Surprise! I didn't expect to get to the beach today. We drove to the airport to pick up our houseguests, dear friends just arriving on a nine hour flight from Paris. We expected them to be tired, to want to go straight to our villa and rest, but instead, they surprised us by asking to be taken straight to the beach! Fortunately, we had packed our bathing suits in the trunk. A quick change in the car, and here we were, afternoon light under low, heavy clouds with a warm breeze, and these cheerful, relaxing palms above our heads. 

And so, this beach is where I walked today, to the edge of our beach, over some rocks, onto a thin dirt trail and beyond, onto a nature trail running from small beach to small beach. . . a nude beach. . . I could have walked beach after beach until dark, but I didn't want to be rude to our guests, and so I, reluctantly, turned around and plan to return another day soon.

All day I carried in my spirit the pleasant hum of creative excitement after deciding, yesterday, to commit to my book. Letting it begin to shape and form itself in my imagination, and calling me, calling me, after this weekend, back into file to put these thoughts into words on paper.