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31 Days of October: Day 22... Fringe Benefits

One of the things to do around here in summer is visit the beach. Ocean City, MD, is a very popular vacation spot for, if the traffic increase tells the whole story, people from "across the bridge", meaning from the other side of the  Chesapeake Bay Bridge... Washington, D.C., Baltimore, etc. But this is October. Why am I talking about the beach in October? I'm glad you asked! The only time of year that I genuinely enjoy going to the beach is in fall. The summer crowds are, to me, suffocating!   That makes October the perfect time for a beach trip. Many October days are cool enough to keep the crowds away but warm enough to enjoy a stroll up and down the boardwalk.

My husband and I only make the trip to Ocean City 2 or 3 times a year but we always enjoy it. We usually spend about 2 hours walking and chatting and observing the few other humans who are taking full advantage of the season. This last trip we decided to do something we've never done before.

We had only been home from our hiking trip a few days (you can read about the trip beginning here), feet aching from the beating they took, so we rented a 2-person bicycle. Not the front and back kind but the side-by-side with a bench seat kind. We. Loved. It. It took about an hour to ride the whole length of the boardwalk and back with neither of us feeling like we were doing all the work. We were leisurely with our pace and able to talk without difficulty. So relaxing!

Here is me in our chariot... Notice the top... I kept thinking of that song from the musical Oklahoma... "The Surrey With The Fringe On Top". And it was orange, so I matched. (Yes, I do wear tops other than plain boxy t-shirts!) Here are some picutures I took along the way... It was a gorgeous morning and we talked about having a picnic on the sand but by the time we were ready to eat lunch the sky had turned dark and the wind started picking up so we decided to head home. That and we were both starting to feel the discomfort that comes when you participate in a physical activity that you don't ordinarily do. I'll spare you the details because, well, frankly, it isn't all that interesting! But I will say that we were sore the next day and ibuprofen was taken every 4 to 6 hours.

Typically I would've under-appreciated this kind of day but I saw something a year or so ago that really makes me think..."The things you take for granted, someone else is praying for."  I don't know whom to credit with that quote but I'm sure glad they said it.  And I think I will just leave it at that!

Posted by Joanne Mitchell at Monday, October 22, 2012 Labels: 31 Days of October, marriage, walking

