World’s Greatest stolen away

Monday April 30, 2010
Oscar Scherer State Park
Site 95

 

 

Sunday morning it was time to pack up and head down the road for a Vacation from Velcade. 

We were tooling down route 75 only about 67
miles (MY kind of trip) before we pulled into Site 95 at Oscar Scherer State Park.

 

 

This is a series of progressive camp site shots.  It’s like one of those dinners.  Each time you get closer to dessert.

 

 

We had actually been camped right here when David got the news
that his blood tests had shown he had Stage 2 Multiple Myeloma.
Not a happy day by any means.

 

 

On that stay, we had checked out all 98 sites and written down the ones we liked even better than this one.   But somehow, some way, one day we lost the list.  So despite the bad Karma, we returned to Site 95.

 

 

Like this site, all of the ones we had chosen and then lost had
a view, however small

 

 

of South Creek

 

 

Here’s the view that South Creek has of us.
I know she’s going to enjoy watching us.

 

 

We got all set up complete with kayaks by the river entry.

 

 

Time for dinner!

We grill up some all American Vegan Burgers, put them on whole grain English Muffins with spinach (lettuce is tasteless), tomato and onion. Add oven sweet potato fries, broccoli and vino and you’ve got a PARTY!

 

 

DAY TWO dawns.

Monday starts with running in the upper 60’s heat which is really too hot for me.  Then Carrie and I are off to the closest beach, Nokomis, which is on Casey Key, just south and west of the park.  This is the beach where folks drum down the sun every Wednesday and Saturday.  I won’t put a link here to my previous blog about it since we’ll be back for it day after tomorrow and I’ll just post about it all over again.

 

David wants to begin his vacation with a day off.  A true day off.  The first few days of the vacation week are always difficult for him as the velcade and all its side effects hasn’t worn off, but the dexamethazone, which mitigates those, has.  Thus he has a lot of back pain and fatigue until later in the week when sometimes everything has worn off.  So he is happy to have us leave him resting and napping for the afternoon.

 

It is a gorgeous day.

The Gulf waters look tropical and Carrie can walk out for what seems like miles in the shallow water.

 

 

 

 

We drill our sand screw umbrella anchor into the ground as far down as we can force it and set up the world’s greatest beach umbrella.
But the winds pick up so we shorten the pole.
Doesn’t it look cute??

 

 

We both think so.
And it does a great job of keeping the sun off of us.

 

Between swims in the water, we do the usual beach watching

 

 

 

There is some questionable behavior going on.

 

 

And then…….while we are relaxing, reading and enjoying the sun, the surf, the breeze…….

that very breeze gusts up to a WIND, grabs the world’s most perfect beach umbrella and tosses it out into the gulf.
We spring out of our chairs and along with a very nice
neighboring man, run out into the water to try to catch it.
but the wind is having none of that.  It is was such a
perfect umbrella and so well made that it does not collapse or turn inside out.  Thus the wind can just keep tossing it end over end further and further out to sea where none of us can possibly even swim out to it. 

 

It happens so fast we are stunned. 

There is a fisherman in a boat just beyond where the umbrella finally lands.  He must have seen what happened but he does not elect to move his boat with its motor over the small distance it would have taken him to grab the umbrella and then motor it in the slightly larger distance to bring it in close enough that we could go get it.   We are standing on the shore watching him not help us.

After the umbrella sinks, THEN he motors over to that same area and casts his line.   I know this is very ungenerous of me but I sincerely hope no fish ever in his entire life ever takes his bait ever again.

So there went the world’s most perfect beach umbrella.
Sounds funny retelling it but it really was sad.
I loved that umbrella.
It was perfect.

 

So replace it you say. 

I definitely would, IF
A) I could find a store that sells it and
B) I hadn’t paid more than I’ve ever paid for any piece of beach equipment even though it was on sale at the end of the season.  
This really was a top of the line and cost umbrella.
Finances no longer permit such wonders.

 

Since we family of a myeloma patient are seriously afraid of skin cancer, we will have to replace it with something very much less costly and less perfect.   And we will have to do it tomorrow or our week at the beach
will be ending very early.
Nothing but mostly sunny and high 80’s predicted for the entire week.
This should be a happy thought.

 

We were mighty UNhappy when we went home, had dinner, and with David, drowned our sorrows at Bentley’s.

 

 

It really was THE world’s greatest beach umbrella
and I will greatly miss it.  What good will it do the fishes?