Retreat at the Beach

I am lucky to have found four incredible friends who all happen to be writers. We try to get together at least once a month for a day of chatting and fun. But what's even better is that one of them recently purchased a "beach" house and invited us to share the place with her for a girl's writing weekend.

So, last Friday, we packed up her SUV - and I do mean packed - not only was the back full, but the seats and all of us were holding bags on our laps or at our feet. We headed out about 5 p.m. for the three hour drive. We made a stop along the way in Delaware at a diner for a quick bite to eat. I don't remember the name of the diner or where it was, but I do know the food was ample and great and the prices weren't bad. The only thing we found to complain about was the "quick menu" on the table - figures that five writers would pick out misspellings and other errors as we all giggled over the spelling of "accasion" for "occasion" and "Fish from the Seven Sea" (not Seas) and "From the sauteed pan" (they fry the pan and not the food?).

Anyway, we laughed and chatted all the way to the house, arriving around 9 p.m. We unloaded the car and checked out the room. The small home has four bedrooms and two bathroom around a central "Great Room" so we divided up spaces. Two of us, Natalie Damschroder, and I shared a room, which we had decided before hand so as to alleviate any issues. :) We sat around and chatted - I headed to bed earlier than the others, but it was a great end to the day.

Saturday, got up early (around 7) and made hot water for tea. The other straggled out over the next hour or so. Breakfast, coffee, tea, and down to work. Notebooks or computers came out and we started working. And it started snowing. Hard.

About 11, four of us decided to go for a walk in the snow. By that time, we had about two inches down. We got about four blocks with the wind blowing freezing snow in our faces and two of them wimped out and headed back to the house. Nat and I decided to continue on as we really wanted to see the ocean and the walk was only about a mile - 20 minutes on a nice day.

Note, I said nice day. This was most definitely not a nice day. We faced into the wind and struggled onward and made it. The beach was, of course, deserted. Gee, go figure. :) And the waves were angry, but we made it. Nat went down to the water while I stayed on the boardwalk, then we headed back. Fortunately, the wind was at our backs, but the snow was definitely deeper and by the time we got to the house, I know I was definitely beat. But the walk was worth it. Being at the beach during the winter is a significant difference from being there during the summer. And I think, in some ways, better.

The rest of the day was spent in working - editing, writing, brainstorming, etc. We broke for dinner around 5:30 - pasta, salad, garlic bread - and silliness. Check out Megan Hart's website for some of our zaniness. After cleaning up, we did a little work, but mostly sat around and chatted, watched TV, and other relaxation. And still it snowed.

Sunday - the sun is shining brightly this morning, but we have a good eight inches of snow down - and no shovel! Going to be interesting. I got up early and got about 50 pages of editing done before the others came out. Chatting, working, cleaning up from the weekend will take up the rest of the day in time for heading back to home and reality this afternoon.

I can't think of a better way to spend a weekend - five great friends, work, fun, and a little adventure.