So I Lied...

Um, yeah, so I lied the other day when I said I'd be gone all week with no internet access.  Thanks to a work colleague who lent me her boyfriend's MiFi, we have a nice, healthy, strong signal.  Which is a blessing and a curse.  A blessing because we can still be blissfully tethered to the outside world (and the rolling dramas on the tempestuous sea that is Facebook, of course), but a curse because it means that valuable time ordinarily spent outdoors or in each other's company engaging in scintillating conversation, are spent in front of a computer/tablet/phone.  Eh, such is life.

So, here I am, on this cloudy, foggy, breezy morning following two of the most gorgeous beach days imaginable, exercising my right to blog, even when on vacation.

We have had several of the busiest days we've seen in a long, long time.  After Samantha's last day of Kindergarten, pictures from which will follow eventually, we quickly packed the car full to the roof of all of our warm-weather wear and portable electronic devices (uh, I think those may have comprised the bulk of the transportable items) and drove north to the beach of my childhood, up in South Jersey.  My uncle generously lent us the use of his spacious 2-bedroom condo for the week, where we could enjoy only slightly obstructed beach views and a short 20-yard walk to the boardwalk and the hot sand beyond.  On the other side, we could enjoy a short 20-yard walk to the Wawa.  For any of you following along on Facebook, you may be wondering which walk I'm more excited about.  And, to be honest, while I absolutely love the beach, it's a toss-up.  Feel free to read the article I just linked to, and be jealous...

First day, we drove 4 hours north and settled onto the beach, we soaked in some rays, covered ourselves from head to bum in sand, splashed around in in the waves, and tried to avoid the throngs of drunk college students, most of whom were likely not old enough to drink, who swarmed the coastline.  Actually, Steve witnessed them pouring vodka into soda cans.  I eavesdropped (and laughed maniacally, silently, in my head) on one young man, slurring his words pathetically, as he tried to chat up a group of young women sitting behind us.  It was actually his use of the R-word that made me turn my head.  I think sometimes I have some sort of "R-word" radar.  I'm sure most of you know exactly what I'm talking about.  Once the drunk guys started throwing a football around in the highest-traffic areas, hitting an old lady in the head as she strolled along the beach with her husband, narrowly missing Samantha not once, but twice, we stopped thinking it was amusing, and Steve shared his own word, of the 4-letter variety, with one of them, halting their reckless activity.  After showering and changing, we met up with my parents, who live nearby, for dinner.

I'll leave it here for now, with a couple of cell phone pics.  I'll recap the action-packed Day 2 in another post, as it requires a few photos. 

Anyway, my compulsion these days requires that I feel guilt if I miss a M-Th of blog-posting, so, boring post or otherwise, the show must go on.  Day 3, and we've woken up to a thick, rolling fog.  Not sure what the day has in store, but even if the beach itself is not in the cards, we've got plenty more to do!