Ann Asks: The old topsail routine

Oh good grief. How am I going to cover this one? No one summer was like another. Each one seemed to be different. One summer it was just the two grandmothers who went with us. Then Bill joined us the next summer. Then Carl joined us the summer after that. Then several years later Carl died and it was back to just Bill and the grandmothers. And then it all ended when you left for West Point and John’s coach said, “Swimmers of John’s caliber don’t take vacations’.

Jean should be writing this one as she was the brains and labor of the outfit. She knows all the particulars. I was just a driver.


Here goes nothing –

By the summer of 1989 both Ann and John were involved in recreation league swim meets in Gwinnett County, so the kids had obligations to swim in individual events or relays at the Gwinnett County Swim League Championship meet. Our vacation to the beach was always scheduled after that final swim meet. We felt that if you joined a team, then that was a commitment that had to be fulfilled to the very end.

During the weeks prior to our departure Jean would gather groceries and all the other gear we needed for the beach.  Bill did the same in Raleigh. Eventually Jean developed a document detailing all the stuff we needed to bring, which things were ours to bring, and which were Bill’s. Since Bill had only a 3 hour drive from Raleigh, and Grandma Millen (Gladys) was his only passenger, he could carry more groceries and could handle the items that required refrigeration. He could also arrange to arrive around check-in time, get the key, and buy any last-minute grocery items.

The swim meet was a two-day meet encompassing all-day Friday and all-day Saturday. Collecting all that gear and packing it in two cars Saturday morning, after spending the entire previous day outside at a swim meet, and staring at another whole day of the same in front of you, well, let’s just say it is an exercise of patience and endurance. Keep in mind the Mom and I were both stroke and turn officials during many of these meets and Mom was the President of the swim team for several of these years, so our days were full of responsibility. We also had two kids to parent and two relatives to host. It was a labor of love. Hard work, but great fun too.

We attended the championship swim meet until its conclusion late Saturday afternoon and then the 6 of us (Carl, Grandma Reva Pedelty, Jean, Tom, Ann, and John) piled into two cars for the 8 hour drive to Topsail Island. We left directly from the swim meet for Topsail Island.

The route was I-20 east from Atlanta to Florence, SC, and then US 76 over to Wilmington NC. US 76 seemed like backcountry roads compared to the interstate, but it was interesting to see all the homesteads along the way and the changing geography and flora as we approached the coast.

Each morning at the beach I’d get up and go for a run. My memory fades about having company during my runs. I bet Ann joined me some when she reached high school. John probably slept in most of the time as he had been doing two-a-days and welcomed the break. We’d eat cereal for breakfast and check the waves and the tides chart while we were eating. There would be a long discussion of when the best waves would occur. Then we would wait an hour (to placate the gods who created the eating and swimming myth) before going out to hit the waves.

A brilliantly composed piece about playing in the Big Waves was posted on July 27, 2009 and I won’t repeat that here, but feel free to click on the link and re-read it. The essence is this – Ann, John, and I (Tom) would stay out in the waves until we were exhausted from the effort or about to burn to a crisp.

Mom (Jean) and Grandma Pedelty (Reva) would spend the morning walking up and down the beach looking for sharks teeth. Carl did the same and when he got back to the beach house he would humorously pretend it was a competition on quantity, quality, or size, whichever category would permit him to claim victory. Bill would alternate between body surfing, hunting for sharks teeth, and reading books. Grandma Millen (Gladys) would mostly sit on the porch reading books and watching the rest of us frolic, and occasionally wander down to the waterline to check the water temperature.

Exhaustion seemed to guarantee that everyone was back in the house by lunchtime. It was pretty rare that we had to hunt people down for meals. There were plenty of adults to lend a hand so lunch was prepared in short order, devoured in short order, and cleaned up in short order.

After lunch it was naptime, or at the very least a quiet time. There is something about the beach and swimming fatigue that guarantees great sleeping, even in the middle of the day. After naptime we repeated our morning activity of hitting the beach. Sometimes the moms would go shopping or hit the turtle museum.

Again, exhaustion guaranteed that everyone was in the house in time for dinner. There were some adult beverages in moderation before dinner. The water was undrinkable unless you turned it into lemonade, so there was pink lemonade for the kids. We usually ate out a couple times during the week to give the moms a break.

Everyone welcomed bedtime. I never slept so well in my life. I was so tired from all that time in the ocean and the run in the morning. Sleeping was wonderful; and no worries while I was at the beach. The real world didn’t exist. Ecstasy. Heaven. Nirvana. Bliss. Yeah, it was all waiting for me back in ATL, but for one brief shining moment, none of it existed.

And in the morning, we did it all over again.


Postscripts –

1. One year when Carl wasn’t with us we tried doing the trip in one car, but that was pretty brutal on everyone. The space in the car was much too tight. We never did that again.

2. One year when Ann did not have afternoon relays Ann, Jean, and Grandma Pedelty headed off to the beach at midday leaving John and me at the swim meet. This was before John was old enough to drive, so I drove all 8 hours and arrived at the beach after midnight. John and I howled at the moon during the drive that night; lots of fun.

3. John’s birthday fell such that he was always just days into his two-year age group, or in the middle of his age group, at the time of the Georgia State Long Course Meet. This meet was the qualifying meet for the Zone team. Members of the Zone team were held in high regard amongst the swimming community, which is to say that you were officially hot stuff.

Not that the Zone team was one of John’s goals, but this one year John “finally” qualified for Zones at the state meet in spite of his age. At the close of the meet the officials cornered John on the pool deck needing an immediate commitment to the Zone team/meet which was to be held the first week in August. The meet conflicted with our vacation week at the beach. John never hesitated. John chose the beach over the Zone team.