Wednesday, March 21 – “free” day

This morning I shook off my role of “official slug” and went out early to find the ocean shore.  Linda and Claudette were well asleep as I tip-toed out of the room and headed west.  It wasn’t difficult to find a path that, eventually, got to the beach.  Everything is beautifully planted and maintained, so naturally the paths meander and provide a different vista around each turn.  The beach was thinly populated at about 8AM, and I enjoyed a long stroll to the sound of the breakers rolling in.  The ocean itself was WELL populated with fishing & pleasure boats getting about the business of the day, and it was easy to see how the midday crowds would fill the sand.  It was very peaceful, though, except for the visual interruption of the very tall emergency pole from which warning flags would fly to alert marine interests as needed.  The hotel makes it very clear that the oceanside itself is government territory, and you go there at your own risk.  Mother Nature is not always predictable OR kind.
Back up in the room, everyone was now up and we enjoyed a light breakfast.  We somewhat went our own ways; I’d finished National Geographic – the FINAL magazine! -- and started the second Stephanie Plum book and was concentrating on completing the needlework piece (DONE!).  With that major goal accomplished, whoever’s been keeping the records for the “how long will she last” pool now knows:  I have completed my 1st crossword in 10 whole days … few would have bet I’d last that long.

Mid-afternoon we organized ourselves to head out to Wal-Mart for groceries for the remainder of the week.  List in hand, I negotiated successfully with the butcher to package the correct three steaks in one tray, and then split 7 chicken breasts among three trays, 3/3/1.  I think both of us were pretty pleased with ourselves.  Continuing through the store, we completed our tasks and added some fun breakfast pastries as well.  Shaking off some dude who wanted to sell us a timeshare, we found the cab dispatcher and got a safe ride back to the hotel.
Dinner utilized the Thai-style peanut sauce we’d purchased at the farmer’s market Saturday, a big glumph of caramelized onions, a poblano pepper and some pseudo-zucchini squashes to make a pretty tasty dish.  We discussed getting laundry done tomorrow as the condo to which we’ll move for our final segment does not have on-site facilities.  And, we went to bed at a sensible hour!