From there, I went directly to the Outer Banks of North Carolina for a week of vacation with my family. The main agenda items for me are given in the title to this post. I spent 4 of 5 days on the beach, drinking beer, body-surfing and other water-frolicking, napping and reading books when possible (one day was spent recovering from a sun-burn).
Beach. We (12 of us, comprising both my immediate and extended family) stayed in a guest house in Hatteras which was situated ~5 min from the Atlantic Ocean. It was glorious. The kids (myself included) has a great time splashing in the waves and digging in the sand. Thanks to my sister, Beth, for making the arrangements.
Beer. Throughout the week, I emptied many bottles of Red Hook's Longhammer IPA. This was a perfect beach beer. It's both tasty and refreshing! Of course, there were a few bottles of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (my standard libation) consumed, too.
Books. Although I brought more than I could possibly finish, here are the ones I actually cracked (and in a couple cases, finished): Blink (Malcom Gladwell); Sex, Drugs & Cocoa Puffs (Chuck Klosterman); Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (Robert Pirsig); Killing Yourself to Live (also Chuck Klosterman).
So it's back to reality for me, but at least I enjoyed myself on the Outer Banks!
I was struck by lightening while reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. The last word I remember reading was 'sag'. I have not thought about that in years.
ReplyDeleteHow was Blink? I keep meaning to pick that one up but haven't yet...
ReplyDeleteI only cracked ZMM on the last day of vacation and (sadly) have not returned to it yet. With some long flights ahead of me next week, perhaps there will be some opportunity.
ReplyDeleteBlink is really an interesting and fun read. It's basically about those unconscious elements of human decision-making. We all know those amazing people that seem to shoot from the hip (and get it right?). That's one part of it. The book is hard to put down.