Just another Monday

What a mockery it is to dismiss another beautiful, cloudless, sunny day by the beach as "just another Monday"! And yet such is our transparent privilege!  Naturally - in spite of the sarcasm - I am only too eager to acknowledge the unparalleled entitlement.  We couldn't be more pleased with our decision to frequent Daytona Beach Shores for the season. After seven thoroughly satisfactory years on Hilton Head Island we were hesitant about reassigning our hibernation. Perhaps our exuberance is in good measure a product merely of its novelty though in fairness I have to say there are many features of this environment and our accommodation here which forcibly compete with anything we've previously experienced. I'm willing as well to accede that I never tire of things maritime whether the crashing Ocean, the sound of gulls, formations of pelicans skimming the waves, weathered wooden posts wrapped in braided rope or the nautical names of streets and commercial establishments.  One's own sunburned hands and face are themselves an inspiration! Without being a seafarer the proximity to it all is overwhelming. Perhaps living at sea level is itself a removal of obstruction when connecting with our most profound evolution!

Low tide this morning was at 10:26 am which is a perfect time to attack a day on the beach.

Today Monday, 30th of October of 2017, the sun rose in Daytona Beach Shores (Sunglow Pier) at 7:35 am and sunset will be at 6:39 pm. In the high tide and low tide chart, we can see that the first high tide was at 4:11 am and the next high tide will be at 4:44 pm. The first low tide was at 10:26 am and the next low tide will be at 11:01pm.

We maintain a rather odd and seemingly unpredictable sleeping schedule. It is a product of clean living.  We sleep when we're tired. This morning for example we were sipping coffee in front of our respective computers at 4:00 am.  Granted we both subsequently retired again for several hours thereafter.  Shortly after eight o'clock I arose for the second time, showered and prepared my breakfast which today consisted of orange slices and coffee to start, then salmon, Black Forest ham slices, Dubliner cheese wedges and shards of mini-cucumber.  The smooth open beach beaconed me.  I am a confessed slave to fresh air and cycling, my daily addiction.  Because of the cooler temperature today there were not many on the beach.  Those who dared to venture abroad were characteristically clad in sweaters and hoodies.  The wind was passably refreshing as was evident when - after cycling about 5.5 miles from the condominium - I landed at Ponce Inlet where the surf was crashing against the breaker wall.

Aside from the fact that Ponce Inlet is the end of the road it is a convenient destination for two further reasons: 1) it is about as far as I reasonably wish to go; and 2) it is an opportunity to void my bladder at the nearby rest rooms. I decided to cycle back on the sidewalks on S Atlantic Avenue which skirts the coast.  The travel is moderately more fluid than on the beach and somewhat sheltered from the prevailing winds.

On a splendid day such as today the coastal residences are shown to advantage.  None of the homes is extraordinarily grand but I imagine most of them overlooking the Ocean exceed US$1M in cost.

The return cycle from Ponce Inlet through Wilbur-by-the-Sea to Daytona Beach Shores is uniquely pleasant. There is only one section in Ponce Inlet that is four lanes wide (and that ostensibly for aesthetic reasons, not to accommodate traffic).  It is tranquil passage from Ponce Inlet to the condominium which is located just inside the city limit of Daytona Beach Shores.

One's agenda in these circumstances tends to be rather limited. The only thing on my mind after parking my bicycle was a cup of coffee.  I was initially deterred in this undertaking by the suggestion to visit the fitness room to try the device which rotates my carcass upside down to elongate my spine.  It worked.  But not without a repercussion of dizziness approaching nausea.  I may investigate further on another occasion but for now hanging by my heels upside down is not my preference.

I have yet to fully adjust to this lethargic vernacular. We continue to communicate with our very capable estate agent and concierge regarding minor issues with the maintenace of the condominium.  But otherwise our focus is strictly personal and self-fulfilling.  We have at least accomplished the unpacking of our things and the positioning of them for daily use.  I believe we know where everything is in the kitchen.  I still must connnect with a dentist.  But that can wait for another day! For now I am content to pop into the lounge to play the grand piano.