same time next year: an open letter to my father part 3

dear daddy,
thank you for sharing your place at the beach with us last week. we had such a fun time. the boys swam from sunrise to sundown, and they have the little brown bodies to prove it despite my best effort to keep them drenched in spf 50. i wish you could see the callouses on their hands from hanging from the rope swing. they would run over to show me the blisters and then run back to go at it again. 


the ocean was clear and beautiful. the temps never went above the high 80's. it was really a remarkable thing. how could it be cooler on the panhandle than in maryland? a gift for sure. 


we found the sand pails and used them to build grand castles. the boys' masks came in handy as they looked for fish and shells. we found many of both. i sat in my shaded chair with a book {wow!} in hand and gazed out to see my little boy-fish, head down in the water for hours. the simplest of delights. 


one day george took the boogie board you left and coasted out to get a better view of some fins he saw. the delight of the ebb tide distracted us until we looked up to see he had drifted way {WAY!!!} out from us. fortunately, he has your genes and was ecstatic to have such a great view of the dolphins {whew!}. who needs a dolphin cruise when you have a styrofoam board and an adventurous spirit {note to self: must teach caution in school next year}?

i read an entire book-that's a feat!

guess who's great? our grandpapa that's who!

we walked down to the pier. wow. let's just say, those fishermen {and women} are intense. they take their hobby{?} seriously. the boys learned a few new curse words that day. and when that lady and, ahem gentleman nearly got into a fist fight, well, that was just a little unnerving. all over a really big fish too.


we ate some amazing seafood. i cheated on maryland crab cakes with those from the gulf. i must say, i like maryland's better. o, i am so shrimped out. i cannot tell you. 


we missed our usual haunts, so we drove down to say hello to Sundog, the Modicas and the open air market Perspicacity. we had the best chips and salsa and margaritas at the taco stand {remember, we had had too much seafood!}. don't worry. your son-in-law drove me home. speaking of your amazing son-in-law, he took me to la vie est belle
to pick out my anniversary gift. what a guy!

our trip to the beach was splendid. thanks, daddy! i am just like you {when it comes to loving the water}. so why don't you build your grandsons a house on the water? and would you kindly pencil us in for the same time next year? 
xo yourfavoritedaughter gf