Beach Dayz

sand - breezes - sun - waves - clouds - tourists - families - swimming - tan - seagulls - sandy kids - shovel - hats - jets - seaweed - smiles - marco polo - boogie boards - outside - bikinis - +

It's funny... I've lived in the Destin area for years and until I moved to the Love Shack I had never gone to the beach more than 4-6 times a year. But since the move I've been five times during the day and twice at night. Why you ask? Maybe because I'm a mile next to the beach located on C30A or maybe I'm becoming a SoWal (South Walton County) local.

Those of you who know me know that my legs are usually whiter than the paper I'm writing this on. Now they are a couple of shades darker. I still think they glow in the dark.

It was a beautiful day with a light breeze with families playing "Marco Polo" in the water and boogie boarders of all ages looking for the perfect waves. The girl tanning next to me was wearing a fun bathing suit (see picture - don't tell her I took it) with lips on it. Next to her was a couple in lawn chairs sunning and reading hard back books. I however was writing in this book and drawing a beach scene. I continued until I got hot from the sun and decided to take a dip in the Gulf.

The water was pleasant except for the seaweed which was thicker and more of than a few days ago. If you read my last blog you would remember that someone had tasted seaweed while at the beach so I had to try it. I picked up a little piece of the green slimly goodness and placed it in my mouth. It was not totally terrible... of course it was salty duh and the texture was funky. Oh well I tried it. And also while swimming I had thought that there was no way it wasn't going to be in my trunks when I got home. To my surprise nothing.

A lot of my friends will be coming into town in August for a conference being held at the Sandestin Hilton. Also a bunch of new people I haven't met yet will be here to ready to enjoy our area and everything it has to offer. Be sure to visit our beaches, get some sand in between your toes, and get a little sun burn or better yet a tan. You will want to return again and again. Also some of you know I like to sketch, doodle, draw, whatever you call it. Here is a picture of the beach scene I was working on.

Laundry Day

Spinning . Bubbles . Water . Cute . Soap . Quarters . Bounce . Music . Smile . Magazines . Uptown Girl . Time . Industrial Noises . Add .

Okay no washer/dryer at the new place yet so I get to go to the laundry place. Yes, I could have came over to your place and did it there... But, then I would have missed out on something I hadn't done in a while... Laundry Day.

I walked in and was greeted by a young lady. I asked her if she had room for one more, she smiled and said "yes of course". I headed to the endless row of washing machines, picked out the two I wanted to use and sixteen quarters later I was in business. Pour a little soap, squish in the clothes (No, I didn't separate whites from colors... I'm a guy). Push the slot in and here comes the water.

How long do I wait now? I guess like my old machine about a 1/2 an hour? Crazy "Eye Of The Tiger" is on now... Carl, do you hear it? Yes, you may already know, I think... Well, I met the guy who wrote this song, Jim P? is his name; a real nice guy with a great outlook on life - see Jazz Fest Pics '09 - He is playing guitar with a great outfit.

Back to the laundry... Gotta check on clothes...

It takes less then 1/2 an hour 'cause they are already done washing. Oooh, the fun part comes next. You've seen those big dryers with the round doors. Only $2 (8 quarters) for thirty siz minutes of fun tumbling

clothes. Shirts, jeans, socks, underwear... Repeat. Walking back to my set the lady complimenting me by saying that I was the 1st one who didn't have any question. That I had figured it out all by myself. Go figure... I may sometimes not be as dumb as I look.

So the clothes are spinning; I'm getting a few texts from friends. One about feeding a heron and tasting seaweed. Now, I don't have to taste it... I still think I want to taste a jelly fish though, is that crazy? "Food Channel made me do it" is what I'm going to say.

So it looks like six bucks and an hour of time is what it costs to wash two loads of my clothes. You can drop your clothes off and they weigh them, clean them and bag for you to pick up. I bet it's more than six bucks. I'm kinda liking doing this, it gives me some time to write in a different place from the norm, plus other than watching the clothes spin in the dryer or dancing to the 80's... I get to see/meet new people. I'll see what come out in the wash and may be back in a week or so.

Seaside at Sunset

Every observation starts with seeing something... but this blog will start with words. I know, I know that all blogs are composed of words and accented with pictures.

But anyway here are the words... conversations, seaside, cool breezes, wine, vacationers, flashes, sunburns, sandy toes, hot pink sunset, blues, beers, what's that thing for?, more conversation, people, relationships, total strangers, personal stuff, music, day dreaming, and Nicki...

I had decided to spend some time on/with someone who I don't usually spend it with. You may not know this person as well as I do but soon you may get to know them for better or worse.

It was a cool summer night in northwest Florida with lots of visitors dipping their toes in the Gulf. Others were taking pictures of themselves at sunset in order to have memories to revisit when they get home. Children squealing while running away from their parents who were ready to leave for dinner. I took a few photos of the remains of a beach wedding and posted them on facebook. Almost as soon as they were there I had comments added to them from friends wishing they were here too most likely. After dipping my sandy toes into the Gulf I decided to walk upstairs to Bud & Alley's for a glass of wine and good conversation. Seaside is a curious place full of sunburnt visitors wanting to escape from their everyday lives.

While standing there people watching I noticed that everyone was enjoying the company of others or anticipating meeting someone new. At this point an attractive young lady walked towards me at the top of the stairs... I smiled and said hi. She politely said hi back and went down the stairs a couple of steps to take a picture on her phone. She took her picture and I asked if she wanted me to take her picture with the sunset in the background. She first gave me a look like this guys hitting on me followed by okay. I took the picture for her and she said her friends would be jealous when she emailed it to them since they were overseas. I told her to have fun and to take care. She stood next to me enjoying the last moments of the setting sun and talked to a girl who walked up. She told the girl that she called here home but traveled for work... Vegas, LA, and other places. The other girl opened up about her personal relationship and how men are difficult to understand. I think everyone of us are difficult to understand. She stated that she would never get married again. So when a glass of wine or bottle of beer is added to the mix conversations become easy to total strangers. The first girl decided to share her current story too. She was/is in love... with a man she sees every two weeks through a long distance relationship. They talked for a few minutes and then returned to the bar for a refill on their beverages. Nicki (the first girl) whose named I overheard talked to three more people on her way back to the bar before leaving for the evening. She had a confidence about her which was projected in her walk and how she carried herself in conversations. But I still think she was searching for something... a friend, a buddy or someone so she wouldn't be alone. Maybe we all get that way from time to time... I know I have been there quite a bit lately.

I stayed there for a little while longer before walking around the circle looking at art in shops and some nice pearl jewelry. Thinking that it would be nice to buy pearls for that special someone (another story). And that I should be working on art again. Ice cream on a summer night is always fun. Families waiting in lines for double scoops in a waffle cone - chocolate chip mint is still my favorite. I walked for a bit longer and decided it was time to head to the house. The drive was relaxing with my windows down feeling the wind in between my fingers. I finished the evening with my new room mate watching a movie with ice cream.

On a final note I did do a lot of texting throughout the evening to friends wanting to go out but decided to spend time with "that guy"... me.