At The Marina

On Saturday afternoon, the sun was shining brightly and I decided to head over to the marina to read. I sat quietly by the water with my book and my binoculars and enjoyed the warm sun, half reading, and half people watching. I spotted a bald eagle off in the distance and pointed it out to a fellow bird watcher. She had been sitting, enjoying her coffee and snack while searching the shores of the island across the way for any winter ducks that may not have left yet. She told me that the eagle can be seen around that time most days, before it heads back to its nest inland.

I then watched a Natural Resources officer as he arrived to check everyone’s fishing license. One poor gentleman got written up. I watched as he tried to make friends with the officer. He smiled and laughed, hunching his shoulders and stating that he didn’t speak English with a very thick accent. It didn’t work. He got a ticket. But the ordeal gave many other fishermen enough time to pack up and leave. Perhaps the old man was a decoy.

While all this was going on, I neglected to notice that someone had arrived and parked their truck right next to my van. This makes it impossible to for me to lower my ramp, so I am essentially trapped until that person leaves.

Normally this would have irritated me beyond belief.  But it was such a gorgeous day, and with my recent boost in appreciation for all things in this life, I decided to just let it be what it wanted to be.

And so I read my book, I people watched and I looked for ducks with my binoculars. I roamed around and explored the marina. And I took a few pictures as well.

The man in the truck was there for over and hour and a half. By the time he left I had missed church, but I still had enough time to pick up Kelly for our dinner date.

It all worked out just fine. I had a wonderful afternoon, and I got a few good pictures as well, including this one of some gulls that posed for me.