Under the Pier and Other Excursions

Lots of lounging seagulls on the beach all weekend long

Spent a long weekend at Surfside Beach, SC, with some friends, which was just the thing to recharge the old batteries—never mind that, right now, I'm about to fall over and gong my head on my desk. There was plenty of caching, of course, but since my friends are not fellow geocachers, I kept the caching activity relatively low-key (fortunately, they are a reasonably sporting bunch). Out of necessity, we kept the trip quite economical, but we still managed to eat very well, drank a bit, played games, and got in plenty of long walks on the beach (as well as some splashing about). Last evening, a late-night walk led us to a very cool and somewhat creepy setting under the pier in Surfside, providing all kinds of inspiration for a new short story, which I have in mind for an aquatic-themed anthology. In fact, will be starting work on the tale tomorrow, I think. Almost wish I'd had my camera with me at the time, though undoubtedly, nighttime photography would not have done the setting justice.

It was a great trip for people watching. As a bit of preface, back in 1985, when staying at Myrtle Beach with my family, my brother and I were forever bemused by this ugly kid with a buzzing, gravelly voice who would never stop talking. He always wore too-large swim trunks covered in garishly colored, even psychedelic, geometric patterns. Thus, Phred and I began referring to him as The Voice With the Multi-Planar Shorts. While I was on the beach yesterday, I experienced a similar phenomenon; in fact, I would swear I was witnessing a much older incarnation of the same chap. His shorts weren't exactly multi-planar, but he sure had The Voice, and he appeared absolutely determined to have his say to anyone who would listen. Apparently, there were those who would.

Discovered a game called Rummikub, which I found enjoyable, despite some early misgivings (it involves the mathematics). To play, you must engage a few brain cells, which I accomplished by plugging my toe into an electrical outlet; once the juice got flowing, it all worked out nicely. Also got in a bit of Lasso (a.k.a. Redneck) Golf on the beach. A hootin' good time.

Perhaps above all things, I found that Zing Zang ("Not Just Another Bloody Mary Mix") is killer stuff when mixed with Corona beer, lime juice, and hot peppers. It won't replace the martini as my traditional favorite, but it's dynamite for the occasional refreshing explosion.

Click the pics to enlarge.

On the trip down: Caching in Seagrove, NC

The guardian at "The Great Norman Bank Robbery"
cache, Norman, NC

Not sure what was happening here, but it was all quite impassioned.
Get multi-planar, dude.

Old fellow resting after a long hike on the beach after some caches