Paddling And The Boy

Paddle boarding that is, not paddling the Boy although he could use a good paddling about now!

Everyday I see more and more people paddling around on paddle boards. Popularity seems to keep growing in this sport that originated in Hawaii, the Murph and my future retirement state. (If I can get him back on an airplane for the time it takes to fly there it will be a miracle!) Yesterday evening there was a lone paddler on the sound at sunset. Very peaceful! I haven't tried it yet, but it's on my "to do" list this year. I wonder how hard it is to balance on one of those things?

It's almost impossible to be stressed out here even though the Boy is continually working on it for me. His latest issue is not answering his phone when I call him or responding to text messages from me unless he needs something from me. Usually when he decides to call me he is in some sort of "crisis" situation. For example, the other day he called (after not responding to my calls or texts for 3 days) extremely, EXTREMELY upset because one of his roommates was eating his food. Instead of confronting the roommate, the Boy decided I need to bring him his own personal refrigerator for his bedroom.

When he realized that wasn't going to happen, he calmed down and hopefully either confronted his roommate with the problem or purchased food items that don't require refrigeration so he can store it in his room. At the time, those were the best solutions I could think of for him. I was a little upset myself that he didn't call or respond to me unless he needed something and then he demanded that I do something. Oh no! Not going to happen.

Tequila helps the de-stressing process too. With the awesome sunsets, bike rides, long runs and adult beverages, I can handle the Boy's "crisis" situations a little better than I use to.

One more thing - I don't think the Boy reads my blog (as a matter of fact, I know he doesn't), but if he happens to come across this post, I have one thing to say to him -

" If you want me to answer my phone when you call or text me, then I would suggest you do the same when I call. I know you are really, really busy, but I was a little busy myself all those years I had to set aside my own interests to change your diapers and attend all those IEP meetings. So.... answer your phone or at the least return my call at a time when it's more convenient for you, preferably on the same day I called you. That is all."

"Comprende?"

Ambiguities From The Boy

Yesterday evening I was sitting outside on the porch swing talking to the Boy on the phone and watching the sunset through the trees in our neighborhood.  It caught my attention because it was striking and looked like the trees were on fire.  I mentioned this amazing sunset to the Boy and he said the sun had already set where he was, which is only about 240 miles south of where I am.  I always thought that since he's directly south of me that it would get dark about the same time.

Now I didn't realize there was such a difference in sunset times between Birmingham and the coast.  I questioned him.

"Was he SURE it had set already?"

He said it was probably because he's at sea level and I'm at a higher elevation.  I had trouble believing him and questioned him again about just how dark it was there.  He said again that it was almost dark, but not totally dark.  Doubtful, I asked him again if the the sun had gone down.

He said  "YES! It had!!"

Perplexed and curious about this sunset mystery (I just got back from spending a week at the coast and didn't think the sunset times were any different there than here), I decided to google sunrise/sunset times in Alabama today just to see the exact sunset time here and the exact sunset time where The Boy lives.  I would have expected from my conversation with him last night that his sunset would be a few minutes before mine.  Imagine my surprise when I see that my sunset time is actually 5 minutes earlier than his sunset time.

 Now, he told me the sun had already set where he was, but mine had not.  I have to ask, Was it cloudy there and he was just incorrect in his sunset assessment?  Was he just not paying much attention to the position of the sun and wanted me to shut up about sunsets in general?  Are the charts on the internet just all wrong??

 Or is he on a road trip somewhere east of here (where the sun would have already set) and just making me think he's at school studying hard.

I haven't had time to question him on this discrepancy, but it probably won't do any good if I do...

Back To The Beach

Spring break is over for The Boy so we took him back to school yesterday then headed to the beach.  Wonderful sunset over the sound, no yellow pollen in the air covering everything, I can breathe!  It's great to be back if only for a couple of days.  Worked out twice today, rode bikes, and then went for a walk on the beach.  Life is good.

Dancing In The Streets - French Quarter

We were walking in the French Quarter in New Orleans the other night and came across this band playing in a street corner.  Watch as the cars are trying to avoid the street dancing lady.  You never know what you might find in the French Quarter.  One thing I didn't get this time were the beignets at Cafe Du Monde.  I was all set to get them this morning before we headed home, but I was a little ill from all the celebrating last night and not eating anything.  Dumb, I know.

After running 26.2 miles you really need something to eat other than what I had - a power bar, 4 Gu, gatoraid (before and during race) and frozen yogurt, a handful of mixed nuts and a diet coke (after the race).  I really never ever do that.  I usually eat way too much after a race, but I wasn't hungry and didn't know what I wanted to eat so I just didn't eat.  I really shouldn't have had those margaritas on an empty stomach last night either.....

Sunset over Lake Pontchartrain

Band in French Quarter

Missed These Sunsets

I took this picture as we were on the bridge heading back to Pensacola Beach after dropping The Boy back off at college.  The weather has been very mild, perfect.  Good to be back even though it is a brief trip for now and The Boy was recovering from a cold and I had some sort of stomach virus that kept me from doing the Double Bridge Run on Saturday.

 I sent The Boy back to school with cold meds and he was already much better by Sunday.  I am 100% recovered too.  I really hope this is where we will end up moving.  We are already trying to figure out how we can move here and make a living instead of Atlanta.  Love the coast!

Clearwater Jazz Festival

Back home after attending the Clearwater Jazz Festival in beautiful Clearwater, Florida.  The Murph and I had a great time, but the seven hour drive was a little longer than we thought it would be.  The Tampa/St. Pete area is at the top of our list of possible places to relocate.  If we do decide to move there then we probably will sell not only the Alabama houses, but also the condo we are living in now in the Florida Panhandle.  It is just a little too far to drive for a long weekend and we will be near beaches down there so it just makes sense.

We had alot of fun at the jazz festival at Coachman Park in Clearwater, FL.  One of the acts we saw was Christian McBride and his band, Inside Straight.  They were very good and it was a perfect afternoon in the park listening to some jazz.  I love the instrument McBride played (the upright bass). It would be fun to learn to play one or the cello.  My favorite instrument of all time.  The Boy learned to play the violin when he was in third grade and the kids in his class were learning to play everything from the viola and the violin to the cello and the bass and they were all miniature size to fit the kids.  Very cute!

Christian McBride & Inside Straight

The sunsets were gorgeous down there especially the night we went to the park.  I could definitely live there!  We liked the south Tampa area as well as the many areas we looked at in the Clearwater area.  Atlanta is another option, but after living at the coast these past months I think the Murph and I are both leaning toward somewhere on the coast now.

Amazing Sunset

I took this picture this evening off the balcony of the condo.    The sunsets here are amazing.  Very beautiful!  Just had to share.....