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Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Where's My Beach?

Aruba

Every year before spring hits, I start thinking about beaches. I love beaches and I would love to live on a beach. I don't know if it is because they remind me of vacations and I like vacations, or if I just gravitate toward the water and surf. Maybe something primitive in my ancient brain wants to crawl back into the ocean.


"All of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea -- whether it is to sail or to watch it -- we are going back from whence we came."
    John F. Kennedy, Speech given at Newport at the dinner before the America's Cup Races, September 1962


 


Magen's Bay, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands
Unfortunately, I would have to face all of the disadvantages of owning beach property if I wanted to live on a beach--storms, property damage from weather, or vandals if I didn't live there year-round. I know people who live near the ocean and ignore it--huh? I love the salt, the sand, the seashells and the hot sun. My collection of big brim hats and sun screen keep my skin happy. It is worth a few discomforts to relax in a beach chair under an umbrella and drag my feet through the warm sand.

 


Atlantic City, New Jersey
As much as I dislike having to get on a plane and check baggage to fly to a beach, I've done that countless times. We have sat on beaches in a lot of countries, but I like to drive to a beach. I just don't like the traffic because a lot of other people like to drive to beaches too. It is fun to pack up the sand chairs, umbrellas, hats, coolers and drag all of it from the car to the beach. I have to give some quality time to considering where I want to sit on a beach first this season.

 


Labadee, Haiti


My special beach would have dramatic, crashing surf; clean, coarse, white sand; and miles to walk along the beach in the surf. My favorite beach would have some people, but crowded beaches don't appeal to me. I'm okay with a little leisurely tropical music coming from a straw hut beach bar, but I'm okay without it. I'd rather listen to the seagulls. I like beaches where I can read, or meditate, or watch the surf and feel peaceful.  


Cape May, New Jersey
“You can tell all you need to about a society from how it treats animals and beaches.”

-- Frank Deford

9 comments:

  1. For many years of my earlier life, I lived in Puerto Rico, never very far from the ocean. I used to walk there year round with my little son, and we would play in the surf. I can still recall how restful and beautiful it was.

    Where I live now, in the Pacific Northwest, the beaches are rocky and it's never warm and tropical. But the beauty and magic of the ocean still captures my heart. I love beaches, too.

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  2. Oahu has pretty beaches, but they tend to be crowded, not deserted. When I was younger, I would go to the beach every weekend and got very tanned that way. I still love the beach, but rarely go there anymore.

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  3. I like beaches as long as I'm not the one having to clean up the sand everywhere. My grandmother loved the ocean, and it's difficult to be at the beach in the sunshine without feeling her presence.

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  4. Beautiful pictures. I grew up across the street from a beach and I hate to be far from the shore, or at least a body of water. i live near a river now and it's nice but it's not the same as having the salt air hit your nose or the gulls overhead. I've flown to beaches too and I wish I could just walk :)

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  5. I love the sea too R.J. I haven't seen it for about 2 years now and I long to go. For me, here in England, it is about a cold wind and the freshness it brings. We have sun, but not so hot and intense as over there. I love the smell of the sea and the feel of the 'cold' sand neath my feet.
    Thank you for your comment on my Blog re Dylan. :)

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  6. Have you been to Hawaii? Some of the beaches there are outstanding. Recently, my brother had their company’s travel commission in Anini Beach Park (Kauai). According to my brother, “it’s like a slice of heaven there.” It became one of his most adored places since then.

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  7. Unfortunately, Hawaii is not a place I have visited but it is on my bucket list. The Travel Channel rates their beaches very high on their tops lists. Some day my ship will come in. Until then, I visit the Caribbean--closer and cheaper.

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  8. My son was rather disappointed that we didn't buy a home closer to the beach. However, with the latest tsunami news stories, he's thinking maybe it's good to live up a hill.

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