Lisa's Shower

This weekend we went to Ocean Isle Beach, NC for what Lisa thought would be a reunion of her classmates from grad school. It was of course, but it was also a surprise shower for her and another pregnant friend as well. I was so tickled that this group would get together for their friends, especially since they come from all across the country.

Thursday night we ate dinner at Tyler's restaurant in the American Tobacco Historic District and saw a Durham Bulls game, joined by a friend from Duke. We packed that evening and left for the coast early Friday morning.

We were almost last to arrive, but a couple of friends would not allow us to sleep on the pull-out couch, insisting that we sleep in one of the bedrooms. After much catching up among everyone, we headed out to the beach. It was a beautiful day and very sunny. More than a couple of us got sunburn (some worse than others). Having another couple being pregnant and due less than two weeks apart was also great. Walking on the beach together I could so easily relate to another man going through this process in the same stage of it, I imagine Lisa and her friend were doing the same. It was hard to tell though because they walked so slowly that they fell ridiculously far behind us...

While we walked on the beach, a couple of the girls set up the party inside. When we returned, it was rather easy to distract the pregnant women with conversation while everyone showered and the decorations were finalized in the other room (a tiki room in the attic). When the time was right we directed them inside, where they were very surprised by everyone. It was a large group (18), which made it feel like a giant party. There were baby-shaped cookies, sippy cups, and two cakes to eat. Then the girls received their presents from everyone. It was a beautiful time. I hope that we can reciprocate this for everyone else someday.

Saturday started out very windy and overcast. Nevertheless, we brought our chairs and towels back out to the beach with high hopes. The wind, thunder, lightning, and rain convinced us to reconsider our plans for the day. We hurried back inside, which was fine because the facility rented was large enough to allow everyone to hang out together very comfortably. Pictionary made an appearance, but one team clearly showed dominance: once, they completed a picture and won the turn in the time I had drawn a single line. The weather turned around later in the day, but it was too late and too windy to do much more than walk around the beach. The colors in the sky changing with the sunset was awesome. That night we are the best hamburgers either Lisa or I have ever tasted. We played Catch Phrase for a good while, which was a definite highlight for us.

Sunday morning we cleaned out the beachhouse and headed back to the beach one last time. It was another nice day. We played catch with a frisbee and a football, played bocce balls, and walked some more. People departed slowly, not wanting to break the reunion. But all good things must come to an end.

Lisa and I drove home very happy to be able to spend this weekend on the coast with such a great group of friends. It was terrific.