163: Beach watching

Sunrise this morning was lovely.  The winds were still blowing and gusting like crazy, and there were a few times when I thought I might get blown away, but it’s still wonderful to be near the ocean and watch as the sun appears to rise from the water.

(Fake sky, real palm trees.)

Today was moving day for us.  You see, the resort where we stayed last year and moved to today rents apartments/condos on a weekly basis only.  We decided we would add two extra days to our stay this year since a one-week stay means two of those days are taken up by travel.  We wanted a full week to enjoy the beach.  So we had to book two nights at another place.  Nothing is terribly cheap here, especially if you have an ocean view.  But we didn’t do too badly.  The room was small, but served its purpose.

Now that we’re settled into an apartment, we can do a little less eating out.  That’s a good thing.  Although we’re getting plenty of exercise, I’m not sure it makes up for the calories of all the food we get served in a restaurant.  Not that I belong to the clean plate club anymore.  Still, sometimes it’s hard to resist the food I intended to leave behind or take home, especially when the waiter or waitress takes their time about clearing the plates.  The longer it sits there, the more likely I am to eat it.  I suppose that’s why the diet gurus recommend asking for a take-home box and halving the food as soon as it is served.

We did have to spend a few hours waiting to get into the apartment.  Check out time at our hotel was 11:00am and check in at the apartment was 3:00pm.  So we sat on the deck, watching the surfers, the waves, the people on the beach, and the storm clouds as they approached.  It rained like crazy for a little while.  I hear Florida really needs the rain (and there are some wildfires south of here) so I’m not complaining.  Mother Earth will do as she wills.

I enjoy watching the surfers so I am doubly not complaining about the wind and big waves.  It brought the surfers out today.  It has also brought out the kite surfers.  I have more than a few photos of kite surfers, too, but haven’t gotten around to uploading them yet.

I decided I would much rather show you this guy, skiing on the beach.  The first time he went by, I was so surprised and so busy watching him that I didn’t grab the camera in time (I had it tucked away in case of rain).  I almost missed him on the way back, too.  It was just starting to rain when he passed by again.  Under his hood, by the way, is a thick winter hat.

I looked it up and apparently there are people who miss winter so much that they are sand skiing.  Who’d have thunk it?

(Man ‘o War)

M and I have not spent much time in the ocean yet.  That is partially due to the roughness of the waves and the riptides.  The other part of the blame goes to the jellyfish.  That’s not exactly true.  It’s due to the Man ‘o War, which is not a true jellyfish.  There were many washed up on the beach our first day here and I’ve been giving them a wide berth during our walks on the beach.

I’m not going to get around to finishing up the story of our tour of the Intracoastal Waterway.  Unless we have a day that’s too stormy to get out and about, it’s unlikely I’ll find the time.

I feel spoiled.  As I sit here typing I can watch the waves and clouds (another storm is coming) roll in.  The water is an amazing shade of turquoise, and not nearly as rough and choppy as it has been.

Life is really good.  🙂