Boom on the Beach

I was up again somewhere close to 645am. I started coffee then spent a little time working on monthly reports. I headed out the door for my run around 745am and ran south 2 mile makers then back. My legs and feet were feeling the effects of running on the beach. There’s no doubt that running in sand exercises muscles that don’t usually get stretched. The sun was hot. After my run but before heading back, I took a dip in the ocean. Mindy met me on the beach just as I was heading back.

Can’t recall what we had for breakfast, but it was no doubt a feast much like most other mornings. Mindy & I enjoyed mimosas. The day’s plan called for spending time at the pool and beach, and then heading to the Corolla fireworks later that evening.

I did a little blogging and then spent another hour or so working on monthly reports before donning my swim suit and heading out to the pool. Poolside, the day moved swiftly. Mindy, Darwin and I headed to the beach around noon with Kaileigh and Bella. Jacob & Lane didn’t want to join us. After about an hour at the beach we were joined by Jordan and Donnie. Kaileigh & Bella must’ve spent an hour or more in the ocean. I was a little surprised. We spent about 2 hours at the beach before heading back for lunch leaving our chairs and towels behind.

I got so sleepy after lunch that I decided not to head back to the beach with Mindy and the girls. I ended up napping in shade under the deck around the pool. Around 5pm Darwin and I headed to the Harris Tweeter a mile or so up the road and got more ice, beer, water and pop.

Back at the beach house the girls declared it leftover night. That made dinner prep go much faster. We packed a small cooler mostly with water but also the 2nd jug of Centennial then left for the fireworks near 7pm. The park was located near the end of the developed beachfront tucked back along the sound in a gorgeous setting. Signs everywhere warned that alcohol was prohibited. The parking process was busy yet organized. They’ve obviously done this a time or two.

We had to walk about an eighth of a mile along a walk over a bridge to an opening overlooking the sound where we set up camp. There was a large sound stage and a band playing just behind us. It was approaching 8pm by the time we were set up and relaxing. Darwin and I waited until dark to pour ourselves a beer in the plastic cups we brought from the house. Mindy and I allowed the kids to go off on their own to get food and drink from the concessions. That might be a first.

The band was good, playing top 40 stuff from both the past & present. They played until 915pm when the fireworks started. We weren’t sure what to expect, but I think everyone was pleasantly surprised with the firework display. The celebration had more of a festival feel than the over blown Red, White & Boom back home. I enjoyed it very much. The display lasted about 20 minutes. I set my small camera to the fireworks function for the first time. Took decent photos.

Darwin and I polished all but the last few ounces of the Centennial growler. We all agreed to wait a while for the crowd to thin before heading to the cars. The band played again after the fireworks and many of us danced. Connie organized a group photo using their nice DSLR Nikon. She asked a kid standing nearby to take the shot. We ended up posing for about 6 different photos. We hung out until the mosquitoes struck. It was an easy walk back to the cars. We sat in the AC cooling off and waiting for the line of traffic to thin before setting off for the beach house. Darwin and Connie shared that they were stopping at the Food Lion on the way back.

It took about 10 minutes to get out of the park. The traffic flow in and out was well organized given only one or two paths out of the park. We were back at the beach house before 11pm. We didn’t stay up too long after getting back home. I watched a few neighbors setting off their own fireworks. We watched fireworks from New York City on TV. I was in bed by midnight