The Dreaded Beach-thingee

Well,having survived the yard sale,crimson-hued though we are from sunburn,we're off to the next event . There are those who would argue that we are indeed "off" ! Never mind. A dear friend has moved up north and we are to meet with her in a couple of days. Her daughter has planned a beach destination with lunch.It sounds like such fun,loving the beach as we do ! Going to the beach is no simple matter.Rather like traveling with an infant,one must plan for every eventuality. This having been said,the closet was duly raided for that beach shelter ,purchased for a tropical trip and not used . It looked so innocent,lying there,all blue and lightweight. Oh,the evil of it all ! The contents slid out easily enough into a very small pile. Once one began to unfold the fabric,however, this became a different endeavor entirely . The hitherto empty side of my porch,previously deemed more than ample for this trial run was soon filled to capacity.The thingee soon expanded to close off all exits,to the horror of my terrified cat.Shock-corded poles took on a life of their own,writhing in serpentine splendor,refusing to slide into the designated tubes that form the structure. Worried to be either inpaled or imprisioned, I plodded warily through the instructions. Ah,success...sort of . Although all was assembled correctly,the sheer vastness of the thingee was surely understated ! What we have here,folks,is a beach shelter large enough to enclose not only the four of us,as planned, but a string quartet...and a wet bar...and a small buffet...with servers !! Okay , maybe it's not that big,but it really will fit us all quite comfortably ! It even has two zip-open screened windows with storage pockets underneath,and its own sewn-in floor,and sand anchors. Who would have thought a mere $15 would buy such largesse ? Despite misgivings,it did fit back into the carry case,although there was the same sort of objection as one getting back into a girdle ...hmmmm...never fits quite the same way,does it ? So here we are,all fitted out with the beach thingee,two dandy new beach chairs and towels,copious amounts of sunblock for any skin not smothered with clothing and high hopes for a day untouched by Hurricane Whatshisname.We have no interest in wind testing the structural integrity of the beach thingee ! Dorothy and Toto tried it with an actual house and it didn't turn out well,at all !