[Beach cabins, North Hampton Beach, NH; 8/25/11]
I left work early on Wednesday to drive up to a friend's place (not shown above!) in North Hampton, NH. She and her husband bought a beautiful place up there last fall, about a half a mile from the beach and not far from where my parents used to have their condo that they retired to. I'd asked to take Thursday off from work and alas, as the day approached, the weather was already looking iffy. But it was an opportunity to have a girlfriends hang for the evening on Wednesday and get onto the beach for a little while on Thursday. I do miss being up there. I miss the beach smells, the air, my feet in the sand, the beautiful views along the coast.
The drive up after escaping work was, despite some slow traffic, beautiful - the crisp late afternoon light as the landscape flattened out nearer the coast, a herd of black cows grazing a wide flat green meadow, then the broad and simple plains of white barnside, green pasture, blue sky. I made it to the beach around 5:30, meeting my friends on the beach in sand chairs, bundled up against the breezes off the ocean. I told them how one of my dogs used to like to run around the beach pushing her nose against the sand she just loved it so much, and how I almost wanted to do that myself at that point.
After much dawdling at the house, we ended up driving to Portsmouth for dinner. Though we arrived after dark, I led them anyway to my favorite spot down by the tugboats on the river. The view wasn't quite as spectacular as in daylight, but the food was delicious.
[North Hampton Beach; 8/26/11]
There was also much dawdling at the house on Thursday morning, so we didn't get to the beach until noon or so. A handful of vacationers braved the surf, while seagulls braved us, trying to snatch any food we might have. We lasted maybe an hour or so on the beach until dark clouds and thunder threatened and we had to pack up and leave.
[Little River Chapel, across from my friend's house]
Before I left work on Wednesday, my manager was shaking her head about the luck I'm having this summer, given that the prospects for my beach day off weren't looking good. Yup, a little cloud does seem to be hovering over my head the way you see them dot themselves over islands when you're flying. But I think we've managed to make the most of the beauty around us, rain or shine, healthy or otherwise.
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These clouds and thundershowers had nothing to do with the approaching hurricane, which will likely be a tropical storm by the time it hits us tonight and tomorrow. We'll be battening down the hatches in Boston today, then holing up at my place tonight. I hope everyone out there stays safe.
I do hope you're all safe in the storm.
Posted by: Relatively Retiring | Sunday, August 28, 2011 at 03:17 AM