Seaside Heights- To the beach*

* Not a very catchy title, I'm long out of them. Saturday, the long planned trip to the beach happened. It started out like the BBQ the week before. I did nothing until the last moment, so did the girls.Teri on the other hand made up some lemonade and vodka to take (don't tell anyone, it's not allowed). She had cheese and some pickle dip, she was ready.

I waited until around ten PM the night before to get everything together. It turned out to be mostly easy. I lucked out and all the beach stuff was where I'd put it two years ago when we got home in 2019 from the beach. I placed two umbrellas, four chairs and the dunebuggy cart we'd bought about a decade ago to haul all this stuff in a pile outside. The dune buggy was showing it's age. The two metal bars of the cart that hold the plastic mesh pocket open to put stuff in were missing. I found one and struggled to put it back in place. It was still hot and very humid at 10 pm, so my frustration mounted. I didn't remember how the rods came out until I was wheeling the cart to the beach. I ended up bending the rod to get it in and with that I left everything on the side of the house to pack in the morning. The next day Teri and I get up at six. I bring up the cooler, and start to pack the car.

We are planning to stop at Perkin's Pancake House in Tom's River, so no breakfast and the early start. I get Elena up and when I get Nastia up she says she has an alarm set for a little while later. I tell her she'll have to make sure she doesn't waste any time then. The plan, I almost wrote vague plan. With Teri there are no vague plans, there's just plans. Me on the other hand... well I did get to Moriches several weeks ago with my vague plan. The girls are up, the car is packed and I tell Teri we need ice, she is not pleased, it wasn't in the plan. We stop, get ice and then pick up Nancy (in the plan). Teri calls Sallyann and Kenny to tell them we need to stop at Costco to get gas(that was in the plan) and then we can be off. A quick Costco stop , we link up with Sallyann and Kenny and we are off. Traffic for a Saturday is moderate. This deep into COVID and with the delta varient raging I guess it is a sign that the area is reasonably well vaccinated. We hit traffic in the Oranges (that was in the plan) and are making good time. We stop at the Cheesequack rest area (in the plan). The State of New Jersey is talking about renaming the rest stops after famous people of New Jersey, I like the rest stop names, even this one which makes me thing of a weird natural disaster.

At the rest stop Nastia switches cars, I'm a little hurt, I don't get to be with her much any more, you know her hectic social life and all, but this is what she does. She is comfortable everywhere it seems. I don't know if she invited herself, but there is more room in Sallyann's and Kenny's car. We exit the Garden State Parkway at the Seaside Heights exit and once on the main drag we start looking for Perkins. Two years ago, Nancy, Nastia, Elena and I on a rainy day had breakfast there, it was only ok, but we don't have breakfast out often and I was loooking forward to it. Seversl miles down the road on the right side the sign appears. We pass the entrance and make the turn at the light and realize Perkins didn't survive COVID,(not in the plan) it has a for rent sign in the windows. I guess I wasn't the only person who thought it was only OK. We find an IHOP across the road, a half mile away. The hostess says 45 minutes, I'm thinking that's it we're leaving. To my surprize everyone is willing to wait. Within ten minutes we are seated. Breakfast at IHOP is a lot

like breakfast at Perkins two years ago, only OK. During breakfast I find a tice on my calf. I crush it and it spurts a little blood on the table. I wipe it up and look up information about ticks, then move on. Teri drives down Hopper Street, the main drag of Seaside and after taking a look at all the prices of the parking lots, we decide to park in the $17.00 lot. Nancy offers to pay for the $18.00 and Sallyann and Kenny were going to park in the $25.00 lot. We unload all our supplies for the beach and head out. I'm expecting a super crowded beach. It's hot, humid, sunny and a Saturday. The parking lot we are in is mostly empty. The beach is crowded, but it is easy to fine a good spot near the high tide mark and we can spread out to as large as we want to without infringing on anyone else and we do. The girls are off into the water. I sit in my chair and watch them in the water. Teri settles into her chair, puts sunscreen of 55 on and after a while decides to go into the water. She invites me to go and I go relucantly. I didn't bring a change of clothes and I don't want to wear a wet bathing suit/ shorts for the next eight hours. I shouldn't

have worried about it. We go in to our ankles, then a little deeper and finally the ocean gets a little tired of our reluctance and sends a big wave in that splashes us and gets us pretty soaked. After every wave Teri grabs a hold of my shirt and wipes her face off. After the big wave, I have to turn so she can find a dry spot on my back. Lunch is disjointed. Nancy goes up to the Beachcomber. She loves a sandwich from there and goes everytime she is at the beach. I don't know what I want and when I go up I start walking north and everytime I think I see something

that might be good I look at the price and convince myself it's not worth the price. I end up walking to the end of the boardwalk. On the way back I stop and buy some french fries. Just short of the shop Doug, Ruth's husband used to buy his sausage sandwiches at I see Elena walking with Katie. I run up and jump trying to land as close and as loud as I can to Elena. SHe doesn't bat an eyes as she says, "Oh, it's you." I offer french fries before I take off toward our spot on the beach. At our spot I offer french fries all around Nastia takes some. Late in the day Elena starts to dig another hole. She wants to get buried again. Katie joins her, but Nastia isn't interested. I guess she is feeling grown up and the hole might be too childish, or maybe she just doesn't want to get all sandy.

Most everyone takes a last swim around five or so Nastia want to change out of her suit, but Teri says she can't change in the bathrooms. So she changes under a towel and in a sun dress. Later Elena goes up and changes in the bathrooms.Did't bother asking, I think the difference is Elena didn't ask or say anything to her mom. Up on the Boardwalk about six, I survey the damage from missed sunscreen spots. Teri has a few spots she missed and surprisingly I only missed my nose. Nastia and Elena get away with no burn spots. Nancy who spent the entire day

laying out in the sun, well it was hard to tell, her skin seems well tanned. Elena researched hermit crabs and she made a substantial investment in a habitat for the crabs. So her goal today is to buy some hermit crabs to keep as pets. She and Nastia go get their ice cream and walk down to the place that sells them promising to be quick. Teri and I sit guarding all the stuff we bought to the beach. Teri goes off to clean up. On her return I go get ice cream for the both of us. Finished with my ice creaam I begin to wheel the stuff to the car. On teh way there the cooler has spread the uprights of the cart allowing the bar I spent so much time trying to put back in to fall out. Now I remember how to put it back. Then twice on my trip to the cat the cooler falls off the cart. Ice and water mix with sand. It is time for a new cart I think at this point.

At the cars, people are tired and a little cranky. Stuff is loaded up and off we go. Teri used to let me drive on trips like this. Now a days she does all the driving. We get home a little after nine. All the stuff is taken out of the car and stacked next to the door of the garage. All cooler items are taken inside and everyone races to the showers. After I cook up a few hot dogs for everyone it is finally time to sit back and think about all the adventures we have had today. I was nervous about the trip in the morning. Tonight, I am glad we went. It was well worth the effort to get there and I want to go again. /