say la vee

no day at the beach

Do people actually say that?
It was no day at the beach, I'll tell ya.
I got to the beach, alone with Youngest, and it was 60 degrees. The water temperature was a mean 55. I'm pretty sure people can get hypothermia in 55 degree water. Also? The lifeguards were on their feet, rather than in their chairs as the ocean was so rough.
Have I mentioned the wind?
My ears are sore from being wind-bitten.
Youngest is sore too - the ocean kicked the crappe out of him.

I'd like, if I may (and I may because I am in charge over here) to speak to kmkat, who said:

I am so pleased that you considered your beach neighbor matriarch gorgeous and handsome, because to my eye she appears to be a Woman of Substance (as opposed to an anorexic b!tch). I happen to be a WoS myself, and it does my heart good to know that that fact does not necessarily preclude one from being considered gorgeous and handsome.

and say: km, in my world, gorgeous and handsome has many shapes and sizes. In fact, some of the most gorgeous women I know and admire are Women of Substance. To me, gorgeous is a measure of looking just right in your skin and clothes - and The Matriarch looked just about perfect, as did her clan.
So, before we admonish me for posting photos of pictures of people on the beach (and, it's true, it was without their permission - an action I have second guessed many many times) let us please be aware that I posted pictures of people I admired...which does not excuse me for invading their privacy.
Don't think I haven't thought about it.

Today's been no day at the beach.

Wellfleet

The days roll into each other effortlessly.
We go to the beach, we eat great food (in some restaurants this year!) and go to bed tired from walking and climbing and, uh, eating.

K and I took Youngest to Great Island for low tide one day at 6:30 in the morning.

Youngest seems old this year. It could be the new haircut - it could be being 15, but he's definitely older. He's fun to be with too, unless he's sulky...well, maybe not sulky - maybe petulant. Anyway, he's good company.

So we took him to Great Island and he skimmed.

(I don't know what he's doing in this photo, not skimming.)

Or, we walk into town with him for coffee....

look! Someone has borrowed K's favorite car and taken it to Wellfleet for coffee!

What's my favorite thing I hear you asking?

This print. Maybe not my favorite thing in the whole world, but I luff it.

Youngest?

Likes this pig.

So, the other day, we arrived en masse at the beach. There's nine of us. We huff and groan and help the grandmas get down the dunes and look to set up camp. We find a spot we like and begin dropping stuff and unfolding chairs and planting umbrellas and did not realize that we were very close to another family's camp.
THE GORGEOUS FAMILY.

Suddenly, Patriarch Gorgeous springs from his chair to collect some of their things - a stray pair of shoes, a shirt...so that we have more room. I didn't want to impose and was going to have our group move a little but he was cheerful and insistent.

AND GOOD LOOKING.
And it wasn't just him, as you can see in the background of that picture of Patriarch Gorgeous, they were EACH handsome.

Good hat too, don't you think?
I really should have taken pictures of all of them - but he was sitting right behind K, who was also wearing a white shirt on the beach, and so I was DISTRACTED, because I go weak in the knees for a white shirt on the beach.

Matriarch Gorgeous was spot on too. The hat, the shirt, and she had that perfect hair...a bit of curl, some soft blond, I'm telling you, the whole family was very attractive.

It was about 60 degrees and getting cloudy that day. Windy too. We left shortly after the Gorgeous Clan packed up.

There's only one thing to do when you are too cold on the beach; go home and eat.
Which brings me to this, as we went home and had freshly baked cookies:

Pictured above are three large flattened tin cans. They were in the oven, on the lower rack. If I can think of a prize, I'll give one to the person with the best comment on why they think the previous tenant had those cans in the oven.