Day 2, a day of unusually nice weather

Day 2

Our bedroom has two skylights, and the nice thing about that is that on a clear blue morning like today they let in all sorts of wonderful light. So I was up a little before 7, which isn’t really that early but it is on vacation. The tides aren’t completely favorable this week – low tide was about 4 this morning – but they’re good enough that I got up and headed down to see if I could make it to the carriage road. My phone said it was 58 degrees, but it felt much warmer.

Here’s the plant and sand report: last summer they really went to town on the trail down to the beach and hacked everything back about a foot and a half on either side. This year the trail is still wide open, but many plants are moving in, and there are a few sticking up between the stairs and around the railings. I would say by next summer it will be jungly again.

The sand is generally high. The loose rocky places in the cave to the south and the protected inlet to the north are completely covered with sand, and you can easily walk between the monolith and the inlet to the north. The stalk of the big mushroom rock by the waterfall is completely covered with sand, and the floor of the Joel Marble burping cave is also completely sand covered. There’s one exception to the high sand which I’ll get too shortly.

In honor of Iron Man Ben, I ran all the way from the start of the hug point beach to the carriage road. Well, it wasn’t entirely in honor of Ben, because it was also partly due to wanting to get there as fast as possible – with the tide coming in every minute counts. I resisted the urge to stop and look at things and take pictures. When I got to the carriage road it was just accessible – only a little hop was required to get over a tongue of water. I went up onto it, but the tide was in far enough that waves were breaking over the low section in the middle. I am sure I will get my boots and pantlegs soaked at some point this week, but I wasn’t quite ready for it yet, so I turned around.

Now that I’d been to the carriage road and knew the state of the sand, I could take my time and have a leisurely stroll back, and also investigate the two things that needed looking at. First was the dog photo spot, which is a place where the water is digging into a soft part of the cliff face just south of the carriage road. When we used to bring the guide dog puppies here that was a great photo spot, and I took a picture of it this year because it’s getting more interesting. Although the sand is generally high, it’s low just there, exposing a series of pools that I think I’ve not seen before – very cool looking.

Also, faithful readers might remember that when we were here in November the waterfall was the fullest we’d ever seen, and the stream that came off of it turned and went north, pretty much cutting off access to the carriage road. After the dry July and August we’ve had, and even with the rain yesterday, the waterfall is back to being a watertrickle, and the stream fans out across the sand directly to the ocean. It’s so spread out that I could probably walk across it in my mesh sneakers and still have dry socks. It’s endlessly fascinating to see how things change every year.

The walk back was uneventful and absolutely beautiful, with the sun lighting up the waves out over the ocean, but the beach still in the shadow of the cliffs. I took a lot of pictures that are pretty much exactly the same pictures that I take every year because every year I am blown away by the beauty and grandeur of this place. Right now I’m sitting in the “leather” chair looking out, and the sun is lighting up the tree just past the deck, but the deck is still in shadow. We are so blessed to be able to come here. Meanwhile Dave had gotten up when I did, and when I got back he and Josh were having a financial chat over facebook. I was pleased to see a post there from the Iron Man, so at least he’s still able to move his fingers. Here’s hoping he’ll be able to climb the stairs in Giants stadium a week from Saturday.

Next up on my agenda (after a bowl of cacklin’, of course) was a little exercise, so I went into the bedroom and did the first day of boot camp. It was killer as always, but not as killer as it would have been if I’d done it on the ship. I think I’ve figured out why. When I’m doing it by myself, part of my mind is counting reps (ok, most of my mind) and sometimes I’ll do 3 or 4 reps without paying attention to form, kind of half-heartedly. So I’m not actually bending down all the way to the floor or whatever. That’s the place where you want the trainer to point it out and correct it, and that’s what I’m missing when I do it on my own. So my focus for the rest of the sessions will be trying to be more mindful of form.

