A month ago, we went to the beach.  I had been wanting to go since we moved here, ever since my neighbor mentioned watching the sunset at the beach.  Practically all of my beach going has been on the East Coast where the sun sets behind you as you watch the tide roll in.  Watching the sun set over the water sounded quite lovely, and not quite as tiring as getting up to watch the sun rise.

Of course, the first few months we were here, we were busy unpacking and dealing with a newborn.  Plus it was too hot to move, too hot to go to the beach, especially for a newborn.

Then school and kid activities started.  The only free days we had were Sundays, and Bill had to go to work the next day.  Staying out until 10 pm or later was not a good way to start the week.  Finally, Bill had Columbus Day off, so we spontaneously decided that the Sunday before was the day to go.

Fritz and Billy were camping that Saturday at a retreat with our Diocese, so we “surprised” them with our plans upon pick up Sunday morning.  They were unhappy.  I understood to some extent.  Spend two nights away from home, and on the way back you think about a nice hot shower, mom’s home cooking, and relaxing in front of the TV watching a football game.  But I think one son’s comparing us to slave owners went a bit too far.  Really, how many slaves owners “forced” their help to spend the afternoon and evening playing on the beach?

This is not a beach picture, just a random shot: Pirate George.

In the shade

Unfortunately, the shade had to block the view of the Gulf.

A soldier’s tan is similar to a farmer’s tan.

The Gulf is much more peaceful than the Atlantic Ocean.

It was a gorgeous day.

George was still pretty skinny at 3 months.

Skinny, but cute.

Love his smiles.

Entrenched

Ready for the rising tide

Buried

Copycat

As the sun went down

There was a 40% chance of rain, but we went anyway, because at that time, there was always a 40% chance of rain.  The clouds did roll in, but the rain held off until we got back to the car.  And then it poured, for a half hour.  That’s the way it is in the summer/early fall down here.

I saved the landscape photos for another blog post, coming up next.

In the end, my grumpy sons apologized and thanked us for a great day.  It was so very hard to block out that family time, but very much worth the effort.