Four, yes four, sunny days off

Finally, summer seems to have arrived and I took full advantage of it this weekend. Although Saturday started overcast, Bill decided we would travel 35 miles north to look for sunnier weather. We spent the better part of the day at Two Lights State Park in Cape Elizabeth. It is an incredible area with a rocky “beach”, lots of picnic tables snuggled into coves of trees, a walking path, beautiful ocean views, new restrooms (always a plus) and much more. All this for only $3/person. We parked our chairs in the “usual” spot overlooking the water and just chilled out for the day. We left in time to go to Brian’s “birthday party” at 5:30.

Scott and Trevor met us in Portland and we went to the Portland Seadogs baseball game which started at 1:00. It wasn’t a good day for the Seadogs; they lost 9-2. At least, that was the score when we left at 4:30 in the 8th inning. It was a very slow game. Trevor is 3 and he was well behaved all afternoon. He finally crashed at one point and took a nap for 2 or 3 innings. He slept on my lap until my legs started to go numb and I transferred him to Scott. It was very sunny and warm all afternoon. After leaving the stadium we walked to Margaritas and the four of us had dinner.

When we arrived home Bill and I sat outside on the deck and watched the Red Sox on the TV in the glass room. It was a delightful evening and the bugs weren’t intolerable.

On Tuesday the temp was forecast to be near 90 with high humidity. We headed out early and drove to Drakes Island beach, hoping that we were early enough to find a parking space. Much to our surprise, the lot was not even half full. We carried everything we had with us on the first trip and walked past the majority of the crowd to a less occupied area where we set up our umbrella, chairs, towels, etc. There was a strong breeze off the water which kept the temp tolerable. We went for a walk down the beach to the river and back, maybe 2 1/2 miles. We had packed a good lunch which was especially tasty after our walk. We didn’t leave until nearly 5:30 because we didn’t feel like it an we didn’t have to be anywhere. (Actually, I did blow off yoga in order to hang out at the beach longer. )

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Oh happy, sunny day!

Aaaah! There aren’t too many things that feel as good as sitting in the glass room, in the sun. It is a picture perfect day; not a cloud in the sky, very light breeze coming through the slightly open window and the Red Sox on TV, opening day. I have been waiting for this early spring day for months. It brings the promise of winter’s end, finally. The snow is gone from the garden around the tub as well as the one on the side of Bill’s house. There are sprouts from the bleeding hearts.

For those of us that detest the long, cold, gray months of winter and suffer from seasonal affective disorder, there is nothing like an early spring day. It makes me think of that first tomatoe off the vine…plump, juicy, sweet. There will be others to follow but none as wonderful as that first one.

We watched the World Series presentation and the first pitch to open the season at Fenway. Admittedly, I have only been a baseball fan since last year. I have never been a Sox fanatic and until early last year probably couldn’t tell you one of the names on the roster. But, for some reason (it did seem to coincide with the HD TV that Bill purchased) last year, I found baseball. I loved having something to listen to or watch almost every day during the summer and fall and missed it when the World Series was completed. The more I became involved and the more I understood, the more I enjoyed it. The guys at work bore the brunt of my lack of baseball expertise. I asked some of the dumbest questions, of which they never failed to advise me. This year one of them has offered me his Baseball for Dummies book after I made some statement about a Toronto Blue Jays player being related to the Red Sox general manager. It sounded right when I said it.

Baseball season lasts a long time and I have much more to learn. Why don’t the pitchers have to bat in the AL? Is it really fair to walk someone because they hit well? How in the world did it ever get called a “pickle”? Why can football players take the field in any ungodly weather and baseball players hit the dugout as soon as the first raindrop falls?

We headed to the gym later in the afternoon. I took a yoga class and Bill used the treadmill. I can feel myself getting stronger and more flexible since starting yoga a few months ago. I find it very relaxing and invigorating at the same time. We returned home and Bill prepared a wonderful dinner of grilled salmon topped with Kickin Raspberry sauce, thai rice and a green salad. Yum, yum!!! The sauce was something we came across at Marshall’s. It is sweet and spicy at the same time, very good.

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