Vacation post 6: Apparently I think about sleeping a lot. Like, a LOT a lot.

There were thunderstorms again last night. Normally, I sleep damn well during storms, but maybe it was a worse storm than I'm used to, or maybe it had something to do with being in a new setting, but I woke up during this one. When the "I just woke up in the middle of the night" daze passed and I realized what was going on, I vaguely remember smiling, and then rolling over to go back to sleep. I can only assume that I succeeded, because I don't remember anything past that until I woke up for realsies this morning. It's the strangest thing, I think, but no matter if I'm on vacation or just going through my normal routine at home, I pretty much always wake up before my alarm goes off in the morning. Sometimes (especially if I've been very tired) it will only be a few minutes before, but more often my body gears up about 15-30 minutes before it's "supposed" to. This is pretty much a universal thing; it doesn't matter what time I've got my alarm set for, and I've never understood why.

Anyway, the weather has let off some. The view from the window I see is an interesting admixture of what I've described in days past. The ocean is an almost stony gray, but the sky holds tints of its familiar blue, in the places it's not blotted out by heavy clouds. The horizon is also clearly visible, although it's not the razor-sharp edge I remember from a few days back. All in all, things seem calm, but also subdued. I have a feeling there are going to be more storms later in the day. For now, though, I intend to enjoy the semi-bright dawn.

Yesterday was mostly a do-nothing sort of day. We didn't really make any plans for the day, and boy did we stick to them! Except for a few quick jaunts out to the beach, and a trip to the supermarket to pick up another gallon of water and a few other things, we stayed in the house for most of the day. At some point in the afternoon I ever fell asleep, which was highly unexpected; I have a HORRIBLE time trying to sleep during the day. At home, I have heavy light-blocking blinds in my bedroom window, and I still habitually wake up before my alarm goes off. If those blinds weren't there, I have a feeling that I'd rise with the sun fairly often, whether I wanted to or not. This would definitely not be a good move for someone who tends to stay up as late as I do. For the past week, however, it hasn't bothered me quite as much. For one thing, it gives me a chance to sit down relatively undisturbed and write (which, as I think I mentioned previously, is something I've been trying to get back into for quite a while). For another, I've been going to bed earlier than I normally would at home. Last night was the latest I'd stayed up in days (and I wouldn't have even done that, but lil sis and I were watching a Eureka marathon on the "Syfy" channel), and even then I was in bed just a little past midnight. I didn't take my nightly pilgrimage to the pier and back, but that's ok, because I was able to go during the afternoon with mum and lil sis. I showed mum the sea turtle nests that we came across last night, and once she knew what to look for, she identified another one that we hadn't noticed before, way back in the dunes! I walked about half the distance in the water (instead of at the water's edge), and it made a HUGE difference. I have long legs and a fairly quick gait, so normally when I'm out walking with my family (who are all at least several inches shorter than me) I have to check my speed or I'll end up several yards ahead of the others. Wading like I was yesterday, though, it was all I could do just to keep up against the disorienting motion of the tides, and at times I was even lagging behind! It was much more of a workout as well; by the time we got back to the house, I could really feel all the work I'd done in my ankles and thighs.

So, what else did I do yesterday? Aside from lamenting the fact that I didn't bring another book to read (yesterday was a lovely, low-impact day that was perfect for reading, and I'd already finished my book!), I spent some quality time with Newmark (which is the name I gave to my laptop). After my morning writing, I had a bit of inspiration left so I sat down and typed up a quick fiction. I've yet to go back and look at it a second time, so it probably sucks. Maybe it will be presentable after some editing, though! During the afternoon, after lunch and the exhausting walk through the ocean, Newmark and I decided to play Knytt Stories. Knytt Stories is a cute little game that I downloaded several months ago and never had much of a chance to play. It's a side-veiw platform/puzzle game that gives you infinite lives, a satisfying number of save points, and an entire world to explore. While each "level" has a specific goal you're supposed to achieve (rescue Baby Knytt, move all the animals to safety, foil the sinister plans of the evil Dr. Cliché, etc.), most of the game revolves around exploring the world to find power-ups that help you better explore the world. Especially on the easy levels, it's a low-stress game to play (especially nice that there's no time limit on the game), and while the graphics are quite simple, they're very pretty as well, and the background music is superb! Aside from the "base package", apparently one can also download additional levels, which I fully intend to do once I get back to the Internet.

In fact, I'd give a high recommendation for Knytt Stories to anyone who likes exploration and puzzle games, and as soon as I've got the address for the site you can download the game from, you bet I'll be posting it here!