8-1/2 HOURS

8-1/2 hours - But who is counting??? I am! We went down to the boat this weekend - between the heat, & my broken tailbone we did not get to sail, but it was a good weekend. OK maybe good is not the right word - it was great. I slept for 8-1/2 hours straight. Between the gentle rock of the boat, the sound of the rain & the sound of the lapping of the water on shore, add a sleeping pill & pain pill and I was out like a light. I read 2 pages in my book before I was gone. I have not slept 3 hours straight in the last 18 months so it felt wonderful.

It was Summer Festival in Washington weekend, so we went down to the waterfront & looked at some cool but overpriced vendors (no problem as I did not need any of the stuff), listened to the band, watch the young (or crazy) people ride the carnival rides, planned to eat a funnel cake but got sidetracked by the free entertainment. The different law enforcement agencies ticketing & arresting the many drunks out driving in boats. Part of the festival is a boat parade where you drive by the waterfront one after another - this is like a feeding frenzy for the law enforcement. Check out my photos of the event - they include the Beaufort County Sheriff Department's Fountain boat, yes a Fountain boat. No outrunning them - this $400,000 boat was donated by Fountain (pretty classy of them). It was the US Coast Guard - they look like they have a tugboat but I guess they could call in planes, boats & whatever they needed. My favorite was Parker's Wildlife Officer - I took it for Parker to see, Washington had it police department boat too. I think they all found a way to balance their budgets. In one photo all 4 have some they are writing tickets for or arresting.
Mark & I were laughing so hard - drunks are so dumb. We could hear alot them & see them all - I thought they were going to fall in - they could not touch their noses or follow his finger with their eyes but explaining they were not drunk the whole time. Some did not know you could not drive a boat drunk - well duh! I do not want to be run over by a drunk. There were 8 women on a 16ft boat (over the limit for safety) who were so drunk they all sat on the same side of the boat - there had their knees in the water. I thought they were going to swamp the boat. Mark thought he was going to have to jump in to rescue them but instead they decided to go for a ride in the boat. They were so drunk they would stand & fall on top of each other while trying to toast the people on shore & singing the Love Boat theme. hahaha! Maybe you had to be there. We watched for 2 hours & I forgot about my funnel cake. That takes a lot. Ended with a super fireworks display. For a small town, the Summer Festival is a huge event. Come go with us next year!

We went back to the boat played poker - I fleeced Mark out of $1.32 (hey that is all the coins we had). No worry, I gave it back & we picked up chips at Dollar Tree - no money but you get to win. He fleeced me the next night - we are evenly matched in any game. Friday will be our 36th anniversary, so I guess we just know each other too well.

Saturday was our mistake - we rode to New Bern. We lived there when Dale was born & I had heard how it had grown. Wow - it has grown. We rode by our old homes & then back. The mistake was riding that long on a broken tailbone. It caused such pain that I called an end to the weekend. Well after eating at Mayflower- yummy flounder. We always split a meal as they serve way too much food. Had a great waitress so I told her manager what a good waitress she was. Usually I just complain. It was a fun weekend - lots of chatting, restful, fun, met some really nice boat owners in our marina & opportunity to laugh at complete idiots too & even got a little work on the boat done (very little for me). Mostly undivided attention of the love of my life - no tv, no phone, no computer - I loved it. Does it get better than that?? We are thinking sailing away to a small island. Nothing is more restful that being rocked to sleep - no wonder babies stop crying when you rock them.

Today, reality reappeared. I got my 2nd X-ray & painful exam. If you press once & ask the patient "Does that hurt?" & the patient gasps & says yes. Why repeat it 6-7 times. I did at least get stronger pain medicine to help me sleep & ride - no driving while taking it. I argued with my insurance company & then apologized for no reason other than she could not change their policies. Side note - why can an insurance company their size have a web page that is user friendly. I know 16 yr old that could design a better site. I did get a short visit from Dare,Ryan, E&O, & Hudson since I was not up to our usual dinner. I had a bowl of Cocoa Crispies for dinner - no standing needed. The drive to the doctors was all the movement I was up to today.

Check the photos - 8-1/2 hours changes your outlook but seeing others being completely stupid makes he feel better & smile. ;)