life at the beach

Life at the beach was pretty 'sweet' (current teenage/young adult slang I believe). The condo was very very close to the one dune to climb before arriving on the soft sand. No shoes required. Just running down the stairs and crossing the lawn.

Which is what we did several times a day. Walking along the surf, watching the pelicans.

We visited the oldest city in the US (depending on your vision of history), we visited Universal Studios in Orlando for one long fun-filled and awe-filled day (my love took me to lunch in the Three Broomsticks, enough said?), we ate at a tapas restaurant and had the best-tasting (and alas most expensive) wine I have ever had, we explored a nature preserve and a fort with a particularly bloody history, and the girls and my love went on a ghost tour as well. We swam in the unheated pool and braved the waves of the Atlantic.

I read 'Joy for beginners' by Erica Bauermeister, which was a fun 'bit of light reading', and started 'In the kingdom of men' by Kim Barnes, which is already giving me a knot in my stomach only a quart way in. I even worked on the socks I started...uhm...when did I start those? Perhaps last summer?

It was so very....relaxing. Words fail me to really describe the way this made me all feel- I had space in my head, I could breathe, no headaches, and almost no worries (my little felines always at the back of my mind).

I really think it would be beneficial to my overall well-being if I could take those kinds of walks (be they on the beach or in the mountains) on a regular basis. A girl can dream, right.

And then I was shocked and amazed to find that it was all of a sudden Friday evening and I was supposed to pack up and say goodbye to all of this. Of course, I know I am lucky to add this week to my quite considerable list of vacation memories. It is just that come Monday, I am going to be spending my days in window-less rooms with more than enough problems to fill that space in my head right up. I am sure you can all relate!