Topsail Morning With The Gang

6:16

6:16

6:26

6:26

Up at 6:00, I walked out on the beach and took some photos, then got my coffee and sat outside with Drew, watching the sky lighten. Right now it's 7:15, and most of the adults are up, along with Tommy, our nine-month-old, happy and full, followed a half hour later by Rhys. 

Welcome To Tacky South Carolina Beach Towns

Our drive yesterday was a nightmare, mostly on I-95, where we stopped and started for much of the way because traffic was so heavy. It ended up taking an hour longer than usual, and we stopped three times — twice at rest areas, once at McDonald's, and once for gas. We finally arrived around 4:30, and Drew and Jill beat us there even though we'd left before them. Over the next hour, Tom and his family arrived — his son Nick and his wife, Audraya, with their two kids — along with a friend of Halle's who drove in from Richmond. Finally, around 6:00, Beth arrived from Dallas, her flight delayed by an hour. Beth's son, Tyler, and his girlfriend, Renee, will be arriving sometime today, bringing us to 17.

Tom And Mary And Nick's Family

Rhys First Time Walking In Sand

5:03 PM: First Photo Of Beach

Rhys With Tommy

Beth Arrives From Dallas

It took a while to get unpacked, put things away, and finally open the wine and beer. We sat around, both inside and out on the porch, catching up — whatever that means when everyone's talking at once — and being entertained by two-year-old Rhys and Tommy. I couldn't resist going for a swim and tried, with no success, to bodysurf. 

Tommy And Tommy

Halle And Friend, Natalia

Nick And Drew

Jill With Mary And Tom

Drew, Jill, Mary And Tom

Beach Time

Fortunately, Evie had brought two pans of pastitsio for dinner, so all we had to do was heat them up. We ate in the living room and planned our first excursion to Food Lion this morning, along with the rest of our days here. Jill and Evie were the first to bed, around 8:15, followed by most of the rest of us — except the kids — around 9:30. Three of them were still in the hot tub when I turned in, and I have no idea when the six of them finally surfaced. I don't expect to see them until late this morning.

Mary And Rhys

Dusk

 Marlena And Friend, Grant

8:24 PM

9:30

Seven Hours To Topsail, North Carolina

Drew And Jill

Backyard

All Is Green

Well, it's 6:45, and I have been up since 6:00. I am in familiar digs, my daughter Jill's home in Bristow, Virginia. Her husband, Drew, just arrived home yesterday from two weeks of work in Kazakhstan. Right now, he's busy packing the car for our drive today. It's 66º in Bristow, overcast, and it rained overnight. Looks like we'll be having rain for much of our drive south, as well as in Topsail. We hope to be on the road by 9:00 and are not looking forward to the traffic on 95 South.

All Packed!!

Typical View On #99

Yesterday was the usual drive to our daughter Jill's house. We left at 8:00 and arrived just after 3:00 — a seven-hour drive. It would have been more pleasant if both of us weren't so tired. I was up at 5:00, and Evie not much later. We had our usual stop in Warren, PA at McDonald's, then two hours later, at Gio's gas station and barbecue, we traded places, and Evie drove the next couple of hours to Shawnee Springs Market in Virginia, where we always stop for gas and, this time, lunch. We'd actually planned to stop at the McDonald's in Berkeley Springs, WV, but it was so crowded we drove on.

Halle And Granny

Hayden And Pickle

Pickle

Trimming Emmy's Nails

Jill was in the garage and welcomed us sometime after 3:00. She had just gotten back from a big shopping day at Costco and Trader Joe's. Our granddaughter Hayden was there too, working from home for Culman, a defense contractor. Around 4:30, Drew walked in after flying in from Kazakhstan by way of Frankfurt — fortunately, all his flights were on time. Halle, their youngest, was getting some Spanish tutoring and didn't get home till 5:00, when we all settled onto their great screened porch to enjoy wine and catch up on what was going on in everyone's lives. Jill ordered takeout from an Asian restaurant, and the girls went to pick it up. We gorged on various dishes until we couldn't manage another bite. I helped Drew with a few things as we got the car ready for the trip — the carrier went up on the roof, another one on the back. By 8:30, all of us were exhausted and ready for bed.

