I thought I’d give you a recap of how the Mr. and I spent our 4th of July.
Being empty nesters allows us to march to our own beat, so to speak.
First, we both slept in. I started off the summer so well . . . getting up early each day to walk. Since getting back from California, I haven’t been able to, though. I was exhausted the first week and gave myself some grace. I hurt my back the second week and am still healing, so walking has been out.
I did manage to get dressed in my favorite workout shirt, an homage to my Rooster, and do Leg Day of the 80 Day Obsession program I’ve been making my way through.
Excuse the bed head. I had not even brushed it at this point. I knew I needed to get on the ball with my exercising before the Mr. started hollering.
A couple of hours later, we headed out to one of our favorite spots . . . the beach.
Parking was a bit of a nightmare with a bajillion other people taking advantage of the gloriously sunny day. Fortunately, we found a space on our second pass-through. We’d packed a little lighter because of my back and settled in for the afternoon.
The Mr. had ordered me a patriotic bikini, and the visor was the one I’d found at the BX during our visit to Rooster’s base.
Ahhh . . . toes in the sand (the prettiest sand I’ve ever seen).
Oh my word, but the beach was c-r-o-w-d-e-d.
People were almost sitting on top of one another. I can’t say that I like it when it’s that busy.
I’d read that the water had been clear for the past few days. Boy, was it ever. It was also freakishly hot, so many, many people stayed in the water.
A big gripe now. I really wish that smoking would be banned from the beach. Even though I grew up in a home where the adults smoked, I have become very sensitive to it. It seemed as though EVERYONE around us was smoking that day. It was so gross and gave me a headache.
Ugh.
One more grip: Why are people so rude and sit in front of you and then set up tents? We are very careful when we set up shop so that we won’t block others’ views of the water. Ugh.
All of my complaining aside, it was a glorious day. The forecast had called for rain. I’m glad we ignored it because we didn’t see anything.
People watching is something we enjoy doing at the beach. Take a look at this guy . . .
He was feeling the holiday.
We left around 4pm, sandy, tired, and hungry.
After feeding the dogs, who were extremely happy to see us, a shower, and a change of clothes, we headed out to dinner. Nobody felt like cooking, that was for sure.
We had a 50% coupon for Bonefish Grill, a reward we’d earned after three qualified visits. What can I say? We really like this place.
I had been wanting a beachy drink. This one hit the spot.
Dinner was wonderful, as it always is. I always get the House Salad. It’s light and hits the spot. A former student who works as a server came over and spoke to us for a few minutes. We see him almost every time we dine at Bonefish. It’s always fun to catch up with my kids once they’ve left high school. He’s turning out well, which does my heart good.
There was a long table beside us filled with some older folks. One cute-as-pie lady gave us sparklers, which she’d made, and told us to have fun. We assured her that as empty nesters, we were doing just that.
The Mr. suggested that we watch one of the many fireworks displays in town, but I said no. I’m a homebody at the core of my being and just wanted to be with my fur babies. Plus, I needed time to mourn for Molly (I didn’t say this to the Mr.). The sad stuff had been building all day and it just needed to come out, privately.
It turns out that this was the best decision because he didn’t feel too great later that evening. It had been a fun, albeit exhausting day.
Plus, we’re old like that.
Filed under: empty nest | Tagged: 4th of July, empty nest | 1 Comment »
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