Hi bloggies.
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You’re going to have to forgive me. Has it really been an entire week since I’ve logged into love, allison? Seven whole days since I’ve given you a nugget to read?
Yes.
Yes, it has.
(Also, nugget is a gross sounding word.)
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Last weekend, my friends Jenn and Katie and I drove two hours each (they from the North, I from the South), for a short reunion and to spend a day on the Chesapeake Bay and two nights chatting.
Oh yes, it was as envious as it sounds.
Be jealous.
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But before I tell you about the hilarity of our boating trip, I must make you even greener with envy: we visited the Farmers Market on Saturday morning first. It’s literally one of the best things to do Spring through Fall. Remember it?
Yes you do.
Now you’re jealous, aren’t you?
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And while at said Farmer’s Market, we accumulated a combined smorgasbord of one loaf of honey wheat bread, one loaf of cinnamon bread, one bunch of fresh basil, one pint of homegrown blackberries, one bouquet of flowers, two muffins, and three cookies, and spent less than twenty-five bucks!!). Impressive, huh?
Yes, we also ate far too many samples.
Kind of makes me queasy.
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After goods were acquired, folk music was enjoyed, and conversations with strangers had, we headed back to become bathing and fishing beauties on the family boat, Two if by Sea.
Yes, it totally sounds pretentious.
Believe me, it’s not.
Really.
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We made lunches, packed a cooler, readied our swimsuits, beach bags, and sunglasses, and hit the water. In a just few hours time, Jenn and Katie became professional boaters and fishers and tanners.
Yes, tanners.
Just wait.
It’s worth it.
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Jenn’s goals for the the day were: 1. to catch the best fish and 2. to somehow make her multi-faceted tan lines disappear. Here’s a little back story for you. Going into the weekend, Jenn had three tan lines.
Yes, three.
I know, it’s impressive.
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The first was a tank top tan line, attributed to time spent outside doing something. My details are fuzzy on this one. Sorry. Tan lines number two and three (farmer’s tan from a tee-shirt and a capri pants tan resulting in white legs with tan feet and ankles) can be attributed to the fact that Jenn’s man-friend W. forgot to tell her that a surprise concert he was taking her to was outside. All day.
Yes, she spent all day outside
In a tee-shirt and capri pants.
Which would’ve been just fine.
Except for the pesky sun.
Which gave her capri pant tan lines.
Still my favorite.
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The results of Jenn’s goals at the end of our day? This little sharky-shark, which scared the crazies out of us as it flopped around chomping it’s teeth in the bottom of the boat, and an accidental white patch of untanned skin (and by untanned, I mean white) just below her right shoulder. We’re still not sure how it happened since she decided to fry all day without an ounce of sunscreen, but it now makes for a fourth, and very funny, tan line.
Yes, she wanted to kiss it.
I think it liked it.
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Once Jenn threw down the gauntlet in shark-catching, Katie decided to one-up her by landing this guy:
Yes, she made sure his mouth was bloody.
To make him look fierce.
Like a mini-Jaws.
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Then Katie kicked Jenn’s fishing butt by reeling in this brown fish with ugly eyes that sit entirely on one side of its body, to which she immediately exclaimed “what IS that thing?”
Yes, it’s a flounder.
A too-small-to-keep flounder.
Unfortunate.
But doesn’t she look giddy?
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This was Katie’s first official day of vacation. School had let out the day before, so she could’ve caught a rock and gotten less sun and she still would’ve been happy as a clam.
Couldn’t resist.
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The “highlight” of our day on the Bay may have been tying up near some other boats, and jumping in for a quick swim before eating our lunches while middle-aged guys on the boat closest to us put up a pirate flag. We laughed at the stupidity of their need to wave it in the wind while anchored until we realized the text under the skull and crossbones read “Surrender Your Booty.”
Um. no.
Pretty sure all of the other boats around weren’t having it either.
We left.
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The girls and I came home and I got to introduce them to Virginia seafood at Crab Shack on the James, outdoor shopping at City Center, and homemade pie (keylime for Katie and I, raspberry for Jenn) at Jamestown Pie Company. It was as if we were staging a “Mocha Club” reunion, minus Molly and Erin, and on Saturday instead of 8 o’clock on a Wednesday night. Oh, and two hours south of our beloved Starbucks. We stayed much too late, ate way too much, and had far too much fun.
Yes, my heart was full.
Even better? I think we’re planning another reunion.
In August.
When Molly’s back from camp.
Hooray!
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A few short hours later, after hard, hard sleep, we hugged, waved goodbye, and promised to see each other soon, before driving off into the haze of humidity. They, heading North. Me, heading South.
Friends, you should totally reunion-ize yourselves this summer. Call up (or text, or email, or Facebook, or tweet) a few friends you haven’t seen in a while, meet in the middle, and plan a few fun things to do. Chances are, they won’t care what you do, as long as you get to hang out, laugh, and eat lots of pie. My recommendation? Lemon Meringue. I think it’s my fave this season.
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love, allison
love, allison 