Anna and I finally made it to the beach today after talking about it all summer. We went to our favorite Watch Hill, RI beach, where you have to park in town and then hike your stuff in- a little more effort but the quieter beach scene is worth it. It was a lovely day, mostly sunny and in the low 80s, but summer is definitely on the wane.
I have been busy getting ready for another semester of teaching, plus setting up my new office, so I was a slacker when it came to the picnic. Anna let me off easy and I was only responsible for the tea, while she, as usual, provided a fabulous spread. We take our beach picnics very seriously. The seagulls were especially impressed with the anchovy spread she'd made for our sandwiches. It was the second time in a row I've had anchovies for lunch. This is not a complaint. Yesterday I had lunch with my neighbor, Rebecca, who lives across the beaver pond. Along with a minestrone soup and homemade bread, she'd made a salad featuring anchovies. Will there be more anchovies tomorrow? Vamos a ver.
The waves were the biggest I've ever seen at Watch Hill and we only went in the water once, and that was after thinking about it for a while, which is unusual. I had been looking forward to swimming in the ocean but today was a little more than I'd bargained for. The waves were almost like the kind you see in Hawaii or Puerto Rico. We did go in during a lull in the action. I swam a bit and didn't get tumbled even once.
We ended the day with Rhode Island clam chowder and a shared order of clam cakes at Sea Swirl in Mystic. I want to type Sea Squirrel because Anna called it that for years when she was little. A feral cat visited us (sort of) at our picnic table but didn't come in close enough for us to catch and bring home- probably a good thing.
