On The Rocks!

On Saturday we woke much earlier - partly through not covering over one of the skylights...

In this rare hot summer, the most pleasant place to be is beside the sea, where there is always a breeze and heat that would feel stifling inland is much, much easier to bear.
"I suppose we are off to the beach again!" observed the KHT suspiciously.
"Yes, it really is the best place to be when it is THIS hot! You would HATE the heat inland."
Unlike most of us, summer is one season the KHT would very happily omit!

"I can practice more of my swimming!" she responded, in a much happier tone. 

The KHT always acts as if going to the beach requires much forbearance, but once she is there, she is very content.

We have a selection of beaches within easy reach of our campsite.
Generally, the rural beaches are not so accessible to those who rely on public transport and attract more middle-class visitors.
Beaches situated within resorts are accessible to all and tend to have rowdier and more boisterous visitors, and often have noisy arcades within the immediate vicinity.
This is a very broad generalisation, as all beaches have visitors that conform to, and defy, these stereotypes.

Saturday was an uneventful day, not one for making significant memories particularly, but a day for just enjoying being together, away from the regular pattern of life.

DH is reading his way through the series of books, but the title of the collection is Narnia business...
The KHT continues to plough her way through the literary works of Jacqueline Wilson.
Meanwhile, I have been following the exploits of Bill Bryson in 'A Walk In The Woods', as he has plodded his way along the Appalachian Trail on the eastern side of the USA.
The book hadn't inspired me to take up hiking. Instead, it has helped me to see that it is OK to stop and not pursue everything to the bitter end. However, I do not see it as encouragement to quit everything I am currently doing, more of a reminder to pause regularly and evaluate.

A family with several offspring came and sat next to us. I quickly reached the conclusion that Dad was a frustrated town planner, as under his direction, they set about constructing a sizeable metropolis requiring many sand castles. This was clearly an activity they enjoyed doing together, as they were strategic from the outset.

Today's inflatable score was a swan, a pink pelican and a child's inflatable that I found it hard to identify.
First of all, I thought it was a speedboat,
and then a tractor.
However, the mystery was solved when the child's mother came to remonstrate with her young son for his cavalier treatment of his toy.
"Don't just abandon your jet ski on the rocks!"
How the other half live...
At least I now know that it is NOT a tractor, NOR a speedboat,
but a jet ski...
Today was a middle-class beach day...

As we were gathering up our belongings the KHT looked at my footwear, which was half buried in the sand.
"Hmmmm" she observed pensively, "Now I know why they are called sandals!"