Wanderlust: summer

Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts

Thursday, April 7, 2011

The Chronicles of Our Beach

Living in a small, simple town by the shore has forever changed my relationship with the beach. Before living here, the beach was always a busy, crowded place that tried to burn my skin, put salt in my mouth and leave sand in my pants. But living at the beach, I've been able to see that the beach has many different moods. The beach, like all things famous, gets stereotyped. And there is certainly a bit of truth to most people's expectations of my beach, but like most stereotypes, there is also so much more.

Welcome to my Beach

The beach, like everywhere, changes drastically with each season. In the summer, great crowds of frolickers come to play in the sand and sun and sea. They bring their umbrellas and their beach towels and they decorate the beach with their excitement and joy. The people find so many things to do on the beach: swim, surf, read, build castles, search for buried treasure, play sports, take naps, I even saw someone film a TV show. It seems everyone loves to do something different at the beach. Quite solitude is very hard to come by during the summer. But it can be found, especially after the sun goes down when, like most of the world, the beach gets much quieter.

The Beach decorated with People

Filming something for HBO

Children Playing

Searching for Treasure

In the fall and spring, the crowds mostly leave and the fishermen come out to play. They are most present during the twilight hours, I think because that's when the fish are hungriest. Some of them have great big poles the size of two men. They throw their lines out beyond the waves, shove their poles into the sand and wait for animals of the sea to bite. Others have simple fishing poles and stand on the edges of piers and jetties dodging waves and searching for fish.

People fishing at daybreak

Giant Poles

Exciting Discovery

Winter is certainly the quietest time at the beach, but people still try to surf in stormy waves or plunge into the freezing water for charity. But mostly people seem to take peaceful walks along the beach during winter, especially with their dogs. Dogs aren't allowed on the beach during summer, I guess because tourists and dog poo don't mix very well. If you want to be alone with the beach, winter is the best time to do it.

Solitude at the Beach

I've seen the beach change more than just moods while I've been here as well. It seems the constant assault of waves is carrying the sand from our beach away to some unknown adventure. To keep the beach from washing away, the government trucks in several tons of sand. But instead of dumping the sand evenly all over the beach, they built a 10 foot mountain of sand. Perhaps it was to help shield the town during the stormy season, but it also makes a great new vista point. I love walking along this new mini-mountain range and soaking in the beautiful view.

Erosion of our Beach

It seems there is always something new at the beach. Nothing ever stays the same, even somewhere as simple and enduring as the beach. I'm so grateful for the chance we were given to spend a year living on this beach. I have learned a lot about the place I once disliked and I have come to love the beach. I never know what I'll see or find next at the beach, which is all I really want from life anyway.

New York City as seen from our Beach

Some Locals at the Beach

My Wife's Footprints

Strange Object Found at the Beach

Monday, June 1, 2009

Summer is Here

Ahhhhhh, it feels so good. Summer has arrived with the bounce of a trampoline and the swing of a hammock.

Summer means freedom, the freedom to swim in the ocean and grill outdoors, the freedom to wear sandals or hike mountains. Yesterday it meant enjoying an entire afternoon playing games and eating food outside under the great summer sky. This is my first adult summer spent outside Arizona and summer in New Jersey is much different than in the 'Zona desert. It's not just because the temperature is below 120 degrees.

Summer out here has a beginning and an end. I already miss winter, but not in the way that I miss my first cat. Unlike the eternal summer of the desert, I know this summer will eventually end and winter shall return. This finiteness makes me enjoy the freedom of summer much more than I ever have. Variety is my favorite spice in the meal of life. So bring on the summer fun, I'm ready to enjoy it while it lasts.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Absence makes the heart grow...

Spring is here and that means all kinds of change. Not everybody likes change, it often gets a lot of bad press. That's because with all change there is loss. Now matter how great the newness which change brings may be, the loss of the old can be bitter.

I'm going to miss sledding and hot chocolate on a cold winter's night and especially the smell of Christmas. But constant winter, or even constant spring, summer, or fall, wears on the soul. We all need loss, it makes way for new fruit.

It's not always easy to put in the effort and energy needed to bring about change. Especially when the loss is certain and the gain is unknown. I try to periodically examine the constants in my life, to make sure comfort and familiarity aren't holding me back. I once wore only corduroy pants for an entire decade. As comfortable as they were, refusing to change limited me in ways I didn't even imagine. If you don't absolutely love your job or your town or your life, you may need to consider change. Don't be seduced by the comfort summer brings, we all need a little winter and spring.

Wanderlust

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