Life's a beach...

I know this blog has been "hip centric" for the past two months... it is two months today since "the cut."  It hasn't been my full time job during this time, it has been my life.  As I progress, I hope it will become less about the new hip and more about enjoying daily life.

I was up and at it this morning.  Got my walk, bike ride, and exercising in early.  I even managed to do one of my chores this morning before getting in the shower: bug exterminator.  I take care of our pest control at the house, and made a lap around the exterior plus sprayed in our underneath storage area.  We haven't been seeing any critters, and I like to keep it that way.

Out of the shower and looking like a real person, I got an invite from the Blonde: "How would you like to go out for breakfast this morning?"  I'm in.

Across the causeway and a nice big booth for the two of us at Pier 19.  Good food, nice views of the water, and a couple dolphin sightings.  When we were done, Joan asked if I wanted to go check out the beach... we haven't been to the beach in a couple months.  She renewed our park pass, and we drove into Isla Blanca County Park.

We had looked at the construction being done in the park from the water before we put our boat away... goodness, that was last January.  Construction is still underway - the Event Center is still under construction, and one of the beach pavilions has a ways to go...

But, towards the other side of the beach park, the construction is mostly done.  I liked the way the park was before the construction, and wasn't sure about the planned changes (knocking down two large beach pavilions and building two new ones further in from the beach).  I have to eat my words: the changes here are going to make this beach area world class!  The northern pavilion is looking great...

Parking has more than doubled...

And, yes, there are even a couple parking spots where you can sit in your vehicle and enjoy a view of the beach.  But, the best addition: a beautiful boardwalk along the beach.  We got out of the car and walked around.  There are large umbrellas lining the walk.  I had to tell Joan to come out of the shade for a photo...

Not sure what that move was all about, but it isn't often I can catch her dancing.  More views of the boardwalk, right along the beach...

Obligatory selfie...

A walk about for us...

A walk up to the new beach pavilion...

Beach vendors in the pavilion...

Under the shade of the roof of the pavilion, picnic tables galore...

We checked out the new bathrooms (nice), and I saw Mothra on an exterior wall...

A walkway from the pavilion, down to the beach, where you can see several of the new rinse off stations...

Really nice to get the salt and sand off.  There used to be two of these (one at each pavilion), now there are plenty, scattered all along the new boardwalk.  A very welcome addition.

Looking back at the pavilion...

More picnic areas under umbrellas (above), and just some of the parking (below)...

When completed, this is going to be very nice.  And so it should be.  The entrance fee for the park has gone up substantially over the past few years... our annual renewal was $100.  Good to see that those fees are being used to make the park better.  I will look forward to coming back here more often - if we don't want to walk the beach, there is still plenty of good walking along the wide boardwalk, and still have a great view of the beach and Gulf of Mexico.