BEACH VACATION, Day 6

                Croatan Beach, Virginia Beach, VA

A very good day at the beach. We had an easy wake-up and I took some time to edit Aunt Margie’s Christmas letter and sent it off to GJ before leaving for my 10:00am Yoga class. These classes at Oceanfront Yoga couldn’t be any better. Hands down better than I’ve experienced at my health club or other venues. A great workout, with an ocean view.

We paid for 24 hours of Internet access and I kept busy, after Yoga, online uploading my blog entries and some photos. At 12:13pm we lost connectivity and both agree that limiting our usage to just two days this week will keep us from wasting too much beach time.

After a light lunch/late breakfast, we drove the 6+ miles to Croatan Beach. What a darling beach community—a real find. The beaches here abut the military firing range, so some days the municipal parking lot and a section of the beach are closed when the big guns are firing. Not today.

Mahi Mah's in the Ramada Inn at 6th Street and the Boardwalk

We each walk down the beach—I pick up shells for JA and take a few beach house photos. CA is working the kinks out of his sore lower back. We both let the waves break against are legs and then relax in the pink sand chairs we brought from home. After about 2 hours we pack up, clean up, and drive to 6th and Atlantic for a late lunch at Mahi Mah. I order the squash ravioli in a beurre blanc with sun-dried tomatoes, sweet peas, garlic, onion, mushrooms, zucchini, and summer squash. So good that I brought the leftovers to microwave for breakfast tomorrow! CA orders a dozen steamed clams (which he shares with me) and fish & chips featuring flounder. We decide on Häagen-Dazs for dessert, but since there’s nothing special on offer, I save the calories for later. CA goes for his all-time favorite, Pralines & Cream.

We need gas, cash, and tortilla chips—in that order--so we drive north to 31st Street where all our needs are met 1-2-3. We get our tortilla chips and a few more things at the local Farm Fresh. I want two of the hanging strawberry plants ($8.99). The sign says they will bear all summer!(?)

So, it’s 6:00pm and we’re back in our studio—probably for the night. The temperature dropped dramatically from a high of 90˚ so it’ll be chilly on the beach tonight. Lots of folks will gather around the fire pits.

Tomorrow we may go to the lighthouse at Ft. Story and maybe to Croatan Beach again. I want to find a nursery to get some interesting bedding plants and some moss for my large twig basket on the deck at home. (Maybe a couple of hanging strawberry plants?) And, we’ll probably eat at Rock Fish for a late lunch—Yoga’s at 5:30pm tomorrow so we’ll have to eat before 4:00pm so I don’t gag while I’m stretching.

Saturday and Sunday there’ll be a Strawberry Festival at Pungo, which is close to Croatan Beach. There’ll be crowds, but we plan to dive in anyway and explore the beach community, sand dunes, and beaches at Sandbridge.

Our time is drawing nigh… Today we booked the rafting trip at the New River Gorge for Monday at 10:45am. Fun things ahead.