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A Windy Day |
When the sunrise woke me up again this morning, I resisted the urge to
go out and see it. I tried to fall asleep again, but failed; so I
went upstairs to read. Doing so woke up Daria, so we decided to get
everyone up and have breakfast.
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The wind was stronger today, so we didn't lay out on the beach.
Instead, we decided to take a walk. We didn't get very far before Syd
insisted on returning to the beach house; the winds were too high to
make it enjoyable for her. After we got back, I took out the kite and
soon had it high in the air. This brought Syd back on the beach for a
little bit. I managed to bring the kite string up to the top deck,
where we all took turns flying it for a while.
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After I reeled in the kite, Syd and I went shopping for various dinner
meals. Then we sat down for an enjoyable lunch, once again sitting at
the table facing the waves. We talked about various things that we'd
like to do for the rest of the week, identifying which had to be done
during good weather and which were perfect for rainy weather. The
weather forecast for the week showed that the sunny days would only
last through tomorrow; Thursday would bring in a storm that would last
until we leave.
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Climbing Jockey's Ridge |
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One sunny day activity was to visit Jockey's Ridge. We packed
everyone into the van and soon were walking up to the dunes. Daria
was carrying Gavin, which was pretty hard work on the shifting sand.
So, she decided to wait on the observation deck while Syd and I
trudged on. We both had on our sunglasses; yet when we reached the
base of the dune, she wanted to take hers off. I folded them and
placed them on the collar of my t-shirt, and we started climbing the
dune. Halfway up, the winds really picked up; the blowing sands stung
our legs. We reached a cluster of kite flyers who were trying in vain
to keep their kites in the gusty air. Not much further, we reached
the pinnacle. Syd requested her glasses back, so I reached up to grab
them from around my neck - but they were gone!
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I looked in all my pockets, and also in the camera case, but had no
luck. I think they must have fallen when we went around the kite
flyers. I explained to Syd that it would be very difficult to find
them on these shifting sands, but she was very upset. So, instead of
leaping down the ridge like we originally wanted to do, I picked her
up and carried her down the same path on which we climbed, searching
in vain for the missing glasses. When we reached the bottom, I told
her that there were many places to buy the glasses. We met Daria and
Gavin at the overlook, and she concurred about the availability of the
sunglasses.
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One such place was just across the street from Jockey's Ridge. It was
a cluster of sporting goods stores and junk food purveyors. We first
visited the surf shop, where they had a whole display of children's
sunglasses. Syd found two that she really liked. Then we went to an
ice cream store, where they gave out generous portions for a single
serving. We also picked up some salt water taffy - a staple of the
beach. At a separate store, we picked up 2 (!) pounds of fudge. This
made Syd forget about her lost glasses entirely.
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All that sugar also made her miss her nap. She attempted to fall asleep in bed while watching TV, but the shows were too noisy. I still managed to get some time in alone with my book on the top deck. For dinner, Daria and I originally planned on going to Mako Mike's for the evening - a shark-themed restaurant - but that was contingent on Syd's nap. We opted for cooking tacos instead. While Daria cooked them, Syd and I watched the pelicans diving into the sea to get their dinner, with the seagulls clinging to their sides hoping for some leftovers. We had the taffy for dessert, then took turns in the hot tub [Gavin did not nap this time]. The sun was setting, albeit behind another beach house to the west, but the sky was a wonderful color, which made for another suitable atmosphere for the hot tub. Both children went to sleep relatively early, leaving us some personal time for puzzles and the computer. |
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