Beach Weekend

The second week of July, we snuck away for a weekend at the beach before school started. (July 30th here). Dh had gone on ahead, as he had Air Force Reserves that week.

College kid insisted on taking his own car with his girlfriend, instead of riding in the van with the rest of us. I can't see why he wouldn't want to ride in a cramped van with 4 other people and no air conditioning. Goodness, a kid gets grown and want to do things his own way.

We finally get everyone packed, the cars loaded up, and set off on our journey. An hour away, there is some confusion about if we are stopping to eat, so I pull over at a restaurant. College kid comes walking up to me, (first clue, he always drives up to tell me something) and says, "I broke my car, Mom. I really broke my car."

Did you know a car's wheel can fall off the car? I had no idea this was possible, but happen it did. Apparently, the CV axle can break, and then...

So we had about a two hour delay in plans while we got ds' car to the shop. The car was blocking traffic on a road where people come speeding up to the stop sign. Luckily, a cop happened to come along and block the car from getting hit. At one point, I received an automated phone call from road service telling me it would be 45 minutes before the wrecker made it to us.

I relayed this to the cop, who replied, "I can't let you sit here for 45 minutes."

Really now. Do you have any other ideas up your sleeve? It's not like we can move the car. Finally the wrecker made it, and towed the car. After getting everything settled with the mechanics, we all piled into that hot, cramped van, and headed to the beach.

The first stop was the base, but dh was still in a meeting, so we headed to the water. At first, we were annoyed that we couldn't go to the lodging first, but this actually worked in our favor. The beach was beautiful, and I headed straight in to do my favorite thing-wade out until I can't touch, then tread water and relax in the swells. I could stay that way for hours.

I know quite a few people who go to the beach, sit on the sand, then go back to the hotel and swim in the pool. Not me, let me get sandy, seaweedy, and feel fish brushing my legs. I love the ocean! Do I worry about sharks? Nope! I firmly believe it's more dangerous driving to the beach than swimming in it. The worst thing that has ever happened has been a few jellyfish stings.