Tuesday, January 13, 2015

A Typical Morning Walk

 I'd like to say this part, the sunrise, is typical. 
It's not.
It's been pretty cloudy here.
This is where I put my shoes on before we walk.
I also see how we should dress.
This sunrise was last week one day
Most days since about Christmas have been cloudy though.
Morning glory, I tell you.
 We head out to the beach
 We stop, look, thank God,
and take a couple pictures.
 My 10 year old and I
 Now the pictures from now on are from yesterday.
Yesterday was cloudy and foggy, so no sunrise to be seen
But I tell you, every single day there is something different to see.
The tide washes up new things to see
The tide also cleans the beach, the sand is fresh and ready
for morning walkers to enjoy
 Yesterday brought starfish.
A ton of starfish.
Made us kind of sad.
(when the jellyfish are washed up we, for some reason are not as sad)
The starfish were all dead.
Last week we found a few, but one was alive and we threw it back.
 They were everywhere.
The amazing thing is how God works and
how that probably this morning, they will be gone, washed away
or covered with new sand brought in by the tide
 Here we are...no make up or anything, I just get up and go.
It's been pretty cold...in the upper 30's in the mornings.
 Wasn't this a cool starfish?
Poor thing.
 This old bird greets us at the jetty.
What's a jetty?
It's this thing, at the end of the beach.
jet·ty
ˈjedē/
noun
noun: jetty; plural noun: jetties
  1. a landing stage or small pier at which boats can dock or be moored.
    synonyms:pier, landing stage, landing, quay, wharf, dock;
    "we'd walk out on the jetty at low tide to look for starfish"

 The Jetty is a mile and a half from our condo
We usually walk to it, look around and come back
3 miles each morning.


 Yesterday, we decided to walk to the end and see the giant oil rig
that was being brought in for repairs.
 The Jetty is not like a normal dock with smooth walking.
It's a bunch of giant rocks...granite? 
 Hello little birdie!
Hello big birdie!

 Sometimes there are huge holes and you can hear and see the water underneath
coming and going with the waves.
 There were a couple patches of black, slimey, slippery stuff
We were very careful.
I don't know how long it is, 1/2 mile?  Mile?
 We made it almost to the end, and you can see (kind of)
from here to the end is the black slimey stuff...
So this is as far as we got.
To the "Almost end".
Can  you see the oil rig?
They've got tug boats pulling it in.
isn't it amazing?
Gosh, even more amazing to see in person.

 We were here!
Gotta take a selfie!!
 There's our building!
The tall one, with fog around the top!
 Time to head back
This kind of shows the distance...see the beach in the background?
 We found this 6 legged starfish on our way back
 By the time we got back, the rig was being brought in even closer
See that guy there?
He's wearing a MN Gopher jacket, you bet we talked to him!
He ended up being from a town right by us!
We also met an older couple from our home town!
They love the Ringsmuth Riders--our unicycling girls!
Small world.
 Look how big that oil rig is!!
The people look so tiny!
 There it goes to the port...
Hello Minnesota guy!!
Time for breakfast!

Thank you for walking with us!
Have a great day!

29 comments:

  1. I love watching your habits this Winter verses the difficulties of snow, snow, snow last winter...makes me so happy!

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    1. I'm loving not having those difficulties of SNOW!!

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  2. Thanks for the walk with you! So many neat and unique things to see compared to Minnesota. That oil rig was huge!

    I would want to bring every little star fish home!

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    1. We did bring one home the other day, it stunk like crazy (because it had just died) so it's on the patio drying out....I heard we can put in some bleach water and it will take away the smell.

      I wish we could have saved all the starfish. (as in saved their lives)

      I wonder if someone went to visit MN in the summer, if they'd have as many new things to see...I think they would, right?

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  3. Wow, that walk looks both exhausting and exhilarating! :-) You really walk far, but at the same time, with views like that, I can see how you want to keep going to see what's ahead!

    I do not like dead fish, but I have to admit that starfish are not so gross when they're dead. As you say, they're beautiful. Yes, it's sad that they end up dying. :-(

    Be thankful you are out there even if it's foggy and cool--I am here in -13 below weather again (at least, that's what my car thermometer says.) My friend from AZ says that this is the best time of the year for them right now--the weather is still very warm (70s to 80s) but not too hot! They love this time of year! Been thinking that our next vacation (we take ours in the winter so it's not as expensive) should be to go out to AZ! Wouldn't that be fun??? Enjoy the rest of your vacation!

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    1. It's really hard to come home when we are walking...but we are doing school down here, so we have to get back.

      We did see a dead puffer fish one day washed up on the beach...it was kind of cool...

      I would totally love if you came to visit...I think Arizona is expensive in the winter though, that is why we chose Texas over Arizona this year....Texas was 1/3 the price!!

