#43 80's Roller Skating

One of our gang, Cindy, has a birthday tomorrow. We asked how she wanted to celebrate and she said that she wanted to go roller skating. Somewhere along the way, it turned into a themed 80's roller skating party!

Game on!

I used to live on roller skates. I skated down my basement, in the parking lot across the street, when reading a book, on vacation...any chance I got.

But that was hecka long time ago.

My recent attempt to skate with the gang at the Thai Temple made me realize that my skating abilities has plummeted with age. I felt very unstable and an über ungraceful fall made me realize that I am risking not only my dignity but more importantly my independence. A fall could result in a broken bone that might impact how I'm able to keyboard, drive, walk, and play on my phone (gasp!!).

I recently met a new badass friend named Jenn who loves beachcombing on the same beach I do. More on that story later. But Jenn had a terrible experience roller skating last November when she fell, broke her shoulder and has been in therapy since.

Whoa!!!! I certainly did not want that happening to me. I think turning 50 has given me a little bit of wisdom to realize my limitations. Maybe I shouldn't be an idiot, and I should sit this one out, right? There's nothing wrong with sitting on the sidelines.

So I put on my 80's fluorescent accessories, crimped my hair, and headed to lunch with the gang. I think I actually dressed more '80s for this party than I actually wore when it was the '80s.

These ladies are SO FREAKING MUCH FUN to be with!

I don't even need to describe the lunch and roller skating party to follow. I think the pictures that follow speak for themselves.

But before I share the pics, remember how I was nervous to skate? Zee found the perfect solution for us! Introducing the "Walkers" of the roller skating world. These little babies helped to steady us and gave us a false sense of security. We could team up and whiz around the rink with only a few tumbles (hey, why is Ellen on the ground again?).

I'm proud of myself for not sitting on the sidelines even though the walker was not a great look. Who cares, right???? I had forgotten how much fun it was to skate. Definitely 100% worth looking like a doffus using a walker (plush no broken bones, Mom!!!!)

Happy, happy, happy birthday Cindy! I am so glad you were born, and I hope this is an amazing year for you. Thank you for letting us come and celebrate your birthday with you!

So remember my friend Jenn from earlier in the story? She is my new Fort De Soto friend becasue we both adore beachcombing early in the morning before anyone else is there.

Today was 40 degrees. I woke up super early and was really tempted to stay in my toasty bed. But I didn't. There were treasures to see and the possiblity of bumping into Jenn on the beach.

SO GLAD I WENT because there were so many treasures to see. The recent storms and turbulent water made for amazing wash-up on the beach.

I saw more starfish than I could count -- some as small as the tip of my finger while others were bigger than a dinner plate.

I saw some nifty fish and a really cool crab with super wide, thick claws.

And an Olive Snail who was working really hard to crawl along the beach.

I rescured 6 octopus and saw lots of frozen-solid creatures hanging out of their shells.

But the coolest treasure was a gigantic whelk shell that was totally intact. It was about the size of my sneaker, and I would have taken it home except it was the home of a very, very large (and hairy) hermit crab!

Jenn was getting to the beach when I was leaving but I saw her photos and she saw even more incredible things than I did. Jenn, I'm sorry I missed seeing you this morning but let's walk together sometime soon!

Stay warm, y'all!