The Summer Solstice and a Birthday

The Youngest Island Boy is our summer child. His birthday is on the Summer Solstice so naturally we celebrate his birthday on the water.

This year his brother and sister were both out of town but he wanted to spend the day with his girlfriend, Miss B, so it was just them and the Island King and I.

We left the dock in the late afternoon, bounced across the Bay and anchored at our favorite spot on Okaloosa Island.


It wasn't long before I noticed two dolphin swimming pretty close to the shore. I hurried up to the beach and ran down to where they were and waded out towards them.

They were circling a school of mullet and not paying any attention to me so I was able to get about 30 feet from them when they closed in for the feast.

I got a video but it's pretty shaky because I was walking fast through the water but I got a really cool view of them.


I guess it's weird but even though I have seen dolphin on a regular basis my entire life and have been fortunate enough to swim with them a few times, I still get just as excited as someone who's never seen one before.

There is something magical about them that always leaves me in awe.

The sun started to set and I noticed that my son was standing on the point with his girlfriend watching the sun set.



We've always watched the sunset together and even though I spied on him with binoculars last time I decided to leave them be and watched the sunset with the Island King. Not that that was a problem – I do love the old guy but it's not his birthday.


The sun did not disappoint and the sunset was the perfect end to the longest day of the year.


As an added bonus, Tuesday night was a once in a lifetime astrological event, a Strawberry Moon was expected to rise.

The moon was supposed to rise about an hour after the sun set so we spent that time making dinner.


Kabobs on the grill and a salad are always his birthday dinner choice so that's what we had.



We ate, he blew out the candles on his cake


And just as we finished the brightest red/orange moon I've ever seen started to rise.


My husband is a professional photographer but he refuses to bring his work equipment on the boat so we were stuck with Iphone pictures.



Sadly, they do no justice to just how beautiful it was.

Once the moon got higher in the sky it lost it's color (at least where we were) but was so bright it was like daylight out there.


We enjoyed the critter sounds coming from the Island, talked a while and then packed everything up and headed home.

Spending that day in the warm water next to our boat, seeing our son so happy with to be in the water and with Miss B, getting such a close up look at the dolphin, enjoying a beautiful sunset and then seeing the Strawberry Moon rise was incredible.

The Youngest had an amazing birthday and we all had an evening to remember.


Happy Birthday Son!