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  4. Amazing Jamie Jo!!
    Thank you for sharing your walk with us.
    I must say, I'm having a bit of a time adjusting to reading your posts this winter!
    I'm so used to Minnesota Jamie!
    But I'm loving it!
    Enjoy!

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    1. OH, gosh....I'll turn into Arizona Jamie this summer!! Might have to change my blog name, huh?

      I think of you a lot because I know you go to the beach when it's cooler and empty...it's like that here now...you'd love it! I love it when it's quiet like this!

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  5. Great post and pictures! I've only been to Galveston Island and the beach is not as pretty as this is. I think we may need to take a trip down there! (But not during Spring Break-it's crazy then.)

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    1. Oh, gosh, I've heard spring break is terrible...we will be gone by then! If you come before Feb 26th let me know!! We'd have to meet!!

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  6. Love your morning walking routine! You really do walk far.
    Thanks for taking us along.

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    1. I am really going to miss our morning routine...it's so fun, makes it not seem like a workout at all!!

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  7. I love a beach walk in any weather! Thanks! So many fascinating things to look at.

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    1. OH, me too Mary!! My daughter and I are the only ones out of 8 people that love it though!! NO one else wants to get up early!

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  8. What a walk! How interesting! I bet you are going to really miss it.

    The oil rig? We saw them on our cruise ship, but that one was SO close to y'all. How interesting. Did the boys like it?

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    1. OH, gosh, I am going to miss it so much!! Our half way point is Thursday....6 weeks left after that!

      The boys do not get up early and go to the beach. Nor does anyone else..only us two. I don't get it. They are missing out! The boys got to see it though, on their way to Harlingen, it was ported in Port Isabel....they talked about it when they got back!

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  9. "Thank you for walking with us," says Jamie. ARE YOU KIDDING?!!! Thank YOU for taking us along!!!!! This was truly refreshing... you are living my own seaside dream. Your photos are wonderful - please will you take us with you everywhere you go :) ?

    I cannot imagine seeing that many starfish, all in one place.

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    1. OH, Nancy, you are so funny!! It is a dream...really it is. I love it here. Once in a lifetime thing, I tell you, full of blessings...blessings of so many new things.

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  10. I would LOVE to go on this walk with you--for real, though, and without my boots & parka.

    We're going to read this together, my girls and I, and pretend that we're down south with you. Meanwhile, they'll learn a new vocabulary word!

    (Going off to ask them what a "jetty" is. I know their response already: Huh?)

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    1. I wish you could come walk with us too...no boots, no parka.

      Did you say Jedi?
      That is exactly what my kids said...Huh?

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  11. Love all the pictures, looks like a neat place.

    I didn't realize jetty was a term used in the south. Ive heard it my whole life.

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    1. Oh!! It's a southern term? Or I wonder if it's a coastal term....I love knowing what it is now though, because until the other day we were saying, "We're walking down to that thing" hahahah!!

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  12. How cool that you get to spend the winter there on the beach! Lovely. Hope everything goes well with your move to AZ! Have a great week!

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    1. It is a blessing being here. Even though it's cooler than we thought. Tom told me he wants to go home and get our home ready and move as soon as we can...Things are going to happen fast I think!

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  13. This made my morning, Jamie! I so enjoyed our walk together. Could it be that I actually felt like I was right there?! Or maybe I just really wish I was right there with you. Beautiful photos and enjoyable every step of the way. I would really like those morning walks taking in the scenes that we normally wouldn't find around here. Of course, enjoying the quiet time, a good workout and time with one of my kids would be priceless.

    Thank you for taking us on your walk with you. I sure do miss you. Somehow just knowing you aren't an hour away makes me more sad. Promise that when you are back and before you leave again, we get together. Like several times. And I think a going away blogger party is in order as well. Don't you?

    Hugs, my sweet friend.

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    1. OH, you described our walk perfectly. Yes walking with Clare is so very special. Sometimes she wants to pray a rosary, sometimes we just talk, part of the way we stop and look for sand dollars...and cool shells, we always always see something unique every single day. It is a very special time that's for sure. I'm going to miss it a ton when we go back home. Hmmmmm....walking on the icy, hilly roads....doesn't sound that fun...but maybe it will be in the spring!

      Yes!!! Of course we can get together SEVERAL times....still gotta do the hot cocoa/cookie thing right? And a blogger party my house!!!

      ((((hugs)))) right back!

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    2. I would love to have a blogger party! Sarah...let's plan one before she moves to AZ....waaaaaaaaaa...makes me said too...but happy for her family...waaaaaaaaaa!

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  14. I'd love to go on your morning walk with you! Except I'd get to the end of the steps by your building and the pain in my leg would prevent me from taking another step, but at least I could sit and wait for you to come back and tell me what you saw! I'd be like a patient dog waiting for its master. :-)

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Thank you so much for stopping and commenting!