I got up and went in the water with Jessica and Liz.

We stayed for a couple of hours, then went back to the condo to eat and reapply sunscreen. Arriving back at the beach, Liz wanted to try out a boogie board; Jessica went walking to collect more sea shells. I watched Liz. Soon, Jessica came back with a starfish she found on the beach. She took it out to Liz and they let it go back in the water.

Sometime later, Jessica and Liz came inland, and we all three walked for over an hour up the beach. We found a couple more starfish and put them back in the water; Liz saw a baby stingray; I found a large shark tooth.

At one point, I just stood there, looking all around. Listening to the thunderous sound of the waves crashing, the water rushing around my feet. All of my senses engaged in the beauty surrounding me. There was an exquisite aching inside me, trying to absorb every color, every scent, every sound. A longing to be a part of this always.

We came back to the condo, pleasantly exhausted, sand everywhere. Cleaned up, had dinner, and watched Captain America 2.

And so ends another wonderful day.

September 15; Day Fifteen

I woke up this morning a few minutes past 6 a.m. I got up and opened the blinds and crawled back into bed. I told myself if I woke up by 6:30, I would get up and go see the sunrise on the beach. I woke up at 6:30. I padded down the hall into each of the girls’ room and let them know I was leaving in ten minutes if they wanted to come with me. They were both ready before me.

There are no words to describe witnessing a sunrise from the beach. Here is a picture that really doesn’t do it justice, either, because all of the senses are involved when standing there. It is almost overwhelming.

When I was 19 years old, I took some money I had saved and bought a bus ticket from North Little Rock, Arkansas, to St. Simon’s Island, Georgia. I went to visit my aunt and uncle, grandma, and my cousins. This was my first trip by myself and it was my first trip to the ocean. This bus ride took 33 hours. Upon arriving in Georgia, after all the hellos, my grandmother told my aunt and uncle to take me straight to their house because she knew I had to be exhausted after that long trip. We said good night to grandma, then my aunt looked at me and she knew I wanted to go to see the ocean. So, that is where we went right then. 

I still remember the emotions when I looked out over the expanse of the ocean, felt the breeze on my face, and smelled the salty air. I was home. That is what I felt. I was home; this is where I belonged. When I stepped out there yesterday and again this morning, that same feeling arose. Later, I asked Liz (when Jessica was not around), what she felt when she was at the beach. She stumbled around for the words, but then said it just felt “correct”. When Jessica joined us, I asked her the same thing. She said she didn’t want to sound “cheesy” but it felt “right.” Someday, we will move near the ocean. Someday.

Later, after breakfast, we went into St. Augustine and took the Old Towne Trolley Tour. It took us all over the town; the conductor giving bits and pieces of history of different landmarks. We got off at the Castillo de San Marcos. We walked around inside the old fort for about an hour, then caught the trolley back to the beginning of the tour where we were parked.

We came back to the condo, ate, then headed back over to the beach. As we walked out, we noticed the dark clouds behind us. 

We decided to take a chance and walked over anyway. After a bit, the ominous clouds seemed to be getting closer, so we packed up and started walking back, only to realize the clouds were going to pass over. We went back out. We walked up and down the beach gathering sea shells. The girls went back in the water, and I went back to my chair. I sat and watched the sky and ocean colors fade from crisp, bright blues to soft, pastels as the sun slowly sank behind me.

Jessica and Liz finally came out of the water and we came back here. We ate dinner on the balcony then came in and looked at the pictures we had taken during the day. Both girls are in the showers as I am writing this. I’ll soon get my shower and call it a day.

It has been another amazingly wonderful day.

September 14; Day Fourteen

The plan was to rise early each morning and walk the beach to witness the sunrise. Being that I didn’t go to bed until 2 a.m. this morning, that didn’t happen today. I did wake up around 6:30 and open the blinds in my bedroom which face east. There was a hint of color and the clouds were silhouetted against the light. Sunrise was at 7:08. I dozed back off and woke up again at 7:20. Oh well, this vacation is about rest. I’ll be in bed as soon as I type this tonight, so I might make it to the ocean for sunrise tomorrow.

Since I already missed the sunrise, I went back to sleep. Got up 8:30ish and had coffee, read my devotional, checked facebook. I also did a tiny bit of work that I didn’t get to do on Friday. By then, the sun was past the balcony so I took a book and sat out there. Jessica showed up soon after that. We talked and painted our toenails. A little later, Liz showed up with a cup of coffee. We all chatted for a bit, then went inside to fix breakfast and had it on the balcony.