First Leg: Bristow, Virginia

 

Topsail, 2015

2015, Celebrating Our 50th Anniversary

Topsail, 2015

It's early, 6:00, and we want to be off by 8:00. I have decided to relax and not kayak this morning and instead enjoy my coffee, write the blog, shower, and get ready for the seven-hour drive to our daughter Jill's house. We know it by heart by now — where to stop, where to get cheap gas once we get into Virginia. This will be our fourth time in Topsail Beach: the first for our 50th anniversary, the other two during Covid.

6:00

6:24

Thursday was not much fun: getting ready for a trip, trying to decide what to bring, then packing up and finally trying to fit it all in our Kia. Unfortunately, my day began early, at 5:45, so I kayaked and was back in time to drive to Bemus for breakfast with my friends.

When I came home from Bemus, I finished the blog, then drove to Dunn Tire to get my tires rotated. They said it would take a half hour, so I walked across the street and perused Runnings and ended up buying something for my great-grandsons. Sorry, grandchildren! On the way home, I filled up the car with gas — $4.35 a gallon. Thanks, Drumpt.

I was home by 11:15 and decided to get the lawn mowed, so that took close to an hour, with occasional timeouts for a water break. I came in and finished deciding what to bring to Topsail and checked my written lists of things I wanted to bring and things to get done. Around 1:00, Evie made me lunch — the last of the cauliflower soup and a cheese and tomato sandwich. I started a new series, The Crystal Cuckoo, on Netflix, not really caring what it was because I won't be watching it after tonight. I am not enjoying my novel Flashlight much but am persevering because it was nominated for both the Booker Prize and the National Book Award. I think I napped briefly, although I am not sure, because I was worried about how we were going to pack all our stuff in the car. I didn't use to worry much about things like this, but now I do, joining Evie.

By 4:00, we were ready to get things done. We packed our clothes in one suitcase, then started filling the car with stuff. Gradually, things began to fit, and by 5:00, we were mostly done except for the frozen pastitsio, which we'll put in tomorrow, as well as my computer stuff.

We were able to have a couple of glasses of wine, and by 6:15 we had dinner: fried eggs and potatoes along with breakfast sausage. We watched another couple of episodes of Berlin ER, and it does not get any saner — just more chaotic and out of control. Evie went to bed around 8:00, wanting to get an early start, and I stayed up until 10:00 watching junk TV.

9:20 PM

A 50º July Morning

5:52

6:58

9:07

It's 7:15, and I was up at 5:45, on the lake for 50 minutes by 6:01, on a sunny but cool morning. I listened to a podcast where Scott Galloway interviews Derek Thompson, who discusses why the 21st century is called an "anti-social century." Because of the internet and our iPhones, we tend to enjoy being alone more. We don't join clubs or go to church or party as much as our parents did. We even work at home, which also contributes to this anti-social bit. One fact discussed was that exercising for a minute increases your lifespan by five minutes. One drink a day decreases your lifespan by five minutes. In other words, the more you exercise, the more you can drink. I wonder how much I can drink tonight after kayaking or exercising for 50 minutes? It's now just after 9:00, and I just returned from breakfast in Bemus. Evie's up, and once we finish the blog and post it.  I have a long list of things to do today, and first is getting my tires rotated in Lakewood at 10:00, first on my to do list. 

Paddling Along Long Point

Kayak Morning

North

Great Blue Heron

Another Heron, Also Along West Shore Of Long Point

Wednesday began with an early paddle, so that I had time to write the blog and have breakfast before driving off for a podiatrist appointment at 9:00. Basically, I got my nails trimmed and bought a cream for fungus on my toes. I was there for maybe 10 minutes, then left to get an oil change, which took a half hour. Because it was a new business, I got 50% off my oil change but needed a new filter, so I still paid a hundred bucks. I then drove to the bank, took out some cash for our trip, then to Dunn Tire for a free tire rotation. Unfortunately, they had no opening, so I'll go today at 10:00. On my way home, I stopped at Ryders for a coffee and ended up talking for a half hour with Neal, a friend I haven't seen in a couple of months — basically because he retired and doesn't come to Ryders as much as before.

