Celebrations

On Friday night, I went to a birthday party on a sailboat. It was Sundae's 40th birthday, and we celebrated with her during a sunset sail on the Schooner Windfall. It was cloudy so there wasn't much of a sunset to speak of, and we actually got rained on for the first few minutes, but we still had a great time. The rain eventually cleared out (as the radar on Dave's phone said it would), and we munched contentedly on Deanna's fabulous sundried tomato and onion dip, bruschetta, and strawberries with honey vanilla dip as we sailed in Pamlico Sound. After the Lighthouse came on, we headed in to the dock and enjoyed delicious birthday cake and ice cream. It was a beautiful night by that time (the wind which came with the rain had blown the heat and humidity away), and several of us sat on the Windfall at the dock, chatting quietly and enjoying the peace of early evening and listening to the water of Silver Lake softly lapping against the sides of the boat.

Tonight, I went to a wedding on the beach. Fiddler Dave and Gary played wonderfully, the radiant bride carried sunflowers, and the sun set behind the dunes as Sean and Stephanie shared their vows. The minister told the story of Moses seeing the burning bush (it was definitely the first time I had heard that particular scripture at a wedding), and spoke of how Ocracoke had been selected as the number 1 beach in America for 2007. He connected the two with the concept of "holy ground", saying that, as Moses was standing on holy ground when he saw the burning bush, the couple was standing on holy ground as they were married in the sight and presence of God.

Both celebrations reminded me of how blessed I am to live here, surrounded by this lovely, holy, number one beach ground and the waters of the ocean, sound and harbor.