down by the ocean

In July, Angel's family went to Asbury Park to do the Volkksport walk. While there, she picked up a flier for a 5K benefiting the Jersey Shore Arts Center. She emailed me to see if I wanted to do it. I said yes.

The 5K was today. But the walk was only 2 miles. The race began and ended at the old high school, built in 1897. The building was amazing—you should have seen the stairway and the theatre. We must have spent 15 minutes exploring. The classrooms had a pulpit, for lack of a better word, for the teacher to stand in.

The run began before the walk.The closer we got to the ocean, the more elaborate some of the house were. The one above, stopped me in my tracks. (I would not want to paint this baby.) The run had about a mile on the boardwalk. We actually left the course to go look at the ocean.

After the race we drove/walked to the ocean. The tween wanted to put her swimsuit on so we walked to the changing rooms on the boardwalk. While Angel set up a study area on a bench. We walked back on the beach.

They had "No Lifeguard On Duty" signs up because it was after the season. So being the mean friend I am, I only let the tween go in waist deep. No matter how much she begged. And she did. She had a blast. Even the lure of lunch wasn't enough to get her out of the water. I ended up wet—several times—up to my crotch.

It was a fun day. Makes me remember why I like the beach, though I rarely go. Maybe some day I'll buy one of those half-million dollar houses and move there. Or not.