 

Tim had gotten up and taken a shower before I started my workout which was good, because the part where I’m crab hopping makes the house shake. I took my shower and did a little writing, and then Rhonda (aka evil piano teacher) andher husband Tracy got here and it was time to go to Bill’s for lunch. We had the usual nervousness about getting to Bill’s at the right time, and it was a little more nervous having 5, but it all worked out. We got to town a little early and walked around a bit, then got to Bills and had our choice of tables. It was cheeseburgers, bacon burger, fish burger, fish and chips and onion rings for the table. Tracy especially enjoyed the beer – he had the dunkelweizen first, but then tried my foggy notion and had one of those also – good beer and good times at Bills. Especially when you get to say dunkelweizen.

Tim drove Dave’s car back to the house while the Rhonda and I walked around and looked in the shops. Dave and Tracy walked around and sat on the benches outside of the shops. Rhonda was especially fond of the various leopard print shoes at Purple Moon, while I was entranced by the sheer amount of fascinating stuff at Ter Hars. Tim, meanwhile, was hanging out in Dave’s car at the house, because we’d forgotten to give him a key. He said he had the windows rolled down and it was very nice, and actually what’s the difference between sitting on the couch and sitting in the car?

Eventually we gave him a call to come get us. The Ringerings went off to walk on the beach – it was nearly low tide and one of the most beautiful days I’ve ever seen here. We hopped in the car and headed to the house, at which point the need to nap became irresistible for me. Kids, unless you’re an advanced napper, don’t even try to do what I did, which is to say “I’m going to take a nap” and then go lie down on the bed. This is why most people say they can’t nap – it takes real skill to be able to do that. Since I’m a pro (like my mother before me), I was asleep in moments and slept for about an hour. I just love napping on the bed here on a sunny afternoon – the sun comes in the skylight and warms the bed, the cool breeze blows on your head from the window, and the ocean roars contentedly from down below.

Meanwhile Dave and Tim went for a run down on the beach. Yes, Tim went for a run voluntarily. The thing is that when he’s not swimming, he loses his appetite. Well, he doesn’t lose it, exactly, it just shrinks to more like a normal person’s, meaning he’s full after one hamburger and chips at Bill’s. Tonight we have reservations at Newman’s at 988, and he wants to be able to eat his meal as well as finish off what Dave and I are too full to eat. So he ran for almost an hour and was feeling pretty good about it until Dave compared it to Iron Man Ben. When I woke up I thought they were dead or at least hospitalized, of course, because they’d been gone for a long time and I didn’t hear them and they weren’t in the living room. But then when I looked on the deck they were there in the lounge chairs chatting in the sun. They’d had some iced tea and were looking very pleased with themselves.

In the afternoon the sun shines right on the deck, so I sat out there and blogged for a while. Dave went in and took a nap in the swivel chair, and Tim played games and texted. After a while the sun was shining right in my face so I came in and read on the couch. Eventually it was time to get up and put on nice clothes for Newman’s. Newman’s was its usual yummy self, although the service was slower than we’re used to. As always they had super foie gras, and everything was seasoned and cooked perfectly. Sadly, they have changed their gigondas, and while it was a very nice wine, it was not as spectacular as the Chateau St Comte they’ve had in previous years.

Tim drove us home and made a nice fire, which did not fill the house with smoke because it’s not windy tonight. It was cloudy in town, but completely clear at the house – weather is so local here. Then it was game time, and tonight it was time for trouble. Dave won the first game, and Tim won the second. You will notice that my name is conspicuously absent from the winners’ list. In both games I could not get any sixes until very late in the game, although both games were very close for second and third place. Even though I didn’t win I still love trouble – the honking is so fast and furious, and there’s the pounding on the pop-o-matic and the yelling and pointing and saying “I’ll get you Chauncy!” Tim tried saying nuk several times, but that is not what you say when you play trouble.

Dave has Glen Gould playing Bach on the jambox, the fire is crackling, and I’m comfortably full from a delicious dinner.  Things are good. If it stays clear we’re going to try to stay awake for moonset.

Other things we wish we had: colorful socks for R to wear with her Jambus, sweat pants for D to put on in the evenings when a loose waistband is required, hairbrush or haircut for Tim.