Mist and Shadow, Cloud and Shade

Taylor and I stopped in Nashville overnight on the long drive back home, and upon returning I did my own thing for a couple days, trying to reacclimate to day-to-day life.  It's always hard, coming back from the beach.

I've had a few lovely after-dinner walks since coming back.  The sun is setting earlier and earlier now that Fall is approaching, making for some quite beautiful sunset views, and I passed a worksite with some manner of debris that looks like the escape pod that R2 and 3PO ride to Tatooine in A New Hope!

And as soon as I was getting back into the work flow, I had somebody cover one of my shifts so Mom and I could go get our tattoos!  We were planning on getting them in Florida, like how we did it last time, but we just didn't have enough time with the whole family being there and everything.  No worries, though, I did a little research and found a well-regarded tattoo shop here in St. Louis that welcomed walk-ins.

Mom got her compass rose needle on her wrist and I got my Lord of the Rings quote on my inner forearm!  I knew I wanted a Lord of the Rings quote for my third tattoo but it took me a while to pick one.  I wrote down several but always came back to this one line.  It's part of a song the Hobbits sing in the first book, but it becomes part of Pippin's song in the third movie.  I love how it's really image-driven, while also being about time.  To me it also fits well with my two other tattoos: line drawings of a wave and a couple plant sprigs with petals floating upwards.  Anyway, it is now all healed and I love it!

I've also done a bit of baking over the last couple weeks.  Taylor came over for a movie night and we decided a few homemade cookies would be a lovely treat in the middle of a movie viewing, so we made some delicious chocolate chip cookies before starting Amélie (2001), a quirky French love story that was up for several Oscars the year it came out.  Neither of us had seen it yet, and while it was a little strange, we both enjoyed it.

Now, when I was buying all the necessary items to make the cookies, I happened to be at Target.  And funny thing about Target's grocery section, they only offer eggs by the dozen.  So, after the one we used to make cookies, I had eleven more to use up in other ways.  I made a number of egg sandwiches for dinners, and had another round of baking!  This time I made pumpkin muffins.  I know it's a little early for Fall pumpkin items, but they just sounded so good!  And that they were.

(photos by e.hunt, and collected from blog.moviemaps)

A Wave of Happiness

The last couple beach days were lovely and relaxing.  We saw a double rainbow, although I didn't actually notice the second one until I was looking at the pictures later.  We enjoyed the calmer, cooler ocean water, and finished up the last of the beachy beverages.

We had a little wildlife action on the last day, starting with this crane duo.  They just stood there, occasionally picking up their long legs and very precisely walking to a new spot.  They stayed in the Root Beer remnants most of the day.

While sitting under the umbrella, just enjoying the salty air, Dad and I saw a little lizard guy fall from the umbrella to the sand and then scurry over to hide under our chairs.  The weird animal sightings seem to follow us everywhere.

We stayed down at the beach pretty late that last evening before meeting up at the house for family pictures.  Beach family pictures are the best, and it was a great way to wrap up a great vacation.  Thanks, Mom and Dad, for another epic Hunt Family vacation!!

(photos by e.hunt)

Summer Is Here and Here Is Summer

The next morning we ventured out once again, this time to Rosemary Beach.  I wanted to explore the European-like streets and alleyways, and Mom wanted to check out a few of the shops so we got there and, of course, got coffee first.

We sat outside, enjoying our lattes and breakfast treats when I noticed their sign board was Game of Thrones themed!  Coffee is here, indeed.

We parted ways and I wandered down across 30A to the oceanside part of town.

What a beautiful little town.  Like Seaside, Rosemary is a planned community, where all the houses follow a set of rules and style outlines so they all fit together and it looks amazing.  It simultaneously feels like you're walking through an ancient Spanish-Italian town and a really well-done movie set.  It's all in the details.

I saw several cute little doorway entrances, lots of flora and fauna, and quite a bit of construction, actually.  Being founded in 1995, I guess a lot of the homes need updates now and then.  Not to mention the wear and tear that vacationers (and the Florida weather) put on the properties.

One of my favorite houses was this beige colored one with a sunken doorway.  Want to guess why?  It reminded me of a Hobbit hole door!

I had so much fun walking around, although there wasn't a lot of breeze up beyond the boardwalk, so it made for a hot and sweaty morning.  Oh well, I got some great pictures so it was worth it!  I ran into Taylor when I was about finished with my loop so we wandered around a bit before heading back to meet up with everyone else.

(photos by e.hunt) 

Nuptial Events

The next day was wedding dress day!  Juliana's mom arrived the night before and since they aren't together too often, they wanted to check out a dress shop in Panama City.  Mom and I were invited to join in the outing, so we woke up and hopped in the car to make it to the appointment.

I have never been a part of wedding dress shopping before so it was kindof fun to see what it's like.  On the way there Juliana showed us a few dresses that she liked for inspiration and we talked about the overall style that she wanted.  It really helped when we were going through the racks so I could pull one out and be able to tell if it was something that she would like or not.  After gathering several options, we moved back towards the fitting rooms where there was a couch and a few chairs for guests to sit on and view the dresses once they were on.

It was a fun day, and Juliana found a dress!!  We stopped by The Donut Hole on the way back for a little lunch and then went out to join the boys on the beach.  The water was a little brown, but once you made it past that first section, it was quite lovely and refreshing.  I even made a friend while I was out there!

(photos by e.hunt, and g.hunt)

Contact Survivor

We got back and went right out to the beach.  The waves were pretty rough that day.  So rough that even my fancy new goggles couldn't stop one of my contacts from falling out.  Luckily, I caught it and was able to make it ashore without losing it.

After dousing it in fresh water, Mom held up the phone camera so I could put it back in.  I guess it's a good thing I have had fifteen or so years of practice putting them in because it was tough out in the elements!  It took a few minutes for it to settle back in my eye but before long I was back to enjoying (and seeing!) the beach.

I got some good shots of Dad that day.

That last one, Farmer Beach Man, takes the prize, no?  After hauling everything back up, which wasn't so bad now that the Root Beer River wasn't as deep, we started getting ready for dinner.  Dad made an awesome selection of shrimp, risotto, and veggies.  Mmmmmmm.

(photos by e.hunt)