Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Tonight's picture was taken in April of 2007. It was the morning of Mattie's fifth birthday party. We held that party at the National Zoo. What an event that was. It was cold and pouring all day long. The Zoo's policy was  that parties happened rain or shine. I thought it was going to be a disaster, but it turned out to be a memorable adventure. The kids loved the fact that no one else was at the zoo besides them and to my surprise all the animals were out in the rain putting on a show for us. 


Quote of the day: What we have once enjoyed we can never lose; all that we deeply love becomes a part of us. ~ Helen Keller

We tried to unwind today, rather than spending the day in the car. Despite our best efforts not to work, we both are. Lots of things to do for the Walk and we even had a conference call this morning about a presentation we are doing next week in Phoenix. 

At around noon, we headed out for a bike ride on the beach. We did 8 miles together, and at times it was challenging, especially when riding into the wind. 

Peter snapped this of me. Considering all the various medical issues I have been dealing with lately, it is a miracle that I was able to get here and even bicycle ride. 

This was taken during what I called a 'pause.' Riding into the wind is a killer, and I had to take periodic breaks in order to catch my breath. As it is exhausting, and to be honest most people don't do it. They usually ride with the wind and either walk back against the wind, or ride through the neighborhood to avoid the wind on the beach. 

When riding into the wind, Peter and I ride at different paces. But it is an experiencing riding on the sand. The sand is very hard packed and it is a wonderful way to see the shore, the houses, and bird traffic. 

I love the pelican fly overs. I stopped my bicycle to capture this photo. 

The shore birds are everywhere. I love riding on the beach and seeing these pockets of water in the sand. It is where the birds like to hang out, and it also happens to be where we can find some wonderful shells. 

The actual ocean is straight ahead in the distance. I was actually riding on the sand, far from the shore line. It is deceptive when looking at this photo, because it looks like I am at the shore line. But I was not. 

Jellyfish were everywhere. In the water and on the sand. 

This is what the beach looked like today.... not fighting for space with other people. Sure we passed others on the beach, but for the most part this area is pristine, calming, and beautiful. 

The beauty of the dunes.

We had a lovely lunch at the Ocean golf course clubhouse. This was our view. Rolling green grass with the ocean in the backdrop. 

This evening, while sitting on our balcony (and I am under a blanket with a heating pad, because it isn't warm here), we were greeted by many deer.