O Captain! My Captain!

I feel I must take a break from attempting to be witty and informative for a moment.  My father passed away a few weeks ago and I would like to dedicate this post to him.

This really has nothing to do with the beach.  My father was 100% Irish and, therefore, was not a sun-loving man.  He would take us on vacations to Ocean City, MD, where he would sit on a shady balcony, or in the air conditioned comfort of a rented oceanfront condo.  My father never had the chance to visit my beach house or see the happiness that it brings to me and my family.

I had the honor of writing and presenting the eulogy at his funeral and I was grateful that he made that such an easy task for me.  My father was a kind, generous, and loving person who always made those around him smile.


William H. Creegan
April 6, 1943 - January 31, 2015


Although my Dad was very ill for the last several years of his life, I never expected that I would miss him this much after he was gone.  I feel like a part of me is missing and always will be.

Saying good-bye to my father was the hardest thing I've ever had to do, but I'm glad that I had the chance to do it.  We shared a great love and were at peace with each other.  When I last saw him, a few hours before he passed, we both said "I love you".  And, in the end, that's really all that matters.

"O Captain!  My Captain!  Our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won,..."
Walt Whitman

O

 

 



Stay Home

I always say how much I love the beach in the off-season.  For the first time ever, I have to admit that it's a bit creepy down here after it's been hit by a snow blizzard and record low temps.

We rolled in to town at around 1:00 this morning.  It was 2 degrees and there were piles of snow lining coastal highway.  We could tell right away that they definitely got hit harder by the storm on Tuesday than we did up North.

Needless to say, we had to shovel our driveway in order to get in to our house. Where do we keep the key to the shed that holds our snow shovels?  In the house!

My wonderful husband shoveled until 1:45 this morning to clear our driveway  and deck so that we could unload our car.  Then, we had to hop in to bed with a few extra layers of clothing to keep warm since we keep the thermostat set at 55 degrees when we're not here (heat pumps don't do well in sub-freezing temps) and it takes forever to warm the house up.


Awww Yeah. 

There's not much open down here right now.  Today, we ventured to Roses Discount Store to look for a cheap door mat.  I didn't find one, but I did see some "designer" fragrance for $3.  Hilarious!

After buying cheap candy and wiper-washer fluid at Roses, we ventured down to the inlet to see if the beach was covered in snow.  It was!  It was so hauntingly beautiful.




Chilly boards and snowy rides



Snow-covered OC inlet

 
There's some more snow and some freezing rain predicted for this evening.  We're going to look for an open restaurant for dinner, then snuggle up with some Netflix.  I just heard that North Wilmington is expecting at least 8 inches of snow tonight, so it looks like we'll be doing some more shoveling when we roll back in to town tomorrow!  Stay home, stay warm, and stay safe!