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WhiteCarrot of Zenith
Jun. 24th, 2020 09:36 pmIn anticipation of the Nipper's visit next week, we decided we needed to make a trial run to the beach. It's going to be HOT next week, and they might like a swim. But we haven't been to the big lake since quarantine happened, and now that they've reopened the beaches, we didn't really know what it would be like. In what we used to think of as a normal year, Lake Michigan beaches are very easy to social distance on. You just keep walking down the beach till there isn't anybody, and then you set up your beach nook. However, in recent years there's been record high water, so in many places, there is literally no beach. The water comes right up to a sand bluff that's maybe four or five feet high, and there's nowhere to sit down. At a public beach, there's always a wide flat place, but that's where all the yahoos who don't care about social distancing hang out, so you don't want to park yourself there.
This morning I packed everything in my big backpack, as I always do: towels, sarongs, hat, sunscreen, water, sandwiches, etc. etc. And as I always do, I mutter as I try to zip it up, "I'm taking too much stuff!" But we always use it all. The Sparrowhawk wanted to take one of his candy bars, so I put it in a baggie with a smaller baggie of ice cubes. That way, it doesn't melt. We indulged in the luxuries of oldsters and took folding chairs and a portable umbrella.
When we arrived, there weren't very many people, but by the time we left, it was more crowded than I was really comfortable with. People kept coming and choosing spots that may have suited them, but didn't suit me. Too close! But I think we can deal with this when the kids come by just going home earlier. It was sooo lovely to sit by the water and hear the sound of the waves! It's been a long time. The water was about 60 degrees, and the air was about 70, so it wasn't exactly warm, but I went in anyway and enjoyed a delicious swim. On the way home, we stopped at the Whippi-Dip and got ice cream cones. They always taste so good after hours in the sun. The unaccustomed exercise of swimming has left me pretty sore and sunburned. A crescent moon is in the evening sky, and I'm going to bed early!
This morning I packed everything in my big backpack, as I always do: towels, sarongs, hat, sunscreen, water, sandwiches, etc. etc. And as I always do, I mutter as I try to zip it up, "I'm taking too much stuff!" But we always use it all. The Sparrowhawk wanted to take one of his candy bars, so I put it in a baggie with a smaller baggie of ice cubes. That way, it doesn't melt. We indulged in the luxuries of oldsters and took folding chairs and a portable umbrella.
When we arrived, there weren't very many people, but by the time we left, it was more crowded than I was really comfortable with. People kept coming and choosing spots that may have suited them, but didn't suit me. Too close! But I think we can deal with this when the kids come by just going home earlier. It was sooo lovely to sit by the water and hear the sound of the waves! It's been a long time. The water was about 60 degrees, and the air was about 70, so it wasn't exactly warm, but I went in anyway and enjoyed a delicious swim. On the way home, we stopped at the Whippi-Dip and got ice cream cones. They always taste so good after hours in the sun. The unaccustomed exercise of swimming has left me pretty sore and sunburned. A crescent moon is in the evening sky, and I'm going to bed early!
