the epitome of summer

The smell of freshly cut grass. Homemade ice cream. Sunsets on the East River.Goodies from gardens. Sandy cars. Invitations to pools by the rivah (Rappahannock River)
Cold beverages on warm afternoons. Watermelon & steamed crabs. Spontaneous boat rides to dwindling islands. (Hole in the Wall)

Swimming by New Point Lighthouse. Tomato sandwiches & the smell of basil. Tired children from hours in the pool. (Carys)

Fried fish & cucumber salad. Blueberry pickin'. Exploring state parks. (Belle Isle State Park)

what's all the hoopla about?

Yesterday, Southwind debuted Hoopla Pale Ale, a beer created by Kyle Hollingsworth, home brewer & keyboardist for String Cheese Incident. And in honor of it, folks gathered across the street from the restaurant on our county's courthouse green to do some hooping.

Hula hooping has long been on my list of things to learn to do. Oh how I've tried, never being able to keep the hoop going. Well, all that changed yesterday. After a couple simple tips from the instructor, I actually kept it going for the longest EVER.. at least 30 seconds! Ha! So of course, buying this "magic" hoop that's weighted (with water I was told)was required.

It was a fun time, watching the younger girls swapping tricks & using 4-5 hoops at a time. Others were catching on pretty quick, so proud of themselves.
The day was hot & after working up quite a sweat, we cooled off on the porch with a Hoopla, of course. Cheers to hooping!