The Beach - Day 2

Bee Gees Song of the Day: Alone

I could hear you breathing
With a sigh of the wind
I remember how your body started trembling
Oh, what a night it's been
And for the state I'm in
I'm still alone

Day two was a little more non-descript. My body was still on work time and I woke up at 5:00 am. It was dark out, a quiet reminder that summer is almost at an end and that I should enjoy it now. I walked Buddy. He hated the water and the waves; they made him very nervous. He stayed with the dried up sea-fodder that had washed up on the beach and nosed around in that.

I kept trying to get into the book I had brought with me; "Wicked". Well written, but I wasn't feeling the love. After a morning on the beach, Meg and I had lunch with the Adam and the kids at their house. They made hot dogs and bratwursts, all washed down with beer. Naps for all.

Things got more interesting in the evening. Kathryn's beach house became Irish Car Bomb Central just prior to dinner. I'm not a fan of the car bomb. The Baileys curdles and it's an effing big glass o' beer. And somehow, whenever I consume one I never get tipsy, I just get a belly ache. Colleen, on the other hand, is Northern Virginia's Irish Car Bomb Chugging Amateur Champion and her always gregarious demeanor expands still more after a competition. She is the queen. But as happens with champs, young upstarts are forever swaggering into town, aiming to shove you off of your throne, attempting to claim the title.

Tommy had been practicing.

The boys lined up; Adam, Tom, Bill, and Chris all stood toe to toe with Colleen at the counter. Guinness was poured, shot glasses were at the ready. 1, 2, 3 – BAM. Colleen's glass hit the counter. The champ retained the belt. Tommy came in a respectable second.

The women in the room were encouraged to take the champ on; surely she couldn't win twice in a row. Crap. OK, Guinness was poured, shot glasses were at the ready. 1, 2, 3 – BAM. Colleen's glass hit the counter. The champ retained the belt. I came in a respectable second.

With a belly ache as my friend for the rest of the night.

Kathryn attempted to soothe the pain later in the evening by concocting a lemon drop for me with the ingredients at hand. I tried to be game, I really did. The shot went down fine, but the monster in my gut assimilated it and it became one with the belly ache.

After dinner, we all decided it was time to play games. Guesstures, Cranium, Pictionary, Scene It!, were our choices. The play of the night came early during Guesstures when one team member, who I will not identify here, (but it was NOT me!) attempting to extract the word "Bovine" from the team, in a strange and horrible para-onanistic act, simulated a cow being milked.

Pictures were taken. It was not pretty.