SHARK!!!

                                             Our last full day on the Beach

I was up in the middle of the night. I think it was around 2am. Teri & Mike O. were still up and partying on the beachside balcony. I saw that somebody brought my Bose dock in the house. That was a relief. I went back to bed and slept until almost 730am, the latest I slept all week long.

Once up, I started a pot of coffee then headed out on the balcony waiting for the coffee the finish brewing. I also pulled about 6 dirty coffee cups out of the dishwasher and washed them by hand so everyone would have a fresh cup to drink from.

I enjoyed a cup and a half of coffee before heading out on my run. By then it was around 815am. I ran south and for about 30-35 minutes. Felt terrific. Mindy was drinking coffee on the third floor balcony when I got back. I joined her up there then called my mom.

Around 10-1030am I headed to the pier with Mike O. and a handful of the kids to fish. Thursday’s shark stories were too good to pass up. It’s a short walk. There were 6 of us in total. I paid for everyone’s entrance to the pier. We walked out to the very end where the boys wanted to fish. Mike bought the bait: squid and shrimp.

It wasn’t long before one of the kids reeled in a baby shark (about 10” long). That attracted a throng of others to see it, touch it, and have their photo taken with it. Jacob caught another star fish too, though this one much smaller than the one he caught on Thursday. A little bit later he caught a conk shell.

I stayed out on the pier fishing for about 2 hours. Mike M. headed back to the beach house about 45 minutes before me. All totaled, the kids caught four or five baby sharks. Bella actually caught two at one time (two hooks on each rig).

The two girls (Bella & Emily) bored of the fishing and wanted to head back. I agreed to take ‘em back, but not before stopping for ice cream at the pier entrance. I expected Mike O. and the boys to be maybe 15-20 minutes behind us, but they stayed at least another two hours.

Back at the house we hung out at the pool where I quenched my thirst with pop and ice tea. I didn’t plan to drink any alcohol. I used SPF 8 all afternoon, determined to get some more good rays.

Dinner plans were simple, grilled chicken and leftover steaks. Mindy whipped up some more green beans too. The boys got back from the pier around 4 pm. Said Jacob caught a 6 foot shark but it snapped the line. Mike O. said it was as big around as a basketball.

I took a shower around 5pm. Felt good. Hadn’t had one since early Thursday morning. Between then and dinner I wrote in my blog. Dinner was served around 630p. Everybody was in far better spirits than they were Thursday afternoon. After dinner, Mindy requested a baseball game on the beach. There must’ve been about 12 of us playing. The sun was dipping fast. We only were able to play 2 innings, but it was still fun.

I had already begun the packing process earlier in the evening, and Mindy washed most of our dirty clothes throughout the day. Almost all of our clothes were going home clean. We spent the time before bed further organizing ourselves for an early morning departure. Come morning, I’d need to run, shower, then throw all my electronics in my back pack and I’d be ready.

Mindy made sure the kids got a good night of sleep, declaring 930p bedtime. We weren’t far behind them. We were in bed by 10pm. Good night sharks!