Beaches.....(not the movie).....

I love the beach.   The sound of the waves, the smell of the ocean and the feeling of the sun soaking into my skin.  Yes, I use sun screen!!!!!

My first exposure to the beach was Orchard Beach in the Bronx.  Mom and Dad packing up us kids early on a Sunday morning along with towels, blankets, cooler and food for the day.  Playing in the water for hours.  Building sand castles. Your feet getting hot walking on the sand and Mom wrapping a towel around you to change before heading home.

As a teenager, it was the Jersey Shore.  Two glorious weeks each summer at the shore.  Mornings Dad would do some surf cast fishing.  Usually, Dad would be heading back to the house right around the time the rest of us were walking up to the beach.  Dad was not a fan of sitting in the sun.  Or maybe he was just smart, his timing meant he had all day by himself to sit by the bay and read in peace and quiet.  I was an admitted sun worshipper..... a bottle of Sun In (which turned my hair orange)in one hand and a bottle of baby oil and iodine in the other.....what was I thinking???

Later on I was lucky enough to spend time on beaches in California with my Mom's family, Bermuda with college friends for spring break, the Hawaiian islands (4 of them) and last summer Barbados.

I have watched the sun rise while traveling with some girlfriends to Virginia Beach and also at Ocean City Maryland when Jenn was small.

Most recently, I have friends who have opened their beach house to their friends.  What is better than watching the tide rise on the salt marshes? or seeing more stars in the night than you thought were possible? or sitting on a bench at the top of a walkway to the beach reading a book, listening to an IPOD and people watching.   How about going to the beach at high tide and walking down the stairs to the beach and putting your feet in the surprisingly warm water and then laughing as you try not to slip off the step into the water.

When I retire....which isn't that far off.....10 years or so.......I will find a way to move there.

I find my happiness at the beach..... I find my soul listening to the ocean....... I am at peace when I hear the sound of the waves and smell the ocean in the breeze..........