We arrived shortly after an unnamed tropical storm rolled through, that's why the upper part of the beach was dark with debris and dirt?
The other things that arrived with the storm were lots of bugs. We have never been to OBS when we were the target of so many biting critters. It had been dry for a long time then they got like 6 inches of rain. The grass in the back yard, the park, the running trails were not places a person wanted to stand still for long. Most were of the "no-see-um" variety so were never really sure what they looked like and most of the time when you felt them on you it was too late.
Alison and I walked the neighborhood most days covering 5-6 miles. The asphalt was insect free but too hard a surface to run on. We did run one day and we both got blisters which is quite unusual for us trail runners. Walking we found ourselves picking out favorite trees, shrubs and flowers. The best way to know what will grow in our yard is to see what others can grow in this salt-laden air so close to the beach. We made a list and dreamed a bit on what we could do to improve our own landscape. A landscape that currently has no curb appeal or comfortable sitting area in the back.
We couldn't go to Florida with running the Bulow Creek Trail. Like the beach no one was on it and we did well until we stopped just for a moment to talk about our route. Well, my route went straight back to the car - we got nailed by some heat seeking fast biting somethings and we got the hell out. And no we didn't see the wild hogs, again.
The waves on the last day were perfect little curls, just the right size to body surf. Long lazy rides, go back out, repeat, repeat, repeat.
Before we knew it we found ourselves driving home to Kendall in the middle of the night, wipers flapping in a cold light rain. Trip over, a few new memories and a couple of fun pictures to show our friends.
