Is it too late to look at some photos from last summer? The dog days of August were not so long ago. As we dive into the cold days of January I thought it would be fun to remember those moments when we got down to the bare essentials and basked in the sun.
Of course if you are living in Australia or many other places not associated with Virginia these photos may be much more relevant to your present existence.
Beth reminded me that the Neptune Festival is happening next weekend at Virginia Beach. And there will definitely be photo taking opportunities there. It’s difficult to believe that a year has gone by since the last festival. There are photos here from that competition. Hopefully this year I will be able to gain a little different perspective while clicking away.
I had to laugh when I was going over some photos taken last July. What is that thing out in the water? Is it Jaws?
I never noticed it before but there is a dolphin out there. Maybe he is watching the people having fun on the beach. Maybe he is curious.
Last evening we were tied up here at the dock and everyone took advantage of this fact to head for the bar. They have really transformed this place since the last time we were here. It looks great. And it has all the comforts of home including a hot shower with little samples of soap and body lotion in a wicker basket next to it.
WiFi is also floating through the air although it doesn’t extend all the way down the dock to our boat. The fabulous ship belonging to the owner of the Chicago Black Hawks is two slips away and it has WiFi of its own. But that doesn’t help me and my lonely computer.
So even though I want to avoid the bar for obvious reasons I find it necessary to go down there to send a few photos of our trip to anyone who is interested in them. But now it is morning and I am using Flock to write a post down in the galley of our sailboat. I enjoyed stepping on to the dock earlier without having to jump down or climb up. The tide has gone out and now the boat and the dock are on the same plane.
Everyone is still sleeping too. Their schedules are a bit different than mine and a few may have hangovers to consider when they finally decide to get up. Captain Jack said something about going out and watching the sun rise down on the beach with the pink sand. And he is pretty dependable. You wouldn’t want a sea captain who is any other way. The roosters started crowing about an hour ago. And I see no sign of light now at six am. I hope that does not mean there is a thick cloud cover. We have been lucky so far and only experienced one very brief but incredibly dense downpour two days ago. I hear someone walking around on deck. Probably it is Jack and we will be taking a walk soon through the crowded neighborhood next to the shore and back down towards an ancient cemetery and the resort that overlooks the beach. It will be cool and there should not be too many golf carts whizzing around at this hour. The roads are so narrow.
It would be pretty embarrassing ending up the victim of a golf cart on a narrow island road. Better to go down in a violent storm out at sea. The stories that are passed down to your descendants will be so much better.
A Few Minutes Later
Well. . .Apparently Jack has decided to sleep in this morning. Colors are starting to appear on the horizon so I better be off. It’s not difficult to find. You just walk down the dock and between all these amazing boats and then you take a right here. Maybe I should put the camera in the bag. It’s very early and barely light. All the bad guys are home in bed right? I don’t know actually what the customs are around here. Oh s!*t! Here comes a golf cart and it has three guys in it. Let me just duck in between these two cars and give it plenty of room. Did that guy just look at me when they went by? His eyes seemed to widen a bit in surprise. Well I will just be on my way.
Oh Oh. The golf cart engine just shut off. If I hear it go into reverse what should I do? Running is not an option. I’m on vacation. And it’s better not to show fear. If they want the camera I will just give it to them. I really would like a D300. They are supposed to be pretty awesome. . .
Let me just peak back and they’re gone! They must have made a right turn or something. Wait a minute. Who is this dude coming down the road? He looks to be over six feet tall.
“Good morning” “Good morning.” Man he has a deep voice. And he doesn’t sound too friendly.
A Few More Minutes Later
Let me just walk down this path and . . .
This is so beautiful! And the breeze feels so good. Nobody in sight either way. Oh wait. There’s a guy way down there raking the beach in front of a resort. The waves are making that deep booming sound that tells you who is really in charge. And the colors are amazing.
Time to take some photos. And then I think I will take a walk over there up those stairs to the Blue Bar and have a cup of coffee and some breakfast.
Our children Spinner and Marty wanted to go sightseeing. So Beth And I took them out this morning. We started here on one end of the Virginia Beach boardwalk and walked down to the other end. It’s about a 2.5 mile walk and they had a great time. We also had fun photographing them as they enjoyed some of the art and landmarks on the boardwalk. Here are some of the photos. And then you can click on the Slide Show if you want to examine their adventure (with captions!) in further detail.
