Monday, Monday, Go away...

We're back from a GREAT weekend at the beach. And I dread going back to work tomorrow. Anyone want to write me an excuse? I feel a little *cough* under the *cough* weather. Must have been too much of the night air.

We got a little later start than we had wanted to Saturday morning but still hit the sand by 11AM or so. I gave a dude $20 to rent a set of lounge chairs and a big umbrella for the rest of the day. It was a near-perfect day for the beach. White sand, emerald-green waters, moderate surf, slight offshore breeze to keep you cool, no phones and most especially...it was just the 2 of us. The only thing keeping it from being perfect was the seaweed. And even it wasn't that bad.

Would you give $20 to have this view for the whole afternoon? *cue surf sounds and salt air aroma*


We hung out on the beach until about 4:30 or so. We stayed in the water for the most part. I'd make a trip to the umbrella when we needed a beer but mostly, we just bobbed in the surf and talked and enjoyed each other's company all afternoon.

We did go ahead and get a room before we hit the sand. We decided that right after we got down there and saw how nice the weather was. After the beach fun, we went to the room and got a shower and took a nice little nap. We'd been up since about 3:30AM but that's a whole 'nother story that I don't even want to get into. (But I will say it had to do with our "alleged" empty nest.)

After the nap, we went to "The Boathouse" as planned. Now that I have the pictures, I'll elaborate a little more on this place. It's just as the name implies. An old boathouse that has been converted into a small restaurant/bar. And by small, I mean the main dining area is only about 15 feet wide and maybe 25-30 feet long. There's just one big table in the middle that runs the length of the room and 2 booths against each wall. Theres a bar at one end and a door leading out onto the deck on the other. The deck is only about 4 feet wide and goes around 2 sides of the boathouse. Needless to say, when you go here, expect to either be friendly or be miserable. I think that's the one thing I enjoy about it the most. It's like hanging out with 30-40 good friends that you just haven't met yet. We met a couple from Lebanon, TN and really enjoyed their company a lot.

There's $1 bills stapled everywhere in the place. People use a Sharpie and write their names or some other message on the money and staple it anywhere they can find an empty spot. And money isn't all that's left hanging around the place.

There's bras, panties, caps, shirts and numerous other articles of clothing that have been donated for decorations.

The guy in the corner to the right of the back door is Tom Phillips. He has been the sole act here for as long as I can remember. He sings and plays the acoustic guitar. He also has some sort of digital accompaniment that he uses for piano and drums/percussion backup. Oh yeah, and there's a couple or 3 tamborines and a washboard lying about that the patrons are welcomed to pick up and join in the mix. I requested a song last night (A Pirate Looks at Forty) and instead of just singing it, he announced to everybody in there that I was going to help him sing it. So I did. And I joined him on several other songs before the night was over. Mostly Jimmy Buffett songs but I do remember singing "Long-Haired Outlaw", "Family Tradition" and "You Never Even Called Me by My Name", to name a few. Did I mention the ""congo lines"? Yeah, we had (to quote Chuck) "copius amounts" of beer and fun.

We got back to the room about 1:30 (I think) and crashed until about 8 this morning. We loaded up about 10 and went to the Waffle House for breakfast and then headed home. After we got everything unloaded and situated, she hit the couch and started watching something on Lifetime so I kicked back in the recliner with the iPod and took me a siesta pequeña.

It has been a really relaxing and enjoyable weekend. Probably the best one in a long time for both of us. Why does it take getting away like this to make you realize just how bad you've been needing to get away like this?

So...

What did ya'll do this weekend?