August 5 - an Anniversary and Time again for the Ocean

It's our anniversary today.

45 years of love, fun, travel and incredible adventures.

We got married on a Saturday, and our first married Sunday found us at Shea Stadium watching Mr. Tutu's beloved San Francisco Giants playing the Mets.  We then went on to the beautiful beaches of southern Maine where we instantly decided we had to come and live someday. Whenever possible since then, we've celebrated our anniversary at some beach or other.  We've done San Diego, Huntington Beach and Monterey California, Quoddy Head Maine,   Mayport FL, Galveston TX, Lewes DE, Pearl Harbor HI (several times) Singapore, Penang Malaysia, Newport RI, etc etc etc. And then one anniversary we actually sailed ON THE OCEAN for a couple weeks.

We  love the beach: the ocean, the rocks, the crashing waves, the sun rising and setting on the horizon, the treasures of shells and flotsam to be found walking through the sand. In fact, we both still would say that there is no better exercise for the body or soul than a good long stroll on the beach- no matter what the weather.  Summer sun is especially nice, but we've strolled beaches all over the world in all seasons, and all kinds of climatic conditions. 

This week, we're spending an entire week in one place, just enjoying the ocean life here in Ocean City Maryland.  I'll be posting pictures later when we get a good internet connection.  Our condo does not have internet, so I'm doing this post ahead of time.  I'm actually excited about unplugging for a few days.   We have a list of things to do, but nothing is set in concrete. Our "maybe we can..." list includes

• Walking the Boardwalk -so son and grand-daughter can ride the rides, we can eat pizza and ice cream, and get salt-water taffy, and get our pictures taken, and play arcade games, and listen to free concerts.

• Eating Maryland crabs.  Let's be clear about this one.  Lobsters come from Maine.  Crabs come from Maryland's Chesapeake Bay.  No substitutes allowed.  And I'd be hard pressed to tell you which I like better, except to say that when in Maryland I eat crabs.  When I'm in Maine, I eat Lobster.  End of discussion.

• Girl's shopping day at the outlet mall about 1/2 hour up the road.  If we time it right, we may even be able to get Great grandma (my mom) to go with us.   Grand-daughters always need new "stuff" for school, so this year, Tutu will get to be the shopping fairy.

• Family picnic on the beach.  My Baltimore family is HUGE. My dad was one of 8 boys, and although all of Dad's generation is gone (my mom and one other Aunt are the only ones left) most of my cousins still live in Maryland. One of the them (the oldest cousin of my generation - now known as "the Patriarch") actually lives in the OC area.  The whole family usually gets together for a week in OC every summer, and we just happened to have hit the week. So we're definitely planning to meet up with a ton of cousins to enjoy food, games and fun in the sand.  It will be really nice to get together without having to do it at a funeral.

I wish you warm (but not broiling) sunshine, gentle breezes and a chance to relax for the rest of the week.

Oh yes....I plan to do some reading.