Back From the Beach

These two pictures sum up about 80% of our trip!! Becca really became one with the ocean despite the fact that the water temps were hovering at 58 degrees F and the surf was a times 6ft!!! I spent a good deal of time standing ankle deep in the water along with the Life Guards, as the waves were being churned up by the remnants of Tropical Storm Bertha and the Full Moon.
I did not have my camera with me as often as I might have as I did not want to loose it in the water. Becca got tumbled and scrapped and tossed and sand encrusted but never once was I successful at getting her out of the water on my first attempt.! We have a Surfer Chick on our hands!!!! Nothing made me happier than hearing her whooping and hollering as she caught a good wave right in the sweet spot and road it in to the shore! Such pure joy!!! Much to Becca's amazement, I even got in the water and spent several moments , at different times, diving through the surf and bobbing in the waves!!! We had beautiful weather, good tides for Boogie Boarding and beach combing and we came back with a small handful of beach glass (Mermaids Tears) and several boxes of beach stones. I have already started spreading my rocks around the garden.
When we were not at the beach we were with family and hooking up with old friends. My brother and niece Kate joined us after 4 days and we had a wonderful time catching up and learning about my brother's wonderful work in Tanzania. Peter also showered us all with marvelous gifts from his travels. I will have to wait to share these items with you in a later post as they deserve their own spotlight!!
For now I am going to share a series of photos with you, with some short captions. I have lots more to share along the art line, but at present we are preparing to leave for N.C. ,on Friday the 1st. Tom ,the kids, the dogs and myself will be staying in a cabin in the Beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains in the little town of Saluda. We will be avout 30 minutes from Ashville in a cabin with no phone and NO TV!!!! We will be exploring the area and discovering the art community and enjoying the cool tranquility of mountain life. We have never been to this part of the world before and despite the 16 year old's anxiety about being cut off from WiFi and TV, we are planning on enjoying our family time immensely!!!

Now for more beach trip pixs!!

Becca could not get enough of the water !


Taking a bit of a rest but STILL in the water!!!!!!

Family, Poppa, Becca, Momma Jean, Kate, brother Peter- minus the photographer- me.
Correcting mistakes left by the last glacial deposit!! :)

Catching minnows and herding Hermit crabs as the sun goes down.

Buiding the needed containment structure for the crabs.

A twilight row on the pond across the street. Poppa took his girls on a tour of the swans nesting site.

The Swan family neighbors watching us, watch them.

After our ten days ont eh Cape we headed to our dear friends , the Buntings. Becky and Rob Bunting are amazing Jewelry and Engraving artists, dear friends and Becca's Godparents. We enjoyed a wonderful, yet too short visit with them before returning to Virginia.

So now we are packing for N.C.! I will be back for a quick post before leaving and will have lots more to tell after we return from the mountains!

I hope that all of you are enjoying your summer!!