SWAG

It is becoming a habit, awaking before dawn; this morning the bedroom drapes were already bright with sunshine, but it was only 6:25 p.m.  I was  out on the dune-top just in time to see another glorious sunrise through milky haze on the horizon.  I wonder if this habit will persist when we return to our home in Clear Creek valley where the sun makes a reluctant appearance between the trees at a much more leisurely hour.

When I returned from the dune-top deck, I had a visitor.  There is a whole colony of black cats here, and last year, after feeding part of a steamed shrimp to one of them, a contingent of five arrived promptly, called together by means of some telepathic form of communication.  I realized he had been watching me do my Tai Chi, which perhaps bore some resemblance to those stretches a cat makes whenever it wakes up from a nap.  I could almost see the little wheels turning in that walnut-sized brain.  "Is this the same man who fed me last year?"

We realized yesterday, four days after the race, that we did not have a good post-race photo.  We could have had one, but I was unwilling to (1) carry my cell phone with me for 13.1 miles (although almost everyone else in the race seemed to have no problem doing so), or (2) pay an exorbitant $27.00 for one of the many photos taken along the course.  So Martha suggested I take one on our deck using the seldom-used "selfie stick" we keep in the car.

Nice hats, shirts, and medals!  But both of us were a little disappointed at the writing on the back which, instead of the inspirational "You Can You Will" on our Myrtle Beach shirts, said "Follow my booty to the finish line!"  We call the hats, shirts, and miscellaneous things given away at the Expo (a temporary tattoo that did not work, a little bottle of sunblock that would not come out of the bottle) "SWAG," which I read somewhere means "Stuff We All Get."

The wind had picked up and there was a scattering of raindrops, so instead of walking as originally planned, we drove the half-mile to the Waterfront Shops and had lunch at Coastal Cantina, which has open seating at picnic tables on the deck.  We found a little nook in the courtyard that was out of the wind and rain and enjoyed fish tacos and a taco salad with shrimp, and then lingered to watch people and strollers and dogs go by; this place has really filled up for Easter weekend.

Then we drove down the road to Kellogg's, a hardware store that also contains The Cottage Shop.  We have bought much of our Fiesta Ware here and it is always fun to explore.

What a glorious day it has been!  Storms are moving in tonight, the wind is gusting to nearly 30 mph from time to time, dark clouds suddenly break open from time to time and allow the sun to shine.  We love days like this here at the beach!  The sound of the ocean, like an engine continually running, is behind me as I write in this blog, the breeze that whips inside the screened-in porch, the occasional patter of raindrops on the roof - an abundance of SWAG!