When The Air Was Clear

Happy Labor Day!!  It's a day to celebrate all the long hours we worked over our lifetime.  A celebration of the American workforce that made our country great.  Really, it just means everyone who is working gets a day off, right??  I celebrate the fact that I actually lived long enough to retire.

So .... You just can't beat the sunsets in Long Beach Washington.  No, I'm not there, but almost wish I was.  The air was clear and cold, just perfect for a day of kite flying on the beach.  Now that I'm further south, the heat and smoke has come into play, along with stiff and sore legs, but I won't talk about that!!

The last two days have been in the mid 80's with smoke from the fires blocking out the sun.  Feels like 90% humidity and 90 degrees heat, along with lots of coughing and hacking.  Surprisingly, the natives are much more restless here as well, with trucks coming and going at 5:00 am.  At least I'm already up.

So in an effort to remember cooler days (and take a day off with lots of advil for my SORE LEGS), these are the sunset pictures I took about a week ago.

Seagulls were everywhere, wanting to get in every picture.  Somehow they had captured a huge crab and were fighting over who got what for dinner.  You guys are right ... I should have brought the smoked pork enchiladas down for their enjoyment.

With the tide so far out, the sun had lots of reflection surface.

There was a group of five guys trying to surf along with a Mom running through the waves with a camera.  Apparently they had no idea how unsafe this is for anyone to be in the water more than a few inches, not to mention the wave action that's not suitable for surfing AT ALL.  I can only assume they were new to the sport since I never saw any of them stand up.  

Mostly I kept an eye on the kids with my camera, just to be sure they weren't drowning.  The cross waves were crazy this night!!

Truthfully, I was waiting for the green flash of light and my pirate husband-to-be walking out of the surf, but alas ye mates, neither was seen on this night.

I just love how the colors change as soon as the sun sets beyond the horizon.  

I didn't sit around ALL day yesterday ... I thought a little geocaching might be in order, but the crowds hit the beach in record numbers.  In spite of the heat and smoke, it was cooler here than inland and the people came in droves.  By noon there were no parking spaces left within a mile of the beach and traffic through town was stop and go the entire way.

If I can get my act in gear, maybe I'll hit up a couple of antique stores today.  Or maybe I'll drive back out to the END of the road where I can walk over the LOW end of the dunes for a little kite flying.