A Thought and a Recap

Thought: I really like fireflies, and they are abundant here! I went for a quick stroll to the grocery store the other day, and I kept seeing tiny flashes of light at my side. I enjoyed their company during my short time outside.

My first year at EFY, in Illinois, I had a counselor who was going crazy with excitement about the fireflies dancing around us. I thought it silly-weird that a grown man (21 years grown) would be so giddy about little bugs, though I recognized that they were really cool. Now though, I understand - albeit in a much more muted way - that they're just as fascinating for any adult as they are for children.

Recap: I went to Duck Beach last weekend - did I mention that? Technically, I stayed in Corolla, NC, and I don't even know if the beach we were on ended up being in Duck at all, but for the sake of the event title, it was Duck Beach.

I am now molting, it's a little bit disgusting - my skin is literally falling off me, it's like being a snake, but not so creepy. But it was totally worth it - which I keep telling myself every time I look in the mirror at the girl who's forehead is coming off...

But that's not what you really wanted to hear about, was it? You wanted updates on the romantic trysts, dramas, boys, right?

Well, those stories can best be found here.

But I can tell a little of my time at the beach. I got a lot of sun, a little volleyball, a lot of Mormons, a little water, a lot of sunburn, a little sunburn pain, a lot of delicious food, and little vacation weekend that rocked all Memorial day celebrations of yore.

I left for Duck Beach Friday afternoon with dear Jillian and Tali, and we spent the next 5.5 hours listening to whatever Duck Beach Road Trip CD I pulled out of my grab bag/purse (I made 10 CDs, it's basically my music library backup), not sitting in all the traffic everyone promised we'd run into (we passed all we could in the blessed HOV lane, and then didn't really run into any traffic beyond that, which was excellent), and then getting a little rained on (it would seem that Jillian's awesome car leaks a little in violent rainstorms that come out of nowhere and threaten flash flooding - I call it a cute car personality quirk). We dropped Tali off at her house, got to our house at about 11:30pm, sat in a bedroom with some other people staying in the house, met some random people who came to our house thinking there was a party going on (there was not. Far from it, in fact), and then figured out how we were going to get any sleep with 3 of us girls on a king size bed.

After about a total of 3.5 hours of sleep, I woke up with the sun glaring through the curtained windows and decided it seemed like a good time to go the beach. So I ate some breakfast on one of our many balconies, saw who was all staying in our house - though I'm still not sure I saw 34 people through the course of the weekend - and then we trekked down to the beach, about a block away. It was about 9:30am.

At 3:45pm, I left the beach. Yup, I spent the 6 hours between sitting, roaming, and generally enjoying the beach and its friend, the Sun. I watched a volleyball tournament, watched crazy people run into the Atlantic's icy water, sat in my sweet beach chair (which I got at a grocery store on the way on Friday - awesome!), and occasionally read a book I'd brought. It was so pleasant.

Until I realized I was getting quite sunburned. In a really splotchy sort of way. Spray sunscreen is sporadic in its coverage, turns out. That's when I decided the beach was no longer quite so pleasant, and I took my sun-drained, exhausted body home. We went to another group's house for dinner, chatted for a few hours, and then people split for various parties. A new friend of mine, Kaitlyn, and I intended to stop quickly at a party near our house hosted by West Virginia U. peeps, but when we got to our house, we turned up the driveway and thought no more of leaving. Somehow the walking zombie that was my body made it up to the top balcony to look at the stars with 2 girls in the house for a while before going to bed - the sky was within reach, the stars were so close. It was really gorgeous.

Sunday, we went to church, where all the Duck Beachers took over the local congregation's building. They were so sweet to accomodate us, and we shoved into every nook and cranny of that building. It was kind of cool in the craziness of it. Later that afternoon, I was talking to a boy in our house, and he started hinting heavily at walking on the beach for a bit because it was such a beautiful day and it seemed like such a good thing to do when the beach is so close. Finally, I said, "Boy (I called him by name, actually), would you like to go for a quick walk on the beach?" I was feeling the ill effects of a long day in the sun previously, so I couldn't handle too much more. Which was perfect - our walk didn't drag, but it was really great to be out there.

This boy apparently took a liking to me from somewhere near the start. He certainly was attentive to me Saturday afternoon and evening, so it seemed inevitable that he would slip in a request for a beach walk.

To give some details, Boy lives in Minnesota, he's Asian, and he's about 5'7, so I'm not sure why he went for the tall, local girl. Not that location was ever going to be in his favor out here, but you'd think the height thing would stick out enough. Apparently, he likes tall women. Or just extremely cool, beautiful girls, and height is no matter. So I'm still confused about why he decided to go for me. It must be the Wisconsin background - he did mention that Midwestern girls are just the best, and I couldn't argue with that.

At any rate, the walk consisted of various deep, difficult questions that I struggled to answer adequately, followed by vague, throwaway responses to my questions - which was basically how most interactions with him went, so at least I was used to it by then. And then we came home, and I don't think I even really saw him again that night.

I was too busy working on my pool and foosball skills with a few other people.

Can I just say, spending 2 days in the sun, with some serious sunburning, really wipes you out physically? I was exhausted all Sunday and could've gone to bed by about 10pm (it might've also been the 7 hours I'd slept total in the last 2 nights...), but I rallied and made it to about 12:45am - roughly 2 hours before most everyone else in my house. I did find my new favorite tv show that night, though, so I think it was a winner of an evening  - My Big, Fat Gypsy Wedding. Pure TLC gold, I tell you.

Monday, I was leaving for home again in the early afternoon, so I stayed poolside, close to home. It was fabulous. I think I prefer the pool over the beach, or I at least love having both options. I took my time in the morning, sitting around and chatting, then Boy confessed his sadness in my leaving and asked for my phone number. I should've told him long-distance friendships, et al, aren't my specialty, but I gave him my number anyway - we'll see how this goes. It was interesting talking to him in person, when I could distract the deep conversations with silly, superficial observations of the world around us. The phone will be an entirely new challenge.

It was blessed having a pool and hot tub at the house. I loved soaking my legs in the pool whenever I felt like it, and just generally enjoying the pool's glow in the evenings. I miss it so much.

Anyway, we left around 3ish, made our way home with a little more traffic, though nothing terrible, and I spent the rest of my evening at home wishing I didn't have to come home and go to work the next day, and picking at my newly peeling skin.

And 5 days later, I'm still working on that pesky, leprous skin. So gross...yet so worth it.

All in all, Duck Beach 2011 was a success. And I'm a fan of North Carolina. I could certainly be filthy rich and spend my days lounging in a gigantic house with a pool and beach to choose between each day. I'd feel really good about that, indeed.