A Cloudy, Cooler Day!

Ken and I were up by 8 and got ready for another fun day.  It was predicted to be a cooler day with more clouds than sun and rather breezy!!  Still, it appeared to be the best beach day of the next 2 and a good opportunity to ride bike from Avalon to Stone Harbor.

So, we had time to accomplish several things before getting together with the group.  Ken spent time unloading the CRV from yesterday's craft show and finding a place for everything in the basement of Waldo.  I cleaned-up inside and then made us egg sandwiches and bowls of fresh fruit.  After dishes, we got lunches and snacks packed for our trip to the Avalon.  The 6 of us left the CG and headed to the parking lot at the beach in Avalon. We got on our bikes and began the ride to Stone Harbor realizing that the ride there would be so much easier than the ride back.  We would be pedaling into a strong wind when returning - there were gusts up to 20 mph, much more than forecasted.  Fred and Doloris were the smart ones - they headed back at about 65th street and we continued on to the sanctuary at the inlet at the end of Stone Harbor. (119th Street). 

When we arrived there, we were hoping to see lots of monarch butterflies making their annual migration to Mexico.  Unfortunately we were about 3 weeks early and only saw one monarch. (We think he was a "scout" for the rest of the "flock".)  The ride back to the beach was a tough one and all of our knees were happy when we were back to 35th Street!

I wish we had a chance to see all these butterflies when
the head south!

At the sanctuary looking towards South Wildwood!

Don't know what this is (probably a weed), but it looked
pretty!

Riding into the wind on our way back to Avalon.
Love the large bike lanes!

By then we were tired and hungry, so we ate our packed lunches, did some reading, and then put our chairs into the reclining position and rested.  That rest was very short and soon the 4 of us were playing bocce on the harder sand near the water.  What fun!  Of course, the women won both games. These guys are just having their problems out scoring the women.  We seem to be on a roll!!!!

It was windy and cool on the beach and by 4:30 we were back to the CG and ready to shower to get rid of the sand and get warm!  I downloaded photos and worked on the blog while Ken did the dishes and then visited with Fred and Doloris. 

We had leftovers for dinner but the 6 of us ate together on the picnic table at Martins.  After dinner the Gregorys and the Hoslers played a game of ladder golf basically in the dark.  Chuck and Ken won, but because the 6 of us weren't involved, the game doesn't count in our tally of games for the week.  They all came to Waldo and we played Skip-Bo (women won), and then Up the River, which the men won.  They think it is a turning point, but we know better!!!!!  It was just luck!!!!

Everyone left by 10 and we have no big plans for tomorrow - a leisure morning for sure!!!!!  We are all ready for a bit of a slower pace!