Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Vacation Part 3: The Beach

So, here's the big news.  I don't really like the beach.  Well, specifically, I don't like the sand and there is a whole lot of that at the beach.  I do like the waves and the sounds and the sun, but the sand?  Not so much.

It sticks to you.  Ick.

Like I said earlier, we do this beach thing regularly and this beach usually.  So, we have seen most of the sights and done most of the 'stuff' so this week we really just hung out at the beach.
Amy LOVES the beach, even the sand, so she was down there longest of all enjoying herself.  Stevie would come and go.  I would come, sit awhile, walk awhile and go home.  I did learn to read my Kindle through a baggie so none of the dreadful sand got on it.  Yay!  Good idea, Amy.

I love walking on the beach...the constant breeze and the water rushing and playing.  The pelicans flying in formation and the shore birds running from the waves.  But, one day, a very sad thing happened.  As Stevie and I walked up, a large bird who was sitting flat on the sand at the water's edge, but facing the land, pushed himself up with his wings, turned himself toward the sea and let the next wave take him.  He was gone.  We waited for minutes, knowing that some birds dive to eat, but he never surfaced.  We could tell by his movements on the sand that he was somehow injured, couldn't fly or walk.
Seems to me he sat quietly making his peace and then turned to leave this life in the water that had been so much a part of his life.
I don't know what kind of bird he was.  Bigger than a gull, but not a pelican.
It really was a moment to remember for me....and I'm aware that I am reading more into it than was there, but it made me stop and think and wonder.  Those are all good things.

The rest of the week was much less dramatic but record breaking hot and stormy!
Here are some pictures.
Stormy over there on the way onto the Outer Banks...Saturday.

Sunday, from the top deck on our cottage, looking north.

Monday, looking south.  I think this was the night 
that the house shook!

Tuesday, looking east.  The ocean is just over there.  
Loving the colors in this one.
Good news - the storms were in the evening or the early morning
so beach time was not compromised.

Surface of the moon?  No.  Sand on Jockey's Ridge.
Lots of sand, but it wasn't at the beach and I 
wasn't wet so it wasn't AS sticky.


These tiny little frogs lives up there in the sand.
Amazing, right?


Sand blowing continually.  This is with my shoes sitting
only for a couple of minutes.  They would have been 
buried in no time.

Can you see what's going on down there?  
Let me see if I can help you out.

Three guys working diligently to make some lucky girls dream come true.  Letters were about 5 feet tall and a foot deep.  Isn't that sweet?
The ocean with sea oats.  I have this picture in some
form from each trip.

Waves coming in...

and going out.  
Or vice versa.

Love the old beach fences, too.

Found this PEACE leaf on one of our walks.


You can find peace lots of places.  You just have to look.

So, that's it.  Didn't take many pictures.  Didn't buy any souvenirs, except for a magnet to add to the collection.  Didn't eat any seafood.

Here's one thing I learned about myself on this trip.  I am a simple person.
We went out to eat at a fancy place one night and I didn't really enjoy it at all like I should have.  I keep trying and hoping it will seem like it was worth that much money for that experience, but it just isn't for me.  And I'm OK with that.  Just need to start saying go ahead without me!
Oh, and I love finding a small church filled with 'family' who are happy to see me!  And they gave me a loaf of bread when I left.  That was good food all around.

Happy that Amy and Stevie include me and we still love each other when we get home.




8 comments:

Rachel said...

Oh! The story of the bird! My heart would have been caught up as well....

I love the beach. Not when the wind is blowing sand in my face and eyes though. Most of the time I am in the water and only on the beach to dry and warm up before I jump back into the water!

Simple moments, simple times, make for momentous memories. Just the way I like it!

Donna said...

Oh, I didn't even put in here that one day it was so windy we got a free dermabrasion treatment! When I was a kid i remember hanging out IN the ocean on rafts and such, but can't really imagine it now...things lurking under there! I didn't used to be such a chicken....oh well.

Tanna said...

Lots of great stuff in here, Donna!! The story about the injured bird will stay mulling around in my mind for awhile, too. I think when we finally begin to KNOW ourselves, life takes a turn for the better. It seems this stage of life is so full of changes for me... sometimes, I don't recognize myself. I used to know myself so well... now, I'm getting to know the next stage. ;) Glad you found a way to enjoy your Kindle in spite of the invasive sand. ;) blessings and hugs ~ tanna

Donna said...

Tanna, that is what I was saying...knowing myself is sure to bring me peace and joy. Hope you are learning to love your 'next' self because you are most lovbable!

K said...

When I was wee, we lived in L.A. and used to go to the beach for church parties all the time. Sand in food. Then dessert: watermelon. Children and watermelon = juice in lines down the face, body and legs. Remember drawing with glue, then sprinkling on the glitter? Yeah, streaks of glued on sand up and down the body, not to mention between the teeth. Mom, "brushing" us off with the beach towels before we got into the car. Scrubbing, more like, and with towels that were, themselves, plenty covered with sand. Sitting in a damp swimsuit on the car seat - with a layer of sand that had gotten into the bottom of the suit.

But I love the rest of it - the wind off the water, the cries of the gulls, that mesmerizing surf. I'm sad about the bird.

Donna said...

Exactly! Sand is not your friend. I saw little baby girls sitting in the sand at the edge of the water where it buries you a little bit each time a wave goes out and wondered how much sand they were going to have in places you just shouldn't have sand....ouch.
You could have done body art with the watermelon juice and sand. You know. Sort of like beach henna!
I am reduced by the sheer size and power of the ocean...especially if I am there early or late without the people to help fill up the vastness. Reduced and enlarged by being part of the whole of God's mighty creation.

W-S Wanderings said...

This beach trip of yours, its full of life's mystery. The bird, the expansiveness, the piece of peace. And the connections between people.

I love, love, love old beach fences, grass swaying, and expanses of sand and surf. And wonderful, thoughtful blog posts about it all.

Donna said...

Sometimes I forget how blessed I am to live where I do. I am smack dab in the middle of some of the oldest and most amazing mountains, but I could be at the beach in under 6 hours...not Nag's Head, but a beach ... on the Atlantic Ocean... not a lake or sound. Yes, I live in the perfect place!