Ocean City

The power came back on at 5:12 a.m. this morning; I know because my light turned on and woke me up. I turned it off and slept in a bit longer.

Plan for the day was to go to Ocean City with some of the Relief Society sisters. Since they were not meeting at the church, but someone's house a few blocks north of Penn Station, I left early and took the Circulator.

Now, when I say left early, I mean I left my house just after 8:00 a.m. and we were meeting at 9:00 a.m.

The problem with the Circulator is, I could probably walk just as fast since I had to ride on all three routes to get there. I took the green route to President's Street, and walked across the street to wait for the orange route.

This is the point in time that most of my time was wasted. I should have skipped the orange route altogether and walked the blocks to the purple route. Oh well, lesson learned.

Once the orange route finally came, it waited at that stop for an additional 15-20 minutes. That's great, unless you need to get somewhere. When we pulled out of the stop, I had five minutes until I was supposed to be there. Great. I was going to be late, again.

I got off the orange route and walked north one block to the purple route. However, I was not seeing the stop right off, and I turned around to see the Circulator pulling away from the stop across the street. I had crossed two streets (so I was diagonal from the corner I started from) and the bus was on the corner that I had not touched. What a let down! I just missed it and I know that if I would have crossed to the right corner, I would have made it. Now I would be running even more late.

I hesitated for a moment as I watched the bus turn the corner ahead of me: should I wait here or walk to the next bus stop? Might as well try to get somewhere, I reasoned. I walked one block and turned the corner. The same bus had stopped just ahead, about a block and a half more. I picked up my pace, the bus was still there. Half a block, and the bus pulled away from the stop, BUT the traffic light was red: it could not go anywhere.

I ran up to the door, and the driver let me on. I thanked him and sat down. I call that a tender mercy from my Father in Heaven that I made that bus.

After Penn Station, I walked up St. Paul Street. Once I reached the corner of 21st Street (the meeting place was on that next block) I saw a car at the corner with the passenger side window rolled down. Inside was Lauren and Emily (driving). Hey, I know them! They saw me and pulled over and told me to hop in. Everyone was leaving and they had a space for me.

I can hardly believe that I made it. What a close call! I guess I really was meant to go to Ocean City today. The alternative story would have ended with me finding the house within the next five minutes and realizing soon thereafter that I was too late and that it was time to go back home. Ocean City would not be a trip I would have been making today.

I am really glad today did not end that way.

I DID go to Ocean City, and I DID have a blast. I DID put sunscreen on, but I DID get burned anyway. However, I DID learned a lesson from the experience: let someone else apply sunscreen to your back, or else it ends up like mine, blotchy and uneven.

I have now been to the Atlantic Ocean. It was salty! I can still taste it. I love the sun, the sand, and the water.

I also love showers. I think I'll need another one tomorrow morning. . . .