around

So far my home is a temporary one and surprisingly fun. In an apartment you can go swimming whenever you want, call somebody to fix the simplest things even change a lightbulb, walk outside and have someone to talk to, or see a cute dog to act gaga over. There is a weight room, play areas for kids, an indoor pool also, and nice people in the office, where I am now, who let me connect to their wifi. Speaking of the pool...it is the most relaxing place ever. Maybe it is the breeze through the tall, long leaf pines, the birds singing as they dine on red berries in the little trees by the steps, or the chatter and splashing of children, but each time I have claimed a lounge chair in a shaded spot there, I had to fight being lulled to sleep.

Yesterday I drove to Wrightsville Beach not once but twice. One of these days I will get over the thrill of being able to drive down Airlie Road and practically having my breath taken away by the huge old overhanging trees on the curve toward the sound, but that time has not yet come. Here's a photo through the windshield that cannot do it justice.

I crossed the drawbridge, rode around the loop, and cruised and looked. This is a busy season for beaches, and Wrightsville is in the height of being enjoyed by surfers of all ages. They were unloading long mostly colorful boards from their vehicles, carrying them toward the ocean, and then I presume riding the waves. Maybe the short lived, hard downpour we had just had sent a surf's up message to them. There were other folks barely covered or wrapped in towels who were riding bicycles, walking dogs, eating sno cones, and having as grand a time as I was cruising.