Lunch Out

When it's a beautiful day outside, this is more what I have in mind when I think of eating out!

Once again taking full advantage of our beautiful spring weather, I enjoyed spending some time with a good friend, Debbie, enjoying a long, leisurely lunch in the warm sunshine. This is Island Cafe--my favorite place to eat when it's nice outside. It's a little open-air cafe on the end of a long, floating dock in a marina, on the Columbia River. It's closed in the winter, and always draws a crowd of regular customers during the season of nice weather. Every year, as winter draws to a close and spring approaches, Larry and I eagerly anticipate their reopening, and usually eat there as often as once a week, or every couple of weeks between April and October.

As I walked down the ramp to the dock, I passed a man carrying a toilet on his shoulder. Yes, a real toilet -- I kid you not! It was all I could do to suppress the giggles that were rising up in me as he came toward me.
(I was thinking how convenient that would be for those inopportune moments that I sometimes suffer through.) I almost managed to walk by him without saying a word, but at the last second I just couldn't resist.
I simply said, "Porta-potty?", and he simply replied, "Yeah, sort of."
That was that! Dontcha just love those unexpected little chuckles?

After lunch, as I was driving to do a little shopping in the area, I spotted a time/temperature sign that showed the temperature as 98 degrees (Fahrenheit). I blinked and re-read the sign as it flashed the temperature again . . . yup, it said 98 degrees! I knew it was a beautifully warm day, but I also knew it couldn't possibly be that warm outside (maybe more like 68 degrees)--must have been someone's idea of a practical joke. It was a fun reminder that summer is, indeed, on the way, but also another reminder that you can't believe everything you read!

My dear husband took me out for dinner, some place a little further away than just outside the back door (like the previous night). We went to one of other favorite places called "Beaches". It is a great little restaurant that sits right at the edge of a pretty little pond about a mile from our house. We ate outside at the water's edge, and later walked a couple of laps around the pond.

What a nice day! Fun, friendship, love, laughs, warm sunshine, delicious food, good exercise in the fresh air, good conversation -- it just doesn't get much better than this!