Writing this on Tuesday night, in the Outer Banks. Tomorrow, we depart our little 1950s bungalow by the beach to spend a couple of days at Virginia Beach. A storm moved in last night and has been waterboarding the area most of today, but up until now the weather has been gorgeous — hot and sunny, exactly what one wants for a stay at the beach.
Things that I have been up to this past week:
- Taking the boys to roam the beach in the mornings
- Spending more time on the beach, in general, than I ever have before
- Chatting with a guy on the beach who claimed to have worked on the Soyuz missions in the 70s as a Russian translator for the UK government
- Getting a sunburn on my belly button
- Showering outdoors, because the indoor shower was the size of a postage stamp, but also because showering outdoors in the 80-degree heat is nice as fuck
- Eating alllll the delicious seafood
- Learning that “conch” is pronounced conk
- Naps in hammocks
- Reading, including a reread of one of my top five favorite books ever — THE KINGS OF ETERNITY, by Eric Brown
- Visiting local bookstores, because you can tell a lot about a town by the quality of its bookstores
- An excursion to the original Duck Donuts, which, when I looked up the location, my phone helpfully autocorrected it to “fuck donuts fuck nc”
But primarily, above all else: relaxing. Where the most taxing thoughts I have each day are “where are we getting dinner?” and “did I put sunscreen on my [random spot on my body]?”
It’s all been rather rejuvenating and is exactly what my brain and body has needed.
Pictures to follow upon my return, but for now, here are two:


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