How I Spent My Summer Vacation, Pt 2
I guess I ought to take the time to describe our layout at the beach. We had 19 people spread between a duplex, a cottage and a lighthouse. The cottage and lighthouse were right on the beach, and the duplex was just across the road from the beach. There was a small boardwalk about 60 yards long reaching from the cottage over the dunes down to the beach proper. The dunes were covered in scrub brush and sea oats, anchoring that portion of the coastline against wind and rain erosion. The beach itself was about 10 yards wide at high tide, and about 35 yards wide at low tide, depending on the wind and how the sand piled up. When we first got there, there were two ridges built up by storms and the tides, first a soft slope about 10 yards from the edge of the beach, and the other about 20 yards from the first. This second ridge was about a foot and a half high, making for some interesting games of volleyball and Frisbee. Later in the week, this second ridge disappeared, which allowed the high tides to come much higher up the beach.
Truth in Advertising
Now, y’all know that I usually work the night shift, and since I’m usually asleep during the daytime, I was expecting to sleep in the next morning.
Didn’t happen.
7:30 AM I was wide awake and ready to go. I wandered through the house checking on the bodies scattered everywhere, but nobody else even showed signs of waking up. Nobody was stirring I the other houses either, so I showered, ate breakfast, wandered the beach, and generally enjoyed the quiet morning. I got all the grocery shopping done by noon, and went to get a haircut. After checking 4 or 5 barbershops, all closed, I remembered that it was Sunday, and all the shops would be closed. That still confuses me sometimes. The bars are open, but not the barbers? I guess God doesn’t mind if you drink on Sunday, but you’d better not get your hair cut….
Anyway, before we left Tennessee, I bought a volleyball set from WalMart, figuring we would all like to play. The set was advertised as “EZ assembly—Goes together in minutes!”
Right.
They neglected to specify how many minutes. I was out there trying to string together the net and poles for an hour and a half. There were color coded hooks, and tripod guide wires, and non-sliding slider, and anchor stakes and pole stakes, not to mention the pole caps. Add in a 20 mph breeze, blazing sun, and 10 impatient kids waiting to play and you have the perfect recipe for what the Chinese call “interesting times.”
Now, I had only meant to be out for about 45 minutes, so I hadn’t bothered with sunscreen. Bad mistake. By the time I finished the “EZ” assembly, I could already feel the skin beginning to tighten on my back and shoulders. I was headed back to the house for sunscreen when I heard a loud “Oh no!” from behind me, followed by laughter. The kids and some of the adults had started playing, and I was only about 10 steps away when my sister tried to spike the ball through the net, rather than over it. To ensure success, she preceded the spike with a left-handed tug on the net itself, reducing the height from the regulation 8 feet to a more manageable 3.5 feet. Of course, the net collapsed, pulling two of the three stakes on one side out of the sand. I kept on walking and let them fix it.
Oh, the Pain!
I’ve been burned before; the worst was while snorkeling in Hanauma Bay, Hawaii. I was wearing a shirt then, so figured I was protected against sunburn. Unfortunately, I had chosen a white shirt, reasoning that the lighter color would reflect more of the light. What I hadn’t counted on was something every girl knows from the time she first enters puberty. White shirts become fairly transparent when they get wet. It was the worst sunburn of my life, reaching from my shoulders to my ankles. I knew I was in trouble when I started hurting the instant I stepped out of the water. One of my buddies had a big jar of pure aloe gel, and he spread it thickly on my back. As soon as it was absorbed, he put on more. He kept this up until the skin on my back couldn’t absorb anymore, then gave me what was left of the bottle, and told me to keep it moist. I got back to the ship, and stood directly underneath an AC duct for 45 minutes. The aloe really worked. As long as I kept my back coated, the pain was bearable. If I let it dry out, the pain was immense. But after only two days, the burn was faded, and the pain was gone. The skin peeled, but not as deeply as it would have, leaving some tan behind, protecting me from future stupidity.
So, I knew what to do to take care of my burn. I slathered aloe all over it until it stopped absorbing into the skin, then put on SPF45 sunblock for the next two days. By then, my sunburn was gone, and I had a nice base tan. The kids saw how well the aloe worked for me, and they used it when they got their sunburns. I can’t recommend it strongly enough.
Well, by the time I got back from putting on my aloe and sunscreen, they had repaired the net and a spirited game was underway. We modified the rules so the young ones could enjoy the game (unlimited hits, carries were allowed, three serve attempts from as close to the net as you wanted, etc.) and a good time was had by all. The score was tied at eleventeen apiece when my dad came out to warn us about a weather bulletin he had seen on TV.
There was a large thunderstorm headed our way, with lots of lightening and high winds. We looked to the west, and we could see the storm building just to our south. My brother decided that the storm was going to pass to the south of us, so we should continue our game. I lived in Florida while going through Nuclear Power School, so I knew better. While the storm was centered to our south, as it projected out over the ocean, the bulk kept pressing closer and closer to us. Then, once the storm hit the off shore winds, it swirled, made a u-turn and came right back at us. Fortunately, I had been watching for just that, so we dropped the net and hit the houses before the storm really cut loose. It was about dinner time now anyway, so we all went to our houses to make dinner.
Yes! We Have No Crab Claws!
Shortly after we finished fixing food for the kids, my mom called to invite us out to her favorite restaurant for crab claws; no kids allowed. Naturally, we all accepted and went to The Surf. What we didn’t know was that on Sundays, the Surf had a special on lobsters: $5.00 each. The place was packed, and since half of their tables were outside, and there was a storm going on, they were short on seating as well. We located a table with a group of similar size, and they told us they would give us their table when they left. Secure in the knowledge that we had a table, we wandered around the bar, enjoying the sea breeze, and the music, since the storm had finally passed.
When the people at the table were ready to go, some friends of theirs showed up and asked them for the table. The people at the table were in an awkward position, and it looked like we were going to be aced out of our spot, but the new folks were very friendly, and when some high top tables opened up, they took them instead, allowing us to sit at the dinner tables. We all ordered crab claws, only to find out that the restaurant no longer carried crab claws. Bummer.
So, we all ordered lobster and seafood and shrimp and pasta, except for my brother in law, who ordered a burnt hamburger and fries. Some people, you just can’t reach. Anyway, the food was good, the hour was late, and it was time for bed again. The restaurant was only a block and a half from our houses, so I walked back, enjoying the night, while the rest of the family piled into the van.
Once back at the house, I pulled out my camcorder, to get it ready for the beach the next day. I had brought along some of our old home movies as well, and we finished up the night watching the kids when they were little. Looking at those tapes, it was hard to believe that two of them would be headed for college in just two weeks. That’s why we were there, to savor this last summer together, before the kids begin to scatter to lead their own lives.
Posted by Rich at August 13, 2002 3:16 PM