A Day at the Beach!

What a time we had at Virginia Beach last weekend. The outside temperature was just right, and the water was warm and not very rough. But just spending time with good friends is reason enough to head to the beach. Now, it might be a bit different in the next couple of days with Tropical Storm Ernesto arriving but last weekend was perfect...at least on the beach.

The plan was to either gather in front of the Old Coast Guard Station at 3 PM or meet at the church building at 2 and travel over in the church van. Due to the air conditioning being on the fritz in the van we decided to carpool instead.

It was clear sailing traffic wise until we got to Hampton. The traffic was at a standstill on I-64 near the HRBT and delayed us in arriving at our destination. Once we got to Virginia Beach, we then had to find a parking spot and that turned out to be a problem. It seems that many people had the same idea of going to the beach as we did and the parking area we generally use was filled so we checked another parking area. It too was filled and so we checked a third and alas, it was filled as well. With options running out we began to meander around looking for a place to park. By the time we found a place, we had lost those who were following us. Every man for himself became my motto. Finally, we got our parking spot and headed for the beach.

Since the parking garage we parked in was five blocks down from where we wanted to be we began the long walk. Good thing the weather was nice! When we got to our meeting spot, we began to look for familiar faces but we saw none and so we waited, and waited and waited. A band was playing in the background so it was not a total waste of time but I was more interested in getting on the beach. I knew some had gone on ahead of us and so I combed the beach looking for them but never did find them. It turned out they were there but just not where I expected.

Finally, through a series of cell phone calls, the remainder of the group arrived and so we found a good place in the sand to claim and put our stuff down. It was now two hours after our original planned time to be on the beach but we were determined to make the best of it and so we played in the ocean, threw the football around or just soaked in the sun.

We spent a total of 90 minutes there and everybody was ready to leave and get something to eat. I had planned that we would be there from 3-8 PM but nobody at that point wanted what I wanted. To be honest I did not want what I originally wanted either. Nevertheless, the time we did spend together was good.

Was it worth it? Hey, like I said the weather was nice, the water was warm and we got to spend time with some good friends. What more could I want? God is good!
Phil 4:4-5 (NIV) Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.