By 2pm, we packed up and drove over to the beach. We had no idea how close the beach was. We could have walked. When we arrived at the beach, we took our chairs and towels; set them down then went to walk up the beach. I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the sky, clouds, and sheer magnitude of the ocean. It affects me this way every time. Liz was ready to go into the water almost immediately, so in we went. I love being around water; not necessarily in the water, but around. After about 15-20 minutes, I left the girls and went to sit and read. 

I picked up my book and was about to read, but instead I spent the next several minutes looking out over the water, feeling the breeze through my hair, enjoying the sun on my skin. After a while, I read a little bit, then took a short nap. I woke up and read some more. Then went back in the water with the girls, then back out to read. Jessica and Liz stayed in the water the whole time we were out there which was about three hours.

We came back to the condo, showered, and ate dinner on the balcony. Then walked back over to the beach with the intention of a moonlight stroll. Except there was no moon. It was dark, but we could see a little. We also had flashlights to use when needed. There were so many stars. We just stood there looking up in amazement. We walked up and down the beach for about an hour; stopping and looking a shells, little crabs, and the remnants of sand castles that the tide had eroded. 

When we came back, we ended the evening with homemade chocolate chip cookies and a glass of chocolate almond milk.

It has been a really good day.

September 12; Day Twelve

We leave for St. Augustine, Florida tomorrow. I still can’t believe we are actually going to do this. Thinking about it today on the way home, I realized that this is my first vacation. “My” is the word to focus on. The first time that I will not be on any one else’s time table. The girls will be with me, but we groove together quite well. 

I’ve been praying and giving thanks all over the place. I found a nice gated resort condo with three bedrooms, two baths, and washer/dryer. All within walking distance of the beach.  I found a wonderful company that will take care of my pets. The girls and I met the lady who will be taking care of them and we like her very much. I’ve had the van readied for the trip by a trusted auto shop. Filled the gas tank this evening.

I’ll be packing in the morning before leaving in the afternoon. Jessica has been preparing extra food all week so we won’t have to do much cooking when we are there. Liz has taken care of cleaning the house. She is also writing all the information for the pet care taker. She and I measured out the animal food into freezer containers to make it simple.

Jessica and Liz purchased new beach towels and I borrowed some beach chairs. Oh, I will need to pick up some sunscreen tomorrow. I will take my camera and books. I plan on reading, sleeping, writing, thinking, sleeping some more. There is a pirate museum I want to visit; an old fort or two; and the old town trolley tour. Mostly, though, I want to sit and look out over the ocean. I want to be on the beach when the sun rises each morning. I want to stroll on the beach under the moonlight. I may even get to walk on the beach in the rain.

Tomorrow, hopefully, I will be writing this blog while sitting on the screened-in balcony on the third floor, hearing the waves of the ocean.

I can’t wait!

September 7; Day Seven

I actually feel pretty good today. I’ve had a little more energy than usual. I got up and read a short devotional with scripture; scrolled through facebook; worked on that never-ending accounting project. No stress morning.

Jessica and I have been discussing cleaning the garage. We know it will be a multi-day task, so we set a timer to work for an hour. We were rolling along and making good progress when the timer went off. We decided to work a bit more. We reached the goal we set for today; Liz came out and started getting the van ready for the road trip. Jessica and I reached our stopping point and I went to help Liz with the van; Jessica found the coolers and a few other beach items.

The weather forecasted 40-50% chance of rain. A couple of weeks ago we went kayaking with the same forecast and there was hardly a cloud in the sky. Today, it was sunny so I decided to bug spray again outside. It rained the last time and washed it all away. Within half an hour of spraying, the clouds rolled in, the sky opened up and poured for an hour. Rained so much a flash flood watch was issued. The sun is out now and there is a double rainbow in the eastern sky. 

Complete change of subject. In looking through quotes on Pinterest the other day, I came across one that keeps rolling around in my head: “There’s a difference between who we love, who we settle with, and who we are meant for.”  I completely understand this quote. I think this describes some of the romantic relationships I have been in. I have loved but knew there was something not quite right. I have even started thinking there is something wrong with me that I don’t stay in relationships. Well, that still may be the case, but I think that quote is right on target. I knew that even though we cared deeply for each other we were not meant for each other. Could be that I am not meant to have that kind of relationship. To be honest, I am okay with that. 

Sigh. Life goes on. One week from today I will be writing this blog from a balcony over looking the ocean. I cannot even describe how much I am looking forward to that.

Thanks for reading. Till tomorrow…