Independence Day

Every morning Walt Kowalski would take our chairs and umbrella down to the beach while I made breakfast. 

 

 

Independence Day was a little different.  We were warned all week that there was a hurricane coming.  Batten down the hatches!  The closer the hurricane got, we realized we were safe, it was going to hit lower than us and head out to sea.  The worst we were going to get was some high winds, big waves, and a morning of rain. 

For the last four years we've gone on vacation, we've had one day with a big storm.  Usually it happened in the heat of the day or the evening.  One year we were sitting on the beach and could see a storm building about a mile away up the beach.  We still had sun and heat, but there was lightning and the lifeguards had to clear the beach. 

A day of rain on vacation is not a big deal to us.  There's always lots to do and worst case, as long as it's not lightning, sitting on the patio watching the waves, clouds and rain isn't so bad either.  A week of rain is a different story. 

The town knew about the hurricane, too, and decided to move fireworks from the 4th to 5th.

The clouds were low and moving fast.  Walt Kowalski suggested out, instead of in.  Delicious.  We did a little shopping, had a side adventure to the bay and by early afternoon the storm was gone with the wind. 

And when the storm cleared, the beach was wonderful.  The sand was softer and the water even warmer and lots of shells! 

So we took our chairs down to the beach to watch the locals

 
The locals are nice.  They don't say much. 

 

 
After the clouds, the sky was extra blue and so clear.  No haze.  No humidity.  The high surf left puddles on the beach.   

 

After a big breakfast, we weren't hungry for dinner.  Fireworks were postponed a night.  There was no rushing.    We sat until there was no more sun.