Our meet-up was held last night at Broadway at the Beach, at the small fountain in front of Tripps. Because Wally had a day off yesterday, we arrived not only on time, but a few minutes before 6! I think that's a first!
Emmy (Sun 'n Fun) her husband Paul, and her mother Emily were seated by the pool when we arrived. Emmy has such a sunny disposition, and she is so outgoing! You don't have to talk to her for longer than a few minutes to find out how excited she is to be back at the beach. Emmy's mother has owned their house near Longs since the mid-80s, and she is such a sweetheart. Although their homes are in NY, they manage to come to the beach as often as they can:
http://www.funbeaches.com/7-2-08/paul,emmy,emily.jpg
Sy, Emmy and Paul's son, arrived at the fountain a few minutes later. He had been shopping and showed us two books he purchased - one about cats and the other, named "Indian Sign Language." I don't know about you, but I never even learned American Sign Language, so I was very impressed with his interest. Here's Sy with his grandmother, Emily:
http://www.funbeaches.com/7-2-08/sy-emily.jpg
As we were waiting for the remainder of our group to arrive, who should we see but Ron and Donna (LAXmom.) They couldn't stay for dinner, but they knew we were meeting and just wanted to meet the members who were new to them and say hello to old friends. This reinforces the feeling of "family" that we always have at these gatherings, and I know we all appreciated them being there. Good news! Their house is almost completed!
Others arrived, and it soon became another "family reunion." Katie, Brett and the girls were not able to make this meetup, and we missed seeing them. But it's always a pleasure to see Leo and Charlotte, along with Colleen and Brian.
Our "new" couple, Greg (Sparkieg) and Jenny, are staying in Garden City this year as many of you know from his various posts. Since they usually stay in North Myrtle, this trip is giving them a new perspective of the beach as well as affording new opportunities for attractions and entertainment. As you can see from the picture below, they are very happy to be together, and we were all glad to welcome them to their first MBMB meet-up!
http://www.funbeaches.com/7-2-08/jenny-greg.jpg
Dinner at Tripps was a lot of fun and we all enjoyed our meal. Even though we were seated at separate tables, we all managed to visit back and forth, much to the distress, I'm sure, of the wait staff. Emily and Leo have have a mutual admiration society. He loves to kid her and she loves to set him straight. For instance, during dinner, Leo's ears caught a snippet of music. He turned to Emily and asked for her thoughts about Coldplay. Here are Leo and Emily:
http://www.funbeaches.com/7-2-08/leo-emily.jpg
Here's the group after dinner, outside Tripps:
http://www.funbeaches.com/7-2-08/group.jpg
Once again, a wonderful meet-up with friends.