Beach Day

When the hourly weather forecast shows sun icons all day long, I know it's time to head for the beach. Specifically, the north end of the beach, where people are few and far between. Maybe a little car camping is in order, if the overnight tides are right. 

After enjoying the clear water for a while and getting my daily quota of sunshine (maybe a little too much?) I can roll the windows down and go right on enjoying the clean salt air and beautiful view. 

After a beautiful day, I went on home. One day soon, I will camp overnight. I promise.

It's Official! I'm a Blender for Life!

The first night after Darla left for her home far away, I was surprised by SouthernBlend and all the Blenders when they presented me with my very own Blender tee shirt! They made a surprise announcement from the stage that nearly knocked my socks off (... well, I was probably in flip flops, but you get it...)

 

Last Day of Darla's Visit

 

We finally got to hit the beach in the morning, after another coffee stop. We went up to the north beach, where we had it almost all to ourselves. Sorry, no pictures . We were too busy playing in the water and soaking up the sun. We enjoyed lunch on the pavilion before going to catch some more music at Tequila Sunset. This time it was my good friends from SouthernBlend. Darla really liked their oldies music, and you will too. 

We split the evening up so we could fit in one more music show. I can't believe I didn't get a photo, but we went to see Nathan Hubble, which is always a great time. Darla was impressed by his talent. Well, I think most young women are impressed by Nathan, but that's to be expected. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more. 

I wish I could have taken Darla to see all my favorites, but many normally would have played on those first two rainy days. Anyway, we headed back to get some sleep, so Darla could make her early morning flight.  

So, that was then end of a visit that went by much too quickly and was very much appreciated. I miss my girl, but it was so wonderful to see her. Next time, we won't invite the rain. 

More on Darla's Visit

 

The sun came out Wednesday, so after Darla made friends with the neighbor's dog, we headed out for some touristy-type stuff. 

Like the sandcastle exhibit.

And Sea Turtle, Inc!

Then to Tequila Sunset . . .

To hear the incomparable J. Michael Laferty. Mikey is a favorite on the island. Download some of his free music at https://jmlaferty.com/ and you will understand why. As wonderful as his cover songs are, his original music is even better!

Next, we headed over to Isla Blanco Park to watch the sunset go down over the bay, past the jetties. It did not disappoint! 

To escape the swarm of mosquitoes caused by all the rain from tropical storm Francine, we walked over to the jetties  . . . 

. . . where Darla made friends with a young pelican . . .

She followed him for a short distance . . . now, where did I put that video? 

Last day coming up . . .

Darla Comes to Visit!

There's no better gift for a mom than a visit from her kids! And my daughter Darla came all the way from another continent to see me, so that was pretty special. Of course, I was hoping that we would have the most perfect weather for her visit, but tropical storm Francine had other ideas. Thankfully, we did not take a direct hit, but rainfall kept us indoors for the first few days. Of course, we fell back on movies, as we often do, but we also spent a little time with some watercolor painting. 

The rain let up a little, so we ventured out for lunch. I wanted Darla to have the spinach salad with strawberry vinaigrette and the butter pecan cheesecake at Divot's. She approved most heartily. 

 Then . . . I admit it . . . we watched the six-hour Pride and Prejudice for the umpteenth time. 

And made our own salmon salad. Yum. 

Will Day 3 allow us to go to the island? We'll see.