BLOGGED ALONG THE WAY: NEW YEAR AT THE BEACH

December 31, 2014

I woke up as early as I could today so that I could go outside to the beach.  I wanted to watch the sun come up, but my body said NOPE.  The sun was well up by the time I got out there, but at least Steve came with me this time!  I wanted a picture of us together out there, but no one else was around, so I had to break my selfie rule and take it myself.  OK, well, it's more of a guideline, but still...

The picture turned out cute. Shut up.

Anyways, we walked around out there and I picked up sea shells.  That is my favorite thing to do!  I know I look like a hobo scrounging around on the ground, but I don't care.  I filled up the pocket of my fleece with sand and the discarded husks of dead sea creatures, which means I'll never get the sand out of that jacket.  Heehee!  I did learn something new while we were out there, though.  Steve doesn't like walking on the beach. Like, at all. He says that he likes sitting out there and dozing when it's warm, but walking around picking up shells bores him silly.  So no romantic walks on the beach for us, I guess!  It's such a shame.  Oh, well, my next husband will like it, I'll make sure of it!  It'll be one of the requirements.  :)  Also, it was FREEZING out there.  My ear-tips felt like they would snap off if I bumped them on something, so we left and I decided that I'd come back in the afternoon when it was warmer.

Today would be our only full day here, so we were going to drive around and find things to do.  We had breakfast at Hazel's, which was delicious and plentiful.  Can't beat a buffet, right?  After that, we went to souvenir shops, which was actually a lot of fun.  Not all of them are Alvin's Island like, although a lot of them sell the same kinds of stuff.  We found a place called Souvenir City, which had been open since 1956 and you have to walk through a giant shark's mouth to get it.  It's pretty much the most awesome souvenir shop ever.  The place is HUGE.  I have no idea how long we spent in there, but there were so many things to look at!  One thing I was looking for specifically was a hat I could wear on the beach, because dummy me didn't think to bring one.  I own a million hats, custom crocheted by yours truly, and I was going to have to buy one.  Oy.  I couldn't find one I wanted because I didn't want anything with words on it, or anything that looked like a maw-maw hat, I just wanted a stocking cap that would cover my ears!  No dice, though.   I wound up buying some sea shells (non-native ones, which I wouldn't be able to find on the beach) and a Christmas tree ornament that I will hang in my mermaid bathroom.  Across the street was a surf/skate store called Blonde Johns.  That was not exactly our element, but Steve was trying to find a sticker for a surf company like one he used to have on his truck (or maybe the Mustang, I have no idea) and that seemed like the most likely place to have it.  We were greeted by a skater-dude in full on skater-boi regalia, which was about as anti beach as you can get.  He and the other skater dude guy who worked there were very nice and helpful, though.  They told us about all the New Year stuff that would be going on in town.  I felt like a fraud walking around in there because A) I can't skate, surf or skim (whatever that is) and B) I couldn't pull off any of the clothes they sold, BUT I did find a bright blue toboggan in there that didn't have words on it, so I got that to cover my ear-tips on the beach! Now I've got a cool skater hat! Yay!  Steve, however, didn't find his sticker. Boo.  We went to a lot of different places and it was really fun!  There were several places with art from local artists, which I'd have loved to buy, but the stuff I liked was way too expensive.  The stuff I could afford wasn't to my taste.  We also have come to the conclusion that unless you have a giant house, or a lake or beach house, most of the stuff you can buy down there really isn't suitable for real houses.  If you have a big house, some of that stuff would blend in, but in our house, a giant chandelier made of seashells really would clash.  You know?  We decided to eat lunch at a place called Lulu's, which had come highly recommended, but when we got there, there were so many people we wouldn't have gotten to eat for a couple of hours.  Seriously, they wouldn't even give us a wait time.  They said there were about 50 parties ahead of us, though, so we left and had lunch at Tacky Jack's!  We got something called Mexican Garbage, which was a giant plate of nacho's served on a garbage can lid.  Nom.

 The weather got really nice and a bit warmer, so we went back to the hotel and I got my hat and coat and headed back out to the beach while Steve took a nap.  Once I was out there, though, I realized it was too warm for either my hat or my coat.  Of course.  So I just tied everything around my waist and set off walking and picking up shells.  On that walk, I decided that several of my life goals involve living at the beach.  Also, I'm going to have to become independently wealthy so that one day I can drive down to the pointy bit of Texas and just start following the coast all the way around the Gulf of Mexico, go around Florida and up to New England, stopping at different coastal towns and seeing what they're all like.  Sounds like a Travel Channel show.  Oh, hey, I could totally host that!  If anyone from the Travel Channel reads this and wants to make that happen...I'm game! 

I don't know how long I stayed out there, but I got a sunburn I wasn't expecting.  I also really only went back to the room because at some point, while pondering the meaning of life and such, I realized how easy it would be to drown yourself.  I mean, I'm not suicidal or anything, I swear, but that's where my mind went and it got stuck there.  I don't need that kind of negativity going on in my head while I'm at the beach, so I went back in.  Steve was awake by then and we decided to go back out.  We were going to The Wharf with the intention of staying until midnight to watch them drop the marlin.  We stayed there for a while, but realized we probably wouldn't have enough to keep us occupied while we waited for midnight, so we left.  It was getting cold outside again, and we were both tired, so (because we are old now) decided to go to Wal-Mart and pick up some snacks, and just  ring in the New Year from our hotel.  I really didn't mind, although it would have been nice to see some fireworks, but I kind of like spending my new year's eve somewhere quiet, so it was a good idea!  On an embarrassing note, guess who forgot that people in the pool and hot tub can see straight into our room when we don't close the black-out curtain?  Also guess who gave them all a great view of me in my underwear as I changed for bed?  To everyone who saw me, I'd like to apologize for that!  We are watching movies, and I've been reading, and I seriously doubt that we are going to stay awake till midnight!  Happy New Year! :)