Hello, beautiful readers! Today makes day 7 of the #RRBC 30-Day Blogging Challenge. I have survived the first week. :-) If you've been following my journey, you know that my days have been very busy. Sundays tend to be the exception. Unless the weather is bad, I go to the beach on Sundays. I have a great group of friends who have also established Sunday as beach day so we meet up at our favorite spot, put up a bunch of umbrellas, lay out a beach blanket for sunbathing, bring wine and cheese for the afternoon snack, and enjoy one another's company. We have been doing this for years, and it's become something I look forward to at the end of every week.
There are a couple of us who enjoy swimming, so we will swim to the buoy and back a few times if the waves aren't too rough. There is a couple who enjoys walking the beach, so sometimes I join them if the swimming is not an option. My knees (and now my ankle - after the slip this past summer) complain some with walking in the wet sand on an incline, so I prefer the swimming. And sometimes, we even do yoga on the beach. Even if all we do is sit and talk, I always have a great time.
I woke up early to read and comment on my fellow bloggers' posts. I had breakfast while clearing my emails. Then, I packed up and headed to Starbucks to get my cheat drink - a trenta, strawberry acai lemonade with light ice, extra green tea, and no strawberries. Strawberries are in the dirty dozen (most sprayed with pesticides) so I only eat them if they are organic. The strawberry acai is a refresher drink which is highly concentrated in sugar. I cannot drink it alone which is why I add their lemonade and extra shots of green tea. They put less of the refresher and more of the green tea for me, so it's more like a green tea lemonade with a shot of refresher. I love that Starbucks with customize it for me.
Cheat drink in hand, I headed to the beach. It's about 25 minutes from my house, depending on traffic. Today the weather was around 75-77 degrees. When the wind is a bit nippy, we will put up wind shields, which make our "camp" nice and cozy (sometimes too hot). But today, the weather was just perfect because the sun was shining with very few clouds. On the colder days, we forego the wine and bring hot tea.
I hung out with my friends and enjoyed the conversation and laughter. There is never a quiet moment. We always have topics to talk about. Our group can be as small as 3 and as large as 15, depending on the weekend. It used to be larger, but people have moved to other states. In the snowbird months (when Northerners come down during the winter months), the group grows a bit. No matter who is there, I am always in my happy place.
After returning home, I showered and made dinner. (Yes, I stay at the beach from around 11 am until the sun is almost completely down.) Then, my son and I watched our show. All in all, it was a great day!
Do you have a group of friends that you meet with regularly? Do you have a "happy place"? I'd love to hear from you. :-)
Hi Yvette, that sounds like the PERFECT Sunday! One thing about living in the desert is that I miss the beach. I used to live in Naples, Florida - just reading your post, I can feel the white sugar sand in between my toes and smell the salty air. These days my Happy Place is at a local Italian restaurant where some gal pals and I meet for dinner, or at my boyfriends where HE cooks! He's a fabulous cook and doesn't mind doing it at all - lucky me! : )
ReplyDeleteBest wishes,
Donna M Atwood
D M Atwood
https://www.dmatwood.com
That's where I find the secret is...they happy places isn't simply a destination; it's the company you are sharing. I'm glad you are surrounded by people you enjoy spending time with. :-)
DeleteFrom Pat Garcia
ReplyDeleteHi Yvette,
It is nice hearing that you got with friends and laughed a lot. Laughter is good for the soul.
I hope your ankle gets better soon.
Have a lovely day.
Shalom aleichem
Thank you, Pat! My ankle has healed from the summer, but every now and then, it lets me know that it will never be as strong as it once was. It's all good. I stretch and strengthen it as often as I can (or remember to). :-)
DeleteHi, Yvette! Your Sunday sounds like a slice of heaven! And you're right. A happy place is not only the environment, and your beach sounds perfect, but the people in it. So glad you get to enjoy that every week you're home! Blessings!
ReplyDeleteYes, Patty! It's all about the people. Thanks for stopping by today. :-)
DeleteYvette, your Sundays sound wonderful! The place and the people are perfect compliments. The time I had a big group of friends was when I worked at Fort Dix, NJ years ago. It was a wonderful time in my life, and I have never been able to recreate that feeling. We had so much fun, went out to lunch, after work, met on weekends. Some of us stayed in touch and I still see them occasionally. You are having fun, and also making memories for life.
ReplyDeleteI am very blessed to have this group of friends. Not only do we meet at the beach, but we also go dancing together and meet at one another's houses for dinners. I have friends outside of this group that I treasure as well. I hope you can one day find that connection again. Thanks for sharing, Maura Beth! :-)
DeleteYvette, you're very fortunate to have such a group. I'd have to say my family of brothers, sisters, cousins, and our grown children is my group and my happy place. There's always some occasion where we meetup each month to eat, drink, tease, and congratulate. Thanks for reminding me that I have this.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful you are so close to your family, Linda! I didn't know my extended family until I was fourteen years old, and it took even longer to get to know them, so we aren't as close as I once hoped to be. Luckily, I have friends who I consider family to fill the gap. Thanks for stopping by! :-)
DeleteMy happy place is swimming, which I do a few times a week in the summer in our neighborhood's outdoor pool. There is an indoor pool forty minutes from my home, but I haven't used it since Covid struck. I miss using it.
ReplyDeleteI love swimming as well, Susanne. I find it to be very peaceful. It's one of the many reasons I love living so close to the beach. Thanks for sharing! :-)
Delete