A Wonderful Saturday

Since I'll be heading to Tennessee in just a bit over a week, Matt and I decided that we had to have fun beachy times over in Sarasota yesterday. It was terrific, and I wouldn't change a thing about how we spent one of our last Saturdays together for a while.

We dawdled around the house until a bit after lunchtime. That's one of the things that I love about living with Matt. How we spend our time is loosely organized. It is completely ok for him if we have a leisurely morning and get around to the rest of our day whenever it suits us.

So, we drove over to St. Armand's Key and had a delicious lunch at The Columbia Restaurant. We enjoyed a pitcher of sangria made with champagne instead of red wine. So yummy! Matt had one of their signature salads, thoughtfully transferring the olives to me for consumption. I ordered, and shared, a Mediterranean paella. It was very good, but a lot more salty than I expected. I finished over half of my dinner before turning it over to Matt to complete. I had to save room for dessert, of course! Our waitress, who provided excellent service, also was very obliging when Matt snapped photos of her caramelizing the top of my creme brulee dessert. When we left, I was so full, I thought I might burst.

We popped into a couple of shops nearby, and I spied the cutest little baby outfit, so we purchased it for a gift. I was pleased that we came across that store, because we had planned to drive across town to the Babies 'R' Us store to purchase a shower gift later in the day. Yay for saving gas and time!

Next we headed to our fave beach, Siesta Key! I love it there for several reasons. First, the sand is so soft and white, it feels a little luxurious to stroll across it barefoot. Second, the water is always so pretty and clean. And last, but not least by any means, is the fact that Matt and I got married on that very beach! Suffice it to say, there will never be another beach that can compare with Siesta Key for us.

On our way to the beach, Matt decided to call his buddy, Jason. We haven't seen him in quite some time, because Jason keeps a social schedule (and work schedule, for that matter) that is ever-changing and unpredictable. Matt talked him into meeting us at the beach for an early-evening swim. Jason arrived just after the sunset, and the three of us enjoyed some beers and conversation, just before the bugs started devouring us alive. It had gotten dark, and against my better judgement, we all decided to go swimming in the ocean. I was a bit apprehensive, as visibility is obviously poorer at night. However, a few minutes into our moonlight swim, I made an incredible discovery.

Have you ever heard about stuff that can be in the ocean that is luminous in the dark? I had heard vague descriptions of it before, but never paid any attention. I was startled to notice as I was swimming around that the movements of my hands produced a sparkling effect. Any disturbance of the water resulted in this shimmering light that seemed magical. I pointed it out to the boys, and the three of us spent the next hour or so in rapturous enjoyment of this phenomenon. It was like I was Tinkerbell with fairy dust, ha ha! I don't know if it is some type of algae or what. All I know is that it was incredibly beautiful, and I'm so thankful that we did decide to have that moonlight dip in the Gulf.

And as if that wasn't cool enough, we were surprised to see bats erratically swooping and fluttering around us in the night air! I would never have expected that; I suppose I've always bought into the notion that bats only hang out in caves. They were devouring the very bugs that were trying to eat us, so I have to say that I'm a big fan of bats. And it was extremely cool to watch them in action.

And our adventures don't end there. I had gone back to shore to dry off, as I found myself getting a bit chilly in the water. Matt and Jason remained out in the water, and I tried to be patient while they enjoyed themselves. I was really pretty ready to go home, as it was getting quite late. Anyway, I finally walked to the edge of the water and called them to come in. (I felt quite mom-ish doing that, FYI.) Matt came in first and asked me if I minded him going back out to swim a bit longer. I told him that was fine with me. (Feeling mom-ish again, might I add.) As he splashed back out to join Jason, I heard him say, "You lost your glasses?!"

Jason, like many of us, needs corrective lenses for his vision. Unlike most of us, he opted to wear his glasses into the ocean. Apparently, while they were out there swimming, Jason was telling Matt all about how he doesn't believe in Christianity, or even in God. A few minutes later, he lost his glasses into the ocean. They both came back to shore, and I grabbed my penlight and we all trudged back into the water to search for his spectacles. Now, I didn't think there was a snowball's chance that we'd find them. I mean, it was the ocean, and the high tide was working its way in. To the amazement of all of us, after ten minutes or so of searching, Jason reached out his hands to scour the moving sands of the ocean floor and gripped his glasses! If that's not a sign from God, I don't know what is!

As a side note, Matt also lost his glasses last night, although it was not in the ocean. Somewhere on the beach, some glasses that look like they belong to an independent film producer are abandoned. Ironic, isn't it, that glasses lost in the moving, surging ocean are recovered, but some that are carelessly left on the beach are gone forever?

After a lengthy search for Matt's glasses, we called it a night and headed back home. It was a wonderful way to spend a Saturday.