July 2024
yoooooooo. End of July and the end of summer vibes. I’ve found that we as a family can handle about 60 days of summer activities. IE the pool, beach trip, and other summery things. That typically starts in late May and carries to mid-July. Then it’s just hot with no way to escape. The pool is forgotten because it’s now simply a hot tub and traveling to another hot place to roast on the beach more than once doesn't sound all that appealing. So it’s about survival from this point on.
Anyway, here’s what July was like.
July was a ton of busy fun. The first half of the month was mostly travel. We took a trip to the Pacific Northwest, which we have written about in detail here. The gist is that we spent time in Seattle, Olympic National Park, and Rainier National Park. The beauty and weather hit us like a ton of bricks. To go from the heat of the South to the cooling green of the PNW was an amazing change of pace.
The day after we returned from Washington we drove down to Port Saint Joe for a week at the beach with the family. Port Saint Joe and Mexico Beach are some of the best beach towns in the panhandle. It’s small enough not to feel like PCB or Destin and has a nice enough beach to make it usable, for the most part. We did have significant issues with the rip tide and sharks, but I’ll just chalk that up to the weather.
Our basement remodel is in full swing. This month was mostly building back up what was destroyed in May and June. The drywall and paint went up, the ceiling was mostly finished (sans lighting), and the bathroom was kicked off.
In the next few weeks the bathroom, wet bar, and flooring will be wrapped up. After that, the last few bits and pieces will be doors, fixtures, and other finishes. Then I have the daunting task of picking out a bunch of furniture. The good news for me is that since it’s in the basement I probably have more of a say than I do when we pick pieces for the main living area.
Best and Worst of the month
Best thing I watched, read, or listened to: Dark Age by Pierce Brown
Worst thing I watched, read, or listened to: Twisters (such an L and it’s annoying how easy this should have been)
Best experience of the month: Hiking Mount Rainier
Best thing I ate: Bulgogi and Big Sister's Kitchen // Chowder at Pike Place Market // Katie’s sourdough muffins
