Come Monday, It'll Be All Right

The Jimmy Buffett song begins:

Headin' out to San Francisco
For the Labor Day weekend show

I just came back from San Francisco and Monday at the beach was Labor Day.  So there.

I was comfortable being out in my swimsuit.  I thought I might be self-conscious, but I was not.  I suppose, being out in a variety of clothing I'm not accustomed to over the past few years has eliminated my anxiety over being out in different attire.  I suspect, other than the "I need to shave EVEN MORE" issue, I would have been OK in a two-piece swimsuit.

click to zoom

I left my flip-flops at the hotel.  It was a short walk to the beach and I didn't see a need to wear shoes I'd just take off when I got to the water anyway.

I admit I did work hard to ensure everything was, um, in place before leaving the hotel.  I didn't want stray hairs showing even though there was a little skirt in front of the suit.  I didn't seriously overthink it....  I figured, it's late in the day and late in the season and I DID do a lot of shaving where I've never shaved before.  The beach should be quiet and if anyone wants to "girl watch" there will be much better viewing targets than me.

It wasn't really a different feeling wearing a swimsuit.  I've worn other (under)garments that covered just the areas the suit covered.  I've worn a leotard, for instance (although not out).  Panties and a camisole are not much different than a swimsuit, for covered area.  If I had any, I think I could even go with showing some cleavage.  Going out was more an "it is OK to wear this outdoors" attitude shift than anything else.  My normal dressing mode is "modest".  I see people (mostly women) walk to the curb taking out the trash or taking in the newspaper in pajamas or a nightgown or a robe.  I don't have that level of comfort.  It is difficult for me to just walk out of the apartment (to take out the trash, only a few feet from my front door) in my house slippers.  I've opened the door to bring in the newspaper wearing my nightie but that's also a comfort-zone stretch.

before going to the Port O' Call

So the difference was going out in what to my mind is underwear.  And although I would never open my door wearing just a bra and panties, as I said, I don't think I'd have a problem wearing a bikini or tankini.

I am not a swimmer, but the water was warm and we waded and splashed a bit and got wet when we didn't see the big waves coming and had another nice long walk, this time in the opposite direction from Sunday's.  The difference between yesterday and today was, I didn't care how wet I got, which was nice.  The same crowd ~ families, fishermen, other walkers ~ were there.  Same crowd, different faces.

When the sky started to get dark and we got hungry we decided to head for a restaurant just up the street called Port O' Call.  Another stretch: a swimsuit on the beach is one thing but a swimsuit "in town" required another stretch.  I wouldn't walk into a restaurant in a swimsuit but felt comfortable with a lace cover dress that was pretty short and very see-through.  And it was a couple of block walk to the restaurant.

For the record, I did put shoes on before going out to eat.

Monday, Monday

My first full day at the beach started with a lesson learned.  I did something unusual, and dressed as Meg yesterday and planned on doing the same today. 

Lesson learned: even though you don't HAVE to, take off your makeup completely.  I did a poor job on my eyes Sunday night and I had to get out the remover Monday morning AND spend extra time washing the old mascara and eyeliner off and making sure I had a good basis for that day's makeup.

A related lesson: your total prep time before going out is S+C+M+D, where S is shaving and

showering time, M is makeup time, D is dressing time, and C is time spent waiting for blood to clot, after you do a poor job at S.  Try to keep C to zero.  I had a little knobby bit just below and to the left of my nose that I hit Monday morning and it added 20 or 30 minutes to my prep time as I waited impatiently for it to resolve itself.  I didn't waste that time.  I stood there anxiously fearing that it would leave a blot that I couldn't cover with makeup, or never stop bleeding until it was time to go home.  I also took the time to get hungrier, since I didn't want to leave the room except in Meg Mode.

After I was finally ready, we went down to check out the hotel breakfast.  The breakfast room was full and the line for the waffle maker was long so we grabbed a light breakfast and sat at a table outside the room, near the registration desk.  We then headed out for our first full day in the Outer Banks.

