A Lovely Memorial Day With My Family

I'm thankful that someone paid the ultimate price so I could live in freedom.

Our Memorial Day

Remember I said it's our tradition to bring breakfast to the beach on Memorial Day Monday? This morning I asked the gang what they would prefer, egg and cheese biscuit sandwiches (homemade) or donuts. Guess which one we all chose?

So, we made coffee at home, picked up some donuts, and headed to the beach, along with a couple hundred other people. Well, maybe they didn't bring coffee and donuts to the beach, but they were out in force this morning. 

As it turns out, the tide was exceptionally low this morning. Folks from the area poured out of their homes decked in wellies and windbreakers to inspect the tide pools that formed in and around rock formations at the base of the ferry terminal pier.

Because everyone else was busy looking at the sea life down along the rocks, we were able to find a great bench to sit on while sipping our hot coffee and noshing on some yummy donuts. After breakfast, we too went to check out the sea life.

We saw several sea stars, many, many sea anemones, a couple of sea cucumbers, some crabs, and even a couple of tiny fish swimming in pools and a shrimp. 

The tide was so low we could walk under the pier where the cars load onto the ferry.

It was a blustery morning, perfect conditions for sailboats. The clouds parted just enough so we could see the mountains on the Olympic Peninsula.

After a long walk on the beach, we made our way back to the car. 

This town is known for its many beautiful flower pots and baskets that line the sidewalk through town. I need to make a point of coming back mid-summer just to walk the main streets and see all of the gorgeous flowering plants that the people so lovingly care for.

This evening, we'll enjoy a hot dog cookout on the freshly-cleaned patio. On Saturday I got the pressure washer out and three of us took turns cleaning the bricks. I also cleaned the patio furniture and put out the umbrella and some chairs that had overwintered in the garage. We now look like we're ready for a summer full of outdoor fun.

I hope you enjoy these last moments of your Memorial Day weekend! See you tomorrow.  

Any Plans For Memorial Day Weekend?

Is Monday a day off for you? Will you do anything special for Memorial Day? As a homemaker, I work everyday, but I take it slower and easier on Sundays. I especially work on holidays. :) But doing things for friends and family is a labor of love.

As we've had a long string of cold wet weather, I will use this weekend as an opportunity to work in the garden. I still have some veggies, flowers and herbs to plant. So lots of garden work for me.

But there is something special that we'll do on Monday. Since this weekend is the unofficial beginning of summer, we usually go to the beach briefly on Memorial Day morning. We bring a breakfast, dress warmly, and walk along the water's edge. By the time we leave, families are beginning to arrive. It works out great. We have the beach mostly to ourselves, parking is a breeze, and we spend some time outdoors.

Later in the day, late afternoon, I'll get a fire in the fire ring going and we'll have a hot dog cookout -- hot dogs, potato salad, green salad, and a rhubarb gelatin salad. And that's about it for our Memorial Day.

How about you? What do you have planned for this weekend? Is this too early in your area to go to the beach? Or does summer unofficially begin in your area, too?

Wishing you a wonderful weekend. I'll be back on Monday afternoon.