Sunrise on the beach

I got up in time to watch the sun rise over the Atlantic. The tide was going out, so the beach seemed a mile wide. I walked along the beach while the sky lightened. Suddenly there was a pinpoint of brilliant orange/gold light. Then within 10 minutes the full sun had risen to well above the horizon. It just seemed to explode up. I spent about an hour on the beach, walking on the hard sand, watching the gulls skim the surf looking for food.

Jekyll Island 4th of July

Best 4th of July ever - we are on Jekyll Island GA. Our hotel is right by the beach; we took our beach towels and walked over the dunes on the boardwalk which has footlights to the beach. The tide was low so the beach was broad and the sky filled with stars. The official Jekyll Island fireworks display was less than a mile up the beach and we had a great view sitting on towels by the beach. It wasn't really crowded, the temperature is about 75 degrees and there is a strong sea breeze. There were some people wearing glow in the dark red, white and blue necklaces and bracelets or carrying glow wands. I can't ever remember a better 4th of July.

We ate dinner at a restaurant on the Intercoastal Waterway, sitting on a broad porch surrounded by trees draped in Spanish moss. There was a light breeze and the porch had overhead fans, so it was very comfortable. Ok, I admit the flies detracted a bit from the experience, but what is life without a few flies!

On the way back, we drove around the south end of the island and got stopped in a roadblock. The entire island police force seemed to be there. I had to show my drivers license, and the policeman started to let us go politely then noticed that my license seemed to have expired. I told him to turn it over and explained that is how Illinois does it, with a sticker on the back of the license. He laughed and said 'That can get you arrested down here, we aren't that smart. Have a nice evening.' then handed me my license and let me go. Of course, I really thought that we got stopped because I had a margarita on the porch!

I am loving every minute of being back in the South. Good night y'all.