One never Knows

YOu never know what you'll find at the beach. Girly and I went this morning as our own Mothers Day. Since we are spending Mothers day proper with PG's Mom. WE got up about 745 and got there by 8am. We even had a nice giggle at the expense of another driver on the way. You see I know ,being as I am friends with Many a police officer, That out of towners should NOT go over the speed limit. I was going my alloted 55mph and the person behind me figured HE would pass me and go about 90MPH....with a local PO about 100yrds up. The officer pulled out to get him as I was coming up to him. GIrly " GET 'EM! Get 'Em!!" hee hee. Once we got there we had a great time as there weren't many people there at all. about 10ish other people stared to flow in. One group of ladies had a camcorder and were sitting in front of me. when their bags got caught in the tide I chatted them up. Turns out the youngest was a knitter too and was admiring "the bikini from hell" wondering if I too was a knitter:)And as we were discussing what the best fibre to take on a beach excursion was"cotton versus fuzzy mohair, and sock weight over worsted or larger" Girly ran up and calmy told me she had squeezed something squishy in the water and now her thumb was burning. Good thing the teen lifeguards were there. They had some vinagar in a spritzer bottle to save the day. Girly was so disgusted with"that naughty jelly" that Our yarny conversation was cut short and Girly and I went onward to the farmers market off 8th street( only open on Saturdays from 9-2 pm FYI). We sampled fresh organic cheeses, and breads, etc. There was a man selling organic coffee beans, and a bunch of local produce, and flowers, We spent $30 on some dried bananas, blueberries,fresh crab cakes and surprisingly Girly who TOTALLY HATES olives Asked to buy a jar of organic olive/pimento/herb& anchovy dip that she LOVED. The guy gave her a sample, I figured the poor guy was about to get the worst review ever but she was all"Oh. MY. GOD. Mommy that is the best stuff EVER!" You really never know. So then we came home to have a nice picnic in the floor, and a LOONG nap.

From the beach

The beach was lovely, we got there about 730 Am. It was still a bit too cool for swimming in the ocean part, but there was a nice stream before a sandbar, before the tide that had reasonably warm water. I had the brilliant Idea to park my stuff on the sandbar sandwiched in between said current and the ocean proper...It was lovely until about 1030 when the tide started coming in and almost swept everything away. Fortunately my stash and camera were in my waterproof bag. I'm sure the other early beach goers got a kick out of seeing a screeching banshee woman scrambling for her three bags and blanket" My yarn ! my yarn!" Girly didn't get swept under This time, which was a bonus. Though she did venture a bit father than I'd like down the shore and I momentarily lost her. I bought her some goggles and she was scuba-ing in the current And so I couldn't see her. Plus there were NO bathrooms. At 745 no one is open. Fortunately where we stopped there was an FD(Fire dept.) And there's not a fireman I know who would turn away a little kid. So thank you to the Probie who let us in. WE also went to the beach shop around 11oo when It opened. I took a picture of the owner,Isn't she pretty!
but I chickened out on asking her to do a knitting picture. I'm not quite as ballsy as SmcP But I did take a picture of my seaside sock with a seagull who was rather fond of my boiled eggs.
The object of getting there so early was A: to get there before all the good spots were taken. However all the "good spots were further down the shore...near the bathrooms. And B: getting some good seashells before the tide swept them out. Which failed as there were NOT any to be had. So we got alot of abalone and some broken pieces for a wind chime, and whatever abstract project GIrly had in mind when she got these Which were carefully picked with schoolmaster like scrutiny.
And we saw the beautiful car of my dreams As we were leaving: the Saturn Sky. I am so jealous of Bossy. Getting to ride around in one of these for her road trip. It gets the BEST gas mileage for a sports car. I've also heard rumours there is a hybrid model. That would be a GREAT Mothers day present.

Just Beachy

It must be a beach week. Carolyn went to Jekell And I'm taking Girly to the Fernidina beach tomorrow. It's soo nice out down here it is hard to not want to be near the water. I don't know for sure if we're going to be IN the water or not as Carolyn says it's terribly cold still. Maybe just toes. Plus I kinda have a fear of Girly and water. Mainly because she has a tendency to try to down in the current. At 6 months old I took her out in her floaty baby trolley off the shores of Jekell's main beach. the waves were tame, the water was warm. all of a sudden out of nowhere a gaint of a wave swooshed over Girly knocking her into the undertow. She thought it was a riot. I very nearly passed out screaming from panic. PG just calmly dove down, grabbed a leg and yanked her up. Repaet this 4 years later with arm floaties(we didn't go back to the beach before then, we stayed in nice safe pools with clear water) that the wave from hades swept OFF her arms. When they say NOT a life saving device they really mean it. I am seriously contemplating In Icord saftey cord for my leg to her kinda surf board style to prevent this from happening this year. I myself did not learn to swim until I was 10 years old. There's no real need for swimming in the midwestern Ghetto. I mean really WHO drowns in a sprinkler? Anything bigger than and often times even the kiddie pools were stolen so no one I knew had a big pool. the time I did spend in the south was filled with floaties in 4 ft maximum pools and sticking to the tideline. So yeah I have no real lifesaving capabilities when it comes to water, unless of course you become a floater. I do have AED and CPR training. It's nice to have family in EMS servicies to teach you handy stuff like that.
I have the beach bag prepared already so we can just get up and go. I included extra camera batteries so I can get some good pictures. Adn mapQuest so I don't get lost like last time and wind up in a shipyard. Though the locals are Royally nice about giving the wayward traveler directions. Just don't look at them in your rear view, they WILL be laughing at you. My favortie spot on the beach it right by an Italian restaruant. They have live music playing and the widows are open so if you sit in the right area you get A nice serenade, and Oh the lovely smells of basil and garlic coming off the kitchen. It's a great beachgoing experince. So look for pictures some time tomorrow. If I'm feeling adveturous I may wonder around to find old cottages and things. I will be bringing my sock Ala Harlot so expect sock traveling pictures as well.