Jeanie and I were trying to decide what to do yesterday. There were a number of things that needed to be done around the house so one thought was to stay home and do chores. The skies were relatively clear, so another thought was to go flying. What we ended up doing was to do a beach day.
We now keep our two beach chairs in the Durango full time. Jeanie did a fantastic job of quickly putting together a picnic including sandwiches, fruit, cheese and drinks. She also threw the new auger style beach umbrella holder and new beach umbrella into the Durango. I grabbed my new Legendary Pro Slick 42" body board and some sunscreen and off we went.
It is really nice having a four wheel drive vehicle and living in an area where you can drive on the beach. It just makes going to the beach so much more pleasant when you don't have to lug all of your stuff from a parking lot to the beach.
We ended up driving down to Burney Park at American Beach. The beach tends to be a bit flatter and wider on the southern portion of the island, and it is usually a bit less crowded.
As an unexpected extra bonus, there were two guys just getting ready to fly their powered paragliders. So, we parked near them so we could watch them finish their preparations and then take off. Given our backgrounds as skydivers, Jeanie and I both thought that paragliding seemed like a cool idea. While there are a number of pluses that I can see with the idea of having a paraglider, the cost, $6,000 - $9,000, was a disappointing surprise. For the cost of two high end powered paragliders, Jeanie and I could buy a used two seat airplane! Granted, paragliders can be launched just about anywhere, don't require hangars or tie-downs or annual inspections, but still!
Anyway, back to the beach...
Jeanie spent her afternoon sitting beneath the umbrella reading. I split my time between reading a flying magazine and frolicking in the water. Between the shade of the umbrella and the breeze off of the water, the air temperature was very pleasant. The water temperature was just perfect - not too cool, not too warm. The surf was decent and I got a few good rides. Unfortunately, when I start by laying on the board, I just can't get moving well enough to catch the waves, so I was limited to standing in water no deeper than my neck so I could push off of the bottom to get going.
Our timing worked out really well. When we arrived, there was still about an hour before low tide, so we were able to park reasonably near the water and not have to move the whole time. We were able to spend a few hours enjoying the beautiful weather and lovely beach. After watching the paragliders come in for a tippy toe landing, we decided to pack up and call it a wonderful day.
One final treat (well technically, two) was that on the way home, we got to see two tortoises ambling along the side of the road. It was the first time Jeanie or I had seen a tortoise on the island, although we have seen a number of turtles.
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Posted by David at September 10, 2007 02:21 PM