It’s almost time for Blog Action Day again. Last year’s topic to blog about was the environment. As you can see, I spent less time blogging and more time eco-running concerning the post, but that seemed fitting.
This year’s Blog Action Day is October 15th and the topic to tackle this time is poverty.
Go sign up!
One thing I’ve learned from living in England is you don’t let the weather influence what you do. If you sit at home and wait for a sunny day so you can go to the beach, all I can say is good luck. So, when the last summer bank holiday rolls around, and you have friends coming down from West Yorkshire to go to the seaside, you go to the seaside. Even if it’s rainy and cloudy. And you have fun, gosh darn it!
Rain? Clouds? Who cares!
We went out to Joss Bay on Sunday to catch low tide so that we could go do a little rockpooling and a bit of sand art. That lasted for about 10 minutes before running back to the cars with wet little ones. But, not before a crab had been found!
We got home, dried off, had some lunch and headed back out to Margate. Judging from the weather earlier, I didn’t bother to put my bathing suit back on. Stupid move, it was beautiful! So, we got a chance to splash around, make a starfish in the sand, and create “Emma Island.”
Then, we moved around the coast, had some ice cream at Morelli’s, and everyone was happy!
Perhaps the biggest lesson learned from the weekend was never read Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs if you want the sun to shine in England. (But then again, I’m not sure if I can handle that.) Oh yeah, and I ran 6 miles with hills and didn’t die, so I think that puts me okay for the Nike+ Human Race in London this weekend. I won’t race it hardcore (do I ever??), but I should have fun. Hooray!
One of the advantages of living right across the road from Manston airport is you get a free airshow in your backyard without any warning. It’s like finding the $20 you hid in your Christmas stocking last year when you have no recollection of ever planting it in the first place: an exciting surprise. Last weekend, we got two shows, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. Now they’re short, mind you, a loop or two, but exciting all the same. And so loud, you can feel the energy in the air.
On Saturday, I was driving back from Margate along the back road behind Manston when all of a sudden I saw a formation come out of nowhere and drop colored smoke. By the time I reached the airport perimeter, the planes were landing right over me. I flustered for a moment- there’s nowhere to pull over! That was until I realized that everyone was just stopping in the middle of the road, anyway. So that was cool. I got to watch a red arrow land right over my car. Nice!
As exciting as that was, the photographer in me was a little disappointed because I didn’t have my camera in the car (what? I know, strange, though actually I could have busted out my fancy new camera phone, but I don’t do phones in cars- it’s not safe, but then again neither was the positioning of cars in the road at this moment either), and by the time I got home they were done. However, I was sitting upstairs on Sunday, as you do, and I thought a spaceship was landing on our house. I ripped down the stairs, grabbed the camera, and ran outside. Obviously, I didn’t get the lens cap off in time for the red arrows’ low flight over the roof (according to Crunchy husband it was cool), but I did get these shots. I also learned something very important. Crunchy husband has never seen “Top Gun”. I married an alien.
Yes, I know airshows are bad for the environment, and believe me, I think we need to conserve all the fuel we can. I read an article in New Scientist last week that had me picturing world travel reverting back to the seas, me and the honey rowing home for Christmas. This article discussed how it’s really hard to find a green solution for jet fuel because it needs to be energy dense, remain fluid at -50 degrees C, and found all over the world. But, it brings up the idea that algae could be an alternative. It’s pretty far off, has lots of issues to get through and may never be a viable solution, but man, it had me ready to run down to the beach and start tossing all the stinky seaweed I could smell into buckets for fuel rations. It could just be the solution to the stench on some of the beaches around here this summer. (I love seaweed, I really do, I just don’t like the smell…and we’ve had a particularly smelly summer.) So yes, I know it wastes precious energy. But, you can’t help but enjoy it when it’s happening anyway, right over your head.
It doesn’t take Einstein to figure out how sand gets into my car and into my house, especially during the summer months. I can expect no less when I splash out among the rockpools, trudge across the sandy beaches and then return home, without, you know, rinsing my shoes and feet or anything. (Why on earth would I want to do that?)
It doesn’t even take a genius to know how sand originally got into my running shoes. I’m pretty sure our run along Sandwich Bay to the River Stour estuary a few weeks ago did the trick.
But, I cannot figure out how sand keeps re-appearing in my right shoe. Every time I remove my shoe and sock, out comes half of Thanet. I stick my hand inside. Nothing there. I vigorously shake the shoe upside down. No golden grains pile onto my floor. And yet, I can nearly guarantee you, the next time I remove my shoes and socks, I’ll have more grains for our living room sandbox.
I’m okay with that. It reminds me life is good.