Friday- Fourth of July!

Friday was the day we got up really early to see the sunrise. We wanted to at Sapphire Beach because we’re more on the east end than we were at Kerensa. Our alarm went off at 5:15am and we pulled ourselves out of bed. But it was worth it. There is something more rewarding about seeing a sunrise. It’s something you have to work for. A sunset you can stumble upon, but a sunrise you have to really WANT to see.



After taking some pictures down by the beach we went back to our balcony to take a few more. As we stood there Matthew mentioned a song that had been going through his mind. After he mentioned his song to me I went and got my pocket hymnal (that he’d gotten me) and opened to “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty” because it began running through my head as we saw the beauty of the sunrise. We sang that hymn and a couple more. I will treasure this memory because it was so peaceful and perfect.



The clouds that morning seemed to keep rising higher and higher as the sun did, as if to veil the glory of the sun. For some reason that reminded me of Jesus' second coming - as if we aren’t ready to see His glory and the angels keep hiding us from it until the right moment. The sun finally broke through the clouds as Matthew and I were singing.
After singing we brought out our Bibles to the deck and started having our devotions. Then, after a good while, Matthew made us some breakfast which we ate outside. When this was all over it was only about 8am. It was great to have started the day in this way.



We wanted to go snorkeling before heading into town for our lunch so out we went. When I first stepped into the water these fish swarmed around my legs! They weren’t biting me, but they would bump into me, brush against me, and sort of nibble at my legs. It was kind of scary, but a good experience at the same time. Matthew’s version of saving me from the killer fish was through taking pictures and videos. =)











Watch for the flounder.



Pelican diving for fish.



Doesn't it look prehistoric?

Today I saw TWO types of jelly fish for the first time!



This is the first one, and we don’t have a picture of the second one, but it was translucent and shorter than the length of my index finger. (Matthew adds: Since the jellyfish was translucent, the camera couldn't focus on it properly - this is all we have. *sigh*)

After snorkeling we headed into town for lunch.



Again, VERY good! This time we got an appetizer and took home leftovers to have for supper.





The dish closest to you is called Gnocchi alla Gorgonzola. It was an experiment for Matthew and I, but it turned out to be a very good one!

That evening around 8pm we went over to the east end of the beach where Matthew got two beach chairs for us to sit on. The edges of the long chairs were just at the point where the waves broke. There we waited until 9pm and saw the fireworks from St. John.



They were not very big from where we could see them, but it was a unique and memorable way to spend our first Fourth of July together. The fireworks themselves were pretty impressive and we enjoyed the show.