“Do I love you? My God, if your love were a grain of sand, mine would be a universe of beaches.” -from “The Princess Bride” – Wesley to Buttercup
I simply love being at the beach. Sometimes I wonder why or how I can love it so much, but then maybe the key to it is in the b-e-i-n-g. The beach is the perfect place to just BE. My ideal world is a universe of beaches.
The Dunes
Last week, my family and I returned to Prague from a couple weeks in the US, and ended our US time with a week on the Gulf coast of Florida. The beach there was dreamy — clear water, sugar sand, full sun, and calm waves. We were lucky, though. The week before we arrived, a Tropical Storm dumped rain on the Tampa / Clearwater area.
Shell Tree: shells left by high water along the Clearwater Beach
There is something about the luxury of having days in a row ordered not by the hour on a clock, but by the tides. About the sand wearing off rough spots on the feet and in the mind. About the days ending with the great sun bobbing into the sea, while dolphin play games just an arms length away, so close they could be touched. The beach is made of magic.
Here, some photos of my favorite things about the beach:
The Sunsets
There is no more vivid painting in the world than each moment at the beach leading up to the sunset. The colors heat up from midday’s pale blues to the flaming blood reds and oranges as the sun melts into the sea. Heart-stopping, every time.
Palm Trees at Sunset
Sailboat at Sunset
Sailboats: is there anything more ocean-dreamy? *Cue Sailing by Christopher Cross music*
Reflections
Dolphin
The Serenity
The Delicates
The Jewels
A Great Egret
The Rhythmic Cleansing of the Waves
But the best part of a beach vacation is being there with family. It was a time full of fun and family memories. I’m very grateful …
The Smile is from being on the Beach
Do you have a favorite thing about the beach? Or a favorite beach? Please share! And enjoy these precious days of summer.
-Jennifer
PS. An update on the Great New Books book group (more info here), which is up and running on Goodreads here. Our first book selection is John Green’s excellent THE FAULT IN OUR STARS. In order to streamline and simplify our lives, we’ve agreed that we need a page at Facebook to mirror what is posted on the Goodreads site page. That way, we all can see what’s happening from our daily Facebook streams. So … (drumroll) … click here to find our Great New Reads page on Facebook. We look forward to you joining us!
