Cleaning

 

The salt off my binoculars lenses. Because the kids drove over 30 hours by my calculations to pick me up and take me along on a speedy trip south for a day at the beach....the beach at Hatteras, Outer Banks that is.

Getting there was, in some ways, half the fun, as we had many chances to talk in "real life" person, as opposed to Facetime or just on the phone. And that was great. We have always been close....

The traffic however, was brutal. Five hours of Hell south of Quantico. However, both kids are excellent drivers and we all got there, and back to our various destinations, safely.

That day between was incredible. Salt air and shifting sea. Birds and sand and waves. The unforgettable sensation of wild surf sucking the sand right from under you and then trying to throw you down in the hole. Ghost crabs scuttling sideways out of their holes and haunting down the beach. Fisherman seeking sand fleas in any way they could get them. One fellow had a fancy metal scoop that he shuffled through the sand and shells. Another guy simply dug fast as all get out with his hands, grabbing them when they squirted away from him.

The first thing I saw when we went down to the beach from our hotel was a Ruddy Turnstone. Although I saw some in Florida during the early 70s eBird doesn't know about those so technically it was a life bird.

First day with the new hat

Baby Bailey had her toes in the ocean for the first time. She was not quite sure about it and pulled her little footsies up a bit, but she trusted her daddy and was happy with it all. She was enthralled by the view of the water from the little cabana they had to keep her safe from the sun, and watched eagerly all the while we were there.

I'm afraid that over the next couple of days you will be seeing pictures of several aspects of the trip. It isn't every weekend that you get to do something like that!