A Terrace With A View and Those Killer Stairs

Why do things seem scarier in the shadowy darkness of the middle of the night?  Are our primal
"fight or flight" responses more heightened and sensitive when awakened from a sound sleep at 1:00 a.m.?
Admittedly, there are monsters we must sometimes face, that will always trigger heart racing, palm sweating fear, no matter what time of day or night they occur.



The spacious top floor townhouse we rented at the shore last week provided us with a terrace and a view of the ocean.  That's what sold me when we looked at the place.  I hardly noticed that I was a little winded by the time we got to the top of the 3 flight of stairs.  But I did notice that Ross seemed to have a more difficult time with the stairs.  I told him it would be okay.  After all how often were we going to be going up and down those stairs?
We would be leaving for the beach early Saturday morning.  On Friday afternoon, we were going to go out for a few more last minute items and the car wouldn't start.  We called AAA hoping it was just the battery.  No such luck.  The car was dead, no guesses from the triple A guy as to what the problem could be.  I shushed that nagging voice whispering in my mind "could this be some kind of warning sign?"  Don't be silly, I thought.
So change of plans, we would take the sedan instead of the SUV.
As we started to load up the car with suitcases, duffles of linens (enough for 6 beds) towels,(both bath and beach) dozens of grocery bags, beach chairs and umbrella, etc., I started to realize that we would have to cart all of this stuff up those three flights of stairs.  But, I thought, no problem.  I walk on the treadmill 4 or 5 times a week, at least 3 miles each time, it'll be fine.
I wish I could say it took quite a few trips up and down before we were out of breath and red in the face.  But that was not the case.  After just the first trip up, carrying those sacks of heavy linens (enough for 6 beds) and heavy towels (beach and bath) Ross and I were huffing and puffing... heavily, huffing and puffing.  And I thought, we are way too old to be doing this.
But we managed to get everything up, with the help of plenty of resting stops in-between.
Later that day, my young son-in-law arrived with my grandson.  He also had a filled car to unload.  I giggled to myself when I saw that he also was huffing and puffing by the time he reached the top of the stairs.  And as each of the rest of my family arrived, they commented on the nice view from the terrace and those killer stairs.
We had a lovely week.  Except for black fly Wednesday, we had perfect beach weather every day.
By Thursday, my son and his girlfriend, my daughter, her husband and my two grandchildren had left.  My sister and her husband came down on Thursday and would stay with us until Friday evening.
We spent a nice day on the beach, sent out for wings and shrimp for dinner, and then went out for an ice-cream dessert.
As we settled in to watch my all time favorite summer reality show "Big Brother"(Steve, you were right, just for you, I decided to somehow work BB  into my blog), I couldn't help but think about all of the packing up and schlepping we would be doing Friday.  The comforting thought, though, was the trip down those stairs had to be easier, wouldn't you think?
As the evening wound down, the four of us said our goodnights and we all looked forward to a nice long restful sleep and hopefully another beautiful last day at the beach.
But it was not to be.
To Be Continued...

I have created a page for Anna's Diary.  It can be found under the Tab titled Anna's Diary.

I have posted all of the entries to date there, starting with January 1, 1929.

Tues. September 3, 1929

Rosalie here with Baby.  Went downtown to buy jewelry to go with my evening dress.  Bought bracelet of onyx and diamonds with pendant on a chin for neck to match.

Wed. September 4, 1929 

Elise took her car out and took Junior and I out with her.  We went to see Grandma M. and Grandpa was there too.