Sun, Sea, Sand...sunsational!

“I hope you always have a shell in your pocket and sand in your shoes”. Unknown

Ahh, the beach. There is nothing quite like it. Thermostat in my bug registered 30.5 degrees, with a humidex of 36. It’s definitely a beach day! I had a million things I thought I needed to do. Then I thought of the millions of people that couldn’t pick up and go to the beach on a whim…like I could. So as quickly as I could load the car with my beach chair, beach towel, beach book (always), beach snacks, ice water and sunscreen, I was off to enjoy the sun and the sand and with any luck, some blissfully cool ocean air.


I wasn’t disappointed. I landed on a dirt road (affectionately called the ‘skunk house road’ by locals) that led down to a north side beach. There were two other vehicles there and they were loading up to leave  which meant I was going to have this end of the beach to myself!


There was an ocean breeze (albeit a warm one), but a breeze just the same. The tide was out so I made my way over a lot of sandstone rocks and out to the first sand flat and plunked my canary yellow chair promptly in the water. Dropping my beach bag on the sandbar and shedding my beach cover-up as I walked, I waded out into the coolest, clearest, jellyfish-free water I have ever seen. Without a moment’s hesitation I was up to my neck and my brain threatened to jump out of my skull, just like steam in a pressure cooker! It was heaven! In minutes my body temperature dropped below normal and for the first time in days I was finally cool.

Dripping and sopping wet, I returned to my yellow beach chair. Pulling out my current read (Castaways), I settled into a comfortable silence with only the ocean birds and gentle lapping of waves breaking my reverie. Further up the beach I could see the silhouette of a dog romping in and out of the water with a companion throwing sticks for it to retrieve. It looked like a postcard. A curious beachcomber spied me and for whatever reason took it upon himself to stroll the entire length of the beach (which was quite a hike) to check out this lonely looking lady. (Lonely, I was not, but for some reason here on this Island it is rare to see someone at the beach by themselves.) Strange. So while I read, I kept this approaching figure in my peripheral vision. I thought it was weird when he stopped just beyond a natural spring to stand there and stare. I continued to read, ignoring his presence. (Isn’t reading a book the universal language ‘don’t talk to me’)? Apparently this person doesn’t speak this language. He stood there and continued to stare. I guessed maybe he might just be a bit addled, or was never taught the social manners that ‘staring’ is plain impolite. Eventually he got bored just standing there, on the other side of the stream, and turned and walked the distance back to whence he came. Good grief! Now that was a slice! For the rest of my beach stay, I was left alone. My book is quite interesting, so before I knew it 2 hours had passed and the tide had already returned and had reached my beach bag. Now this is the way to beat the heat! Returning to my beetle, and picking up a heart-shaped rock along the way, I scraped the sand off my chair and did the best I could on my feet. The thermostat is now reading 24 degrees…definitely an improvement! The ride home was awesome, with the warm wind circling around inside my little convertible. My skin is dry and sticky and smelling vaguely of salt...a shower is definitely on the agenda. 
Life is good!