Beach blogging

The drug war news is piling up in the inbox but it turned out to be such a pleasant afternoon I spent two hours walking on the edge of the surf today so it's a beach story again tonight. I picked up only a few shells but I found a bed of baby clams with multicolored shells in a tide pool. I didn't pick them up of course except to look at the colors but it was fun to watch them roll up and down the bank with the incoming tide. They looked like tiny little jewels in the sun.

While I was standing there a dead pufferfish rolled onto the shore. I walked down to see what it was and it looked so unreal that at first I thought it was a ceramic frog that fell off someone's boat. The colors were so fluorescent that I almost picked it up. I'm glad I didn't touch it though, I think those quill thingys are toxic.

I probably should tried have for a ferry today. The shrimp boats were out for the first time since I've been here so they were probably running to some extent but as usual I got out too late to even try. With the wind, I doubt if the ride would have been much fun anyway even though the sea was pretty calm.

The wind died at around 5:30 so I brought a beer down to the benches at the top of the dunes when I got back. I was sitting there soaking up the rays when all of sudden a storm of blackheaded seagulls appeared out of nowhere and started circling rather low overhead. I watched one doing figure eights at eye level. I hadn't seen more than four or five flying together until then. It was quite dramatic and impressive.

Out of the this storm also appeared my neighbor, I think his name is Bill Greg, who had just arrived from Raleigh. We had a lovely chat and were joined by another owner, a retired guy from New Jersey, whose name I've already forgotten so I'll call him Larry Buck. He was a wealth of information about the complex and the Isle.

Turns out Bill Greg owns the best condo in the complex, the very one with the blue cushioned cairs I spoke of a couple of days ago. This I found out from Larry Buck. Bill Greg is a contractor. He builds shopping centers and new evangelical churches. I was fascinated to discover that they put Starbucks franchises and 50s style diners, not to mention Laundromats in what Bill Greg called the modern churches. Talk about outreach.

Meanwhile, I still haven't decided whether to stay or leave on Sunday. It would probably do me some good to get off the internet and talk to some actual human beings for a couple of days. Not to mention I know they have an outdoor hot tub there and good soak wouldn't hurt either. It will be my only chance to wear my bathing suit and if the weather turns bad again I know I can lie on my bed reading and still see nothing but the sea.

Guess I'll figure it out in the morning. I have to make the choice tomorrow or I'll be sleeping in that silly little car on Sunday night.