Another Day at The Beach

Today was busy beyond busy. We went to the Riverside Arts Market, which is a fancy word for swap meet, this morning. It was fun, and a friend who lives in Valdosta, TF, was in town with her two daughters. There were arts and crafts, fruits and vegetables vendors, a grandmother belly dancing, and some ethnic food vendors – basically boring, boring, ahhhh make it stop, and I’m in. I’ve been on a trying new food kick and there was a British food booth. They were giving away free samples of shepherd’s pie, which I had no use for. I grew up on it. I wanted the food that conquered the world by way of dysentery. I paid $6 for a steak and kidney pie because it was the only thing they were serving that included an organ meat. They sold it cold so I had to wait until we got home to heat it up in the toaster oven. I was expecting some strong flavors, something metallic, something harsh, something that would let me know I was eating a cow’s poison filter. I even bought some beer to specifically wash down the shock and awe. I got a boring pot pie. I took huge mouthfuls from the center and the only part that was remarkable was the halfway decent pastry. While I was expanding my food experience LMJ was taking a three hour nap, and as soon as she woke up we went to the beach and hung out with TF. It was a little bit cooler today than it was yesterday, but everyone was a trooper. LMJ had a blast playing with TF’s older daughters; one is eight, MF, the other is five, LF. They dug in the sand and played with some paddle things, which I think is a law, and the highlight of the day, they played soccer. I was so impressed with how LMJ dove right into everything. She’s not intimidated by bigger kids at all, which I always forget. She kicked the ball with everyone, until she saw the huge hole in the sand left by some other people – big beach no, no. I wouldn’t let her jump into it, so she decided she would pick up the ball and throw it in the hole. I didn’t necessarily want to steer her towards soccer because everyone does that, but I think she might be a natural goalie. Today was jam packed from beginning to end, but seeing friends from out of town and spending time at the beach is worth it.