We started with what could have easily been a walk: our hotel was less than a half-mile from the Wright Brothers Memorial.  We parked and walked to the main building.  We looked at the exhibits and caught the end of a talk.  We went outside walked over by the markers for the first day's flights.  Then I encountered my first problems of the trip.

It was hot.  And my wedges were a bit uncomfortable.

So we did not walk up to the memorial, at the top of a sand dune.

I acted as I always do, and I think everyone around us did the same.  I spoke to the information lady, the gift shop people, and others.

We were Just Tourists.

From there, we went to a shop where I felt very out-of-place.  No, not lingerie or shoes or jewelry. I'm fine with those.

It was a scrapbook store.  Charity's hobby is scrapping and she really wanted to visit this store and see what they had.  She also had a long talk with the owner.  I have less interest in scrapping than I do in football (for the record, very little).

That ordeal ended and we drove south to Roanoke Island.  I think I had been there once before, in a previous visit, perhaps just as an alternative escape route from the area.  The main bridge is backed up for hours on a typical escape day.

We had lunch at Po Richards, a sandwich place on the bay.  The lunch was good, the place was VERY crowded, the ladies' was single stall.  I asked the woman standing outside if she was waiting and she said "yes."  As opposed to, say, "which room did you mean?"

I don't like waiting outside the restroom but lines bother me a lot more than milling so I milled.

We walked along the water and took some photos, then saw a sign for shops so we headed toward the shops.  We looked at clothes in some unique shops (as opposed to the Same Old Shops you find in many tourist towns) but didn't see anything wonderful.  Prices were lower though; the post-summer discounts had begun.

I wanted to see the Manteo Maritime Museum, which was nearby but closed on Monday.  Alert: we went back on Tuesday and discovered it's not worth the entry price (free).

After we saw as much of Manteo as we wanted (it does turn out it was worth a second visit, which we did the next day) we headed back to the hotel.  It was late in the afternoon and we thought a visit to the beach was warranted.  I put on my new bathing suit and made sure everything was, um, under control.  Charity put on hers and we headed for the water.

I Give Up

Before going to the beach, I was up for hours trying to figure out how women in one-piece bathing

It's all got to go!

suits use the bathroom without basically stripping completely.  And if you're wearing a dress over that, you'd have to take off the dress so you can remove enough bathing suit (ie, basically all of it) to do your business.

I finally figured it out.

You can't.  That's what the ocean is for. :)

Not Waxing That. Nope. No Way. Not Gonna Do It.

A week ago, in preparation for an extended Meg time, I shaved my legs.  I shaved every hair I could see while wearing panties and then moved them aside and shaved a bit more.

I tried something some of you have done, but many have not: I wore a swimsuit.

Often, it's hard to find the right article of women's clothing to wear, usually because they want to

This is the one I bought.

show something I don't really have to show (cleavage), or don't really want to show (bra straps, tummy), or I have to shave too much to show (backless gowns).

Swimsuits are difficult because I have to find one that will both hide my forms and keep them in place.  There are suits with molded bras which hold their shape even if empty, but sometimes the cups collapse if you move in unexpected ways.  That's kind of embarrassing.

After trying to keep my forms covered in different styles unsuccessfully, I turned to mastectomy suits.  These are more expensive, which sucks for women who need them.  In reality, they are just suits with a higher front (not an uncommon style) and a little piece of fabric with a pocket for a form.  I guess they charge more because they can.

I ordered the suit shown here from SwimOutlet.com.  It arrived pretty quickly and looked better in person than on their website.

The suit I ordered has a small "skirt" front and fits quite well.  It's not the suit that would attract my eye if I was on the beach, but it would serve its purpose.  And nice as it is to be noticed, I don't really want to attract eyes.  Or so I say.

I put in my "overnight" forms, which are more firm than the ones I usually wear and I think it looked OK.... once I did that excessive shaving bit.  But I like the way my regular clothes feel over shaved legs, and now that feeling went all the way UP.  It was worth the extra time.

But there are limits to what I'm going to wax!

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