Pass the ace bandage...

I know you’re going to be shocked, but I’ve decided to come home as planned. I will probably change my mind another 25 times today but I know I’m making the right decision. I have meetings scheduled, articles to write, and frankly, my writing partner is not functioning well in my absence. I know I can always come back here (Susanna, you are not allowed to move!!) Besides, as you’ll see below, I believe it’s definitely time for me to go.

Yesterday I was walking along the beach like I have been doing each morning since I’ve been here. My friend’s apartment is on a secluded end of the beach that has a small outcropping of rocks along the water you have to pass through before you can get to the rest of the beach. All week I’ve managed to navigate this section without incident by either climbing over the rocks or wading through the water. It is a little tricky with the waves coming in and the rocks covered in moss – slippery, but nothing a normal person can’t handle.

But as you know, I’m not normal. I get about half way through and the combination of a big wave and a slippery, loose rock causes me to completely fall into the ocean. No graceful slipping into the beautiful azure water for me people, this was a full on cartoon-ish flailing of the arms, shrieking until my head was submerged by another wave kind of production. Did I mention yet that in my arms were my shoes, a screenwriting book from the New York Public Library and a beach towel? And oh yes, although I was wearing a bathing suit, I had put on a pair of denim shorts and a shirt to walk out to the beach in.

Now the library book is floating away from me, my huge beach towel is headed in the other direction and I can’t stop laughing. Thank GOD this is a secluded beach. Just my clumsy ass and a pelican sitting in the water about 10 feet from me just watching. And now I can’t get out because the waves keep coming and I can’t regain my footing. So I grab the book (here’s a tip: books are not good beach toys), the blanket and just start swimming along the shore line until I’m around the rock section and can get out of the water.

So imagine this lovely scene, my legs and knees are bleeding from the fall on the rocks (and bruising nicely today thank you very much. It looks like someone took a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire to my knees.) I’m carrying a soaking 400 page hardback book and water is streaming off me. I throw all my crap on the ground and start stripping down to my swimsuit, which is what I should have started with in the beginning. But I’m still laughing because that damn pelican is STILL in the water looking at me. I laid out until I was drier and headed down the beach to the public beach access where I could walk back along the street to my friend’s apartment. No WAY was I going to go through the obstacle course again.

There you have it. Gayle’s last day in paradise. Maybe to you that little adventure isn’t a compelling enough reason to go home, but I only have one pair of knees and I’m not sure my body can take another day here. I am going to take one last stroll on the beach, but this time I’m not gonna forget my helmet and knee pads.

I hope you have enjoyed my beach blog. Tomorrow we will return to our regularly scheduled rants about Valentines Day, winter weather, and all the crazy mail I got while I was away. See you tomorrow!!