When I returned home, Evie was busy making cookies and packing for our trip. We started moving things from the attic that we were taking downstairs: toys, blankets, blowup mattresses, and fold-up cribs for our great-grandsons. As things piled up, I wondered if we had enough room in our car for all this stuff. I had lunch at 1:00 — the leftover chicken, mushrooms, and rice — and watched another episode of my series. I then took a good nap, having not slept well the night before, and woke around 2:30. I read for a bit but got antsy and decided to clean the inside of our car and get it ready for our trip. Once that was done, I trimmed our privet, and both jobs together took a good forty-five minutes. By the time I was done, it was 6:00, so I relaxed with a beer until 6:30, when Evie had dinner ready: baked potatoes, breaded haddock, and a salad.

We started a new series I happened upon while looking for something to watch, called Berlin ER. Well, it's ER on steroids — so different from the popular ER or The Pitt. We like it enough so far to stick with it despite it being so chaotic and crazy. After Evie went to bed, I watched a few minutes of the Fever game, and 11 minutes into the first quarter, Caitlin Clark already had 17 points. After the first quarter ended, I decided to watch the last episode of my series, City of Shadows, before going to bed.

A Gray, Overcast and Cool Wednesday

Evie And The Boys

6:04

7:43

I was awake at 5:00 but managed to stay in bed until 6:00. Ugh. I sat around for 15 or 20 minutes, then made my coffee, gathered my camera and phone, put on my life jacket, and went out for a 40-minute paddle in a light drizzle, down to Sandy Bottom and back. I spotted a lone heron but nothing else. I'm glad I made myself get out there because I really didn't want to. Just do something.

Kayak Morning

A Bit Of Light

Clouds

Great Blue

Same Guy

Tuesday was a strange day. After my morning paddle, which was mostly in sunshine, it began to cloud up. After I wrote the blog and had breakfast, it started to drizzle. We had made a Wegmans list of things we might need for our trip, so I drove off in the rain and stopped at Ryder's. I skipped coffee because the line was too long, but I talked with my friend John for about 15 minutes. By the time I got to Wegmans, it was pouring, though fortunately I had an umbrella. Wegmans was a madhouse. Every aisle in the produce section was swarming with shoppers. I didn't have much to buy and, fortunately, found a quick-moving checkout line. By the time I left, it had stopped raining in the parking lot, though it continued to rain on the drive home.

When I got back, Evie was starting to set things aside for our trip. I inflated a couple of portable beds just to make sure they still held air. We're going to need them because we may have as many as 16 people. We've been texting back and forth with everyone, making sure we know what to bring. Jill, who lives in Virginia, is going to do most of the Costco shopping, stocking up on the food and drinks we'll need for the week.

Around 1:00, I had lunch—a ham and cheese sandwich and some cauliflower soup. I started a new Spanish series, City of Shadows, and I think I'll stick with it. At 1:30, Evie had a playdate with our neighbors' grandsons, Arlo and Louie. They've been coming over for the past three or four years and love Evie—and all the treasures we still have in the attic from when our grandchildren were young.

I was feeling tired, so I went upstairs, read, took a nap, finished my book, and started another one, Flashlight, which has been getting a lot of praise. The boys left, reluctantly, around 3:30 and wanted to come back tomorrow or Thursday. Evie made no promises, so we'll have to wait and see.

Stormy Weather At 6:15

Heavy Downpour

Around 5:15, we sat on the front porch with a glass of wine and some appetizers, watching a storm move in. The sky was amazing—dark and threatening, then rainy, and by 7:00 the sun was back out under blue skies. We only received about an eighth of an inch of rain yesterday, but another half inch fell overnight.

Rain Lets Up Despite Cloud Bank

Sun Comes Out At 7:26

We had the leftover chicken, rice, and mushrooms for dinner and really enjoyed them, along with a great salad. Then we took a break and watched Hometown and some HGTV until Evie went upstairs to bed. After that, I watched another episode of City of Shadows.