The Essential Beachcomber

I was out on the beach at 7:30 am Sunday to see what Irene had left behind Hurricane Irene finally blew past the coast of  Wilmington, NC early Saturday morning.  I laid in my bed with the blinds wide open watching the pine trees bend & sway back & forth. I was following the storm on the local news channel's Twitter feed till the Internet succumbed to the storm. The following morning brought lots of wind & rain from the backside of the storm.  The power was still out so I spent the morning drinking Diet Dr. Pepper for some caffeine (note to self - buy Starbuck's for the next hurricane) & listening to my bil & my nephew play gin rummy at the kitchen table.  I was very tempted to head to the beach but I suspected the bridge was probably closed so I kept my self entertained with the impromptu casino in the kitchen, playing Words With Friends with my sil till my phone battery went to 18%, and eating all the Popsicles that were starting to thaw ...