We interrupt this program...

Just for a reference - we live on the Gulf Coast. Look behind the cute 10-year-old... notice the waves. "Waves?" you ask... that's right... that's the big waves we get around here. Pretty calm - just an occasional ripple or two - warm water, white sandy beaches, it's all good.

So this morning I was wanting something a little different for a workout - and going to they gym just didn't seem appealing to me... so I decided I would go run on the beach.

Let me just pause for effect... 'cuz it's not everyone who can just randomly decide to run on the beach... and it's pretty cool...

Only I didn't take seriously the weather reports.

Namely, Hurricane Ike.

Now, Ike isn't going to make landfall in our backyard or anything, no, he's aiming at Houston - a mere 500 miles away. But, seeing as how the Gulf of Mexico is only 5 miles away from us and Ike is truly a huge storm, well, this is the view that was waiting for me when I got to the beach this morning:














Yikes - a little bit different than what we are used to seeing around here! And yes, I know that all of you living in CA are thinking "Boy has Sally gone soft since she moved from CA - those would be mere ripples in the Pacific!" And maybe you're right...

But folks, people on the Gulf Coast are relatively spoiled... and it makes me laugh that not only do they insist on building their houses OVER the water - literally, on stilts - but they also build on islands that wash away every time a storm comes (but never fear, they build them right back again!) And we wonder why we can't afford the property taxes and property insurance in FL... geez...

Anyway, not only were the waves impressive, but the wind... oh my... I actually was walking at a 45 degree angle just to get these pictures for you. 45 mph winds... craziness...

That's how much I love you guys.

In order to justify my "workout" I decided I would head on base and instead run along the Sea Wall. Yeeeaaahhhhh right... that wind I mentioned was whipping the water up over the wall and pushing me around the walkway. So do I get points for resistance training? :-)