Another Fine Topsail Morning

6:26

6:26

6:26

It's 6:35, the sun has risen, both boys are up, and Drew and I are sitting on the front porch with our feet up, talking about the Middle East — Saudi Arabia has just bombed Iraq, widening the conflict. At least we can relax, since Trump is in charge! We must have gotten some rain last night, because the steps and part of the porch are wet.

Enjoying Mc D's

Wilmington

Grant And Marlena In Wilmington

Reading To The Boys

Tuesday wasn't much fun for me, and none of us — except a few of the Gen Zers — took full advantage of the day. I was up as usual at 6:00 and had the blog written by 8:30, when Evie woke and read and published it. Around 9:30, Tommy returned with two dozen donuts, quickly devoured by the gang. Both boys were up, of course, and by 10:00 the whole troop was up. That's when Beth and I drove for 25 minutes to the Urgent Care in Surf City because I had a strange red patch on both feet. The PA diagnosed it as a skin infection and sent me off with a prescription for Bactrim from CVS. Beth and I killed time waiting for the prescription at McDonald's, where we both had Cokes and burgers. Yum. Marlena, Audraya, and Grant decided to go explore Wilmington and were gone for a few hours. 

Rhys Making Bracelets With Marlena

A Busy Day At The Beach

Jilly Bean

Halle And Natalia

Busy Boys

We were back just after 12:00, and most of the beach crew had come in for lunch. I know there was leftover macaroni salad and sandwiches, but that was about it — we're running low on food. The rest of the afternoon we hung out in the house, on the porch, or outside under overcast skies. I took a nap, of course, and spent much of the day with my feet up, trying to keep the blood from rushing down and worsening the infection.

At Hidden Chips 

Tom And Mary

Tyler And Renee

Jill And Beth

Stayed Home And Helped Take Care of Tommy

Around 4:00, a group drove to Hidden Chips Distillery in Surf City and enjoyed various libations — Old Fashioneds, Painkillers, Espresso Martinis, French 75s. I stayed home with the boys and kept them occupied until the gang returned around 6:00 with a couple of pounds of shrimp and two or three fillets each of grouper and red snapper for dinner. 

Getting Ready To Make Dinner

Dancing To The Music With Rhys

Dancing Dancing

Grant Steps Out

The Gals And Grant And Rhys

We got busy prepping, and I helped by slicing tuna into small squares for poke bowls — tuna marinated in sauce, served with rice and cucumbers. Evie made all the sauces: cocktail, tartar sauce and the poke marinade.  Yum. Jill boiled the shrimp, which we ate tail-on with cocktail sauce, while Drew and Tom grilled the fish to round things out. While all this was going on, Rhys and the girls were dancing to disco music. By 7:00, I checked, everything was eaten: the poke bowls, shrimp, and fish. 

After Dinner

The Dad's

Dusk

Enjoying Sunset 

After dinner, the wind picked up and the waves turned ferocious, so Tom and Drew went out to try catching them, but the shape was poor and they ended up drifting fifty yards down the beach. Most of us were out enjoying dusk, walking the beach and watching the guys chase waves. Around 9:00, with maybe six of us still up, we realized the air conditioning wasn't working. We called the office, and an hour later they brought in three or four standing units. I was already in bed but heard the guys dragging them up the stairs.

Da Moon At 8:29

Another good day.