Some friends and I went to the beach today! It's been three years since I was last at a beach and I can't believe I waited so long to return.
Finding parking was terrible ($25 for parking?! Really?!), but the rest of it was pretty fun. We took a stroll on the boardwalk and then went on to the beach. We had to pay $9 per person for a beach pass to get on to the beach itself though. I've never had to pay to get onto a beach before and let me tell you, I'm not doing it again. The beach itself was nice. The ground was hot, but the water was nice and cold, a relieving contrast to traipsing around in sunburnt sand. It was fun watching the seagulls and people. There was a cooling breeze coming from the ocean although when the wind picked up, it was so strong that it blew away people's beach umbrellas and cooler lids.
There was one group of people talking about the ocean and the guy said, "Did you know some people believe that the ocean was made out of God's tears? It used to be a pond." Then his umbrella blew away and he had to chase after it. A woman nearby heard his story and said a rude comment, but later on, all three of her beach umbrellas blew away. She was too busy playing near the water to notice so she didn't even know that her umbrellas were gone until she came back later. Hah! I thought. She got her just desserts.
After a while, I decided to go to the water myself. It was so mesmerizing watching the waves roll in and out and as soon as I stepped up to the waves, I felt an immediate feeling of coming home. "It's been a long time," I felt the ocean saying to me. Yes it has, Ocean. Yes it has. I can't believe I've waited this long to return to the beach. I know that I'm terrified of it, but it's also something to respect and admire as well. There's a line in a song that goes, "I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean." That's how I felt. Then I looked up and down the shore line and thought, I don't see how you CAN'T feel small. The ocean is HUGE. I slowly stepped into the waves until the incoming tide came up to my thighs, then I stopped. I just stood there after that, letting the waves roll over me, laughing and squealing like I was five years old again. There were times the waves were small and didn't even reach my toes. Other times, the waves were huge and I had to run away from them. Even then, I would get soaked all the way up to my waist. As I watched other people "catching a wave", I envied them and wished that I had brought my swimsuit so I could ride waves, too. At least I wore my short shorts so I could stand in the water and let it wash over my legs.
I could have stood there for hours just letting the waves roll over me, but after a while, my friend came and asked if I was ready to go home. I took a few last glances at the ocean. Until we meet again, Ocean. The ocean seemed to wave goodbye to me. Until we meet again.
Finding parking was terrible ($25 for parking?! Really?!), but the rest of it was pretty fun. We took a stroll on the boardwalk and then went on to the beach. We had to pay $9 per person for a beach pass to get on to the beach itself though. I've never had to pay to get onto a beach before and let me tell you, I'm not doing it again. The beach itself was nice. The ground was hot, but the water was nice and cold, a relieving contrast to traipsing around in sunburnt sand. It was fun watching the seagulls and people. There was a cooling breeze coming from the ocean although when the wind picked up, it was so strong that it blew away people's beach umbrellas and cooler lids.
There was one group of people talking about the ocean and the guy said, "Did you know some people believe that the ocean was made out of God's tears? It used to be a pond." Then his umbrella blew away and he had to chase after it. A woman nearby heard his story and said a rude comment, but later on, all three of her beach umbrellas blew away. She was too busy playing near the water to notice so she didn't even know that her umbrellas were gone until she came back later. Hah! I thought. She got her just desserts.
After a while, I decided to go to the water myself. It was so mesmerizing watching the waves roll in and out and as soon as I stepped up to the waves, I felt an immediate feeling of coming home. "It's been a long time," I felt the ocean saying to me. Yes it has, Ocean. Yes it has. I can't believe I've waited this long to return to the beach. I know that I'm terrified of it, but it's also something to respect and admire as well. There's a line in a song that goes, "I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean." That's how I felt. Then I looked up and down the shore line and thought, I don't see how you CAN'T feel small. The ocean is HUGE. I slowly stepped into the waves until the incoming tide came up to my thighs, then I stopped. I just stood there after that, letting the waves roll over me, laughing and squealing like I was five years old again. There were times the waves were small and didn't even reach my toes. Other times, the waves were huge and I had to run away from them. Even then, I would get soaked all the way up to my waist. As I watched other people "catching a wave", I envied them and wished that I had brought my swimsuit so I could ride waves, too. At least I wore my short shorts so I could stand in the water and let it wash over my legs.
I could have stood there for hours just letting the waves roll over me, but after a while, my friend came and asked if I was ready to go home. I took a few last glances at the ocean. Until we meet again, Ocean. The ocean seemed to wave goodbye to me. Until we meet again.
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