Perfect As Ever

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Our dinner last night. YUM.

Yesterday was the perfect summer's day.

John and I woke up and slowly got ready to go the beach. I hadn't been there since I was a little kid with my grandma so I didn't really remember how nice it is. Before we got there, however, we stopped at a little bakery and picked up some apple strudel. When we arrived at the beach, it was 88 degrees and clear. The beach was pretty crowded but not too much so. We picked out our spot and lathered sun screen on each other (I missed some spots on John's back and you can see finger prints and a distinct red line where the sun screen wasn't applied). We ate our breakfast and laid in the sun for a while. The water was cool, clear, and the bottom sand was uber soft. It didn't get deep until a long ways off shore and we spent a good amount of time in the water cooling off. What surprised me was when people would park their motorized boats and pontoons up on the shore where people swim. I could just imagine someone drinking and driving (people and families drink much more often than I'm used to!) and hitting a person as they parked their boat.

After three hours spent on the beach, we stopped at a near DQ for ice cream. On the drive home, it was absolutely gorgeous. The rolling fields and trees were green, the lakes along the way were blue with the surfaces shimmering, pelicans were scattered all over them, the sun was lower in the sky creating sweet light (a photographer's ideal softest light), and the road was sparkling pink. I felt at peace and realized how lucky I was to have such a great day and such beauty around. When we arrived to town, we stopped at the store for dinner. We had corn on the cob, fried chicken, potato salad, and grape juice; the perfect summer's dinner. It was delicious. Later we watched Animal Planet online and fantasized about which breed of dog and cat we wanted to own; can't wait.

I never thought that I would have the same freedom to lounge around in the summer as I used to as a kid but these summer days are just as enjoyable as they used to be. What I love about summer is the weather (well, duh, but I hate the cold!), swimming and lounging in the sun, more time off, opportunities for reading, traveling, time to write and draw, and wearing shorts and tank tops. I am doing all of these things. Thus, summer is much the same; perfect as ever.