dispatches from the beach, vol. 1

so today i left the comfy quality inn in williamsburg and hit the mighty road in search of the beach. i had a four-hour drive ahead of me, full of produce stands, weird billboards, and slow drivers. i arrived here at the beach house at 2:00. i was not properly prepared mentally for my arrival.

first, i should probably explain my situation. every year my family gets a big oceanfront beach house and then proceeds to cram it full of my entire extended family. aunts, uncles, grandma, cousins. there are like 30 people here. i've only been once before and i came with lauren back when we were dating and we had a little room off to ourselves.

this year, i was told i could come for free. i was stoked to hear the news. i wasn't expecting a bedroom of my own, but there were odd little rooms that you could fit an air mattress into last time, so i figured i'd be fine. however, this new house we're in.. there is literally no space. the first thing i was told when i arrived is that i will be sleeping in the kitchen. yes, that's right. the kitchen. the plan is that when i'm ready for bed, i will blow up my air mattress, put it in the kitchen, and then of course, i'll need to be awake by 6:30 when my mom arrives to cook breakfast. and did i mention we're here for a WEEK?!

normally, i'd say this is all fine and good and when i need alone time, i will just go to the beach, plug in my headphones and find my happy place with my spirit animal. however, with my recent surgeries, i have to be very careful about being outside in the sun and scarring. i've found that since my accident, my staying power out in the sun is a little bit limited.

maybe i should have thought this vacation through a little more, right?

i'm going to take deep breaths, find peace through blogging, smile when my relatives make a joke about riding bikes, and get drunk every single night until i don't mind sleeping in the kitchen.

wish me luck, blog.