Friday Five from the beach
Posted by Dory @ Lucky Dorito on Friday, June 6th, 2008
Today is our last full day here. Gee, how they zip by in record time huh? Seems like we just got here! Oh well, I am so not going to complain because at least we got to come while so many others don’t get a vacation.
My five favorite things about the beach:
1. The horizon. I love to sit and just stare off into the horizon. It reminds me how small and insignificant I really am in the grand scheme of things. That helps me to put all the troubles and frustrations of life into perspective so much easier. You know when something is bothering you - it becomes almost *consuming*? You can’t think of much else or even to a solution to it? I usually turn to prayer and ask the Lord to help ease that burden from my mind which helps tremendously. But then, when I’m here, looking off at the horizon - I realize just how trivial and petty those things really are. For some reason, that truly helps me get a better perspective.
2. The sand. Oh my goodness…. what is more fun then sitting with your toes in the sand? While I sit and read, my toes are constantly digging in the sand, half the time I don’t even realize I’m doing it. It’s the perfect exfoliant for dry feet, by the way. 
The girls can build castles and moats and hunt for crabs for hours. It does have it’s drawbacks when you ride a boogie board in on a wave and get a face-full of it. Or when you have an extra couple of pounds lurking in your swimsuit… making you MOST uncomfortable. That part I could live without. 
3. The water. What is more comforting, more relaxing, more pleasant then to hear the waves coming in and out? I could just sleep to that noise every night. We have this handy dandy little electronic noise-maker at home that has *waves* as an option…. it’s not nearly as much fun as BEING HERE though.
4. The sun. Ok, well, there is sunshine just about everywhere, right? So it’s not unique to the beach… but…. I love it anyway. Believe me, from someone who suffers from some Seasonal Affective Disorder - I crave the sunshine the way some people crave food. I GOTTA have it! But, I don’t love it being terribly hot either so the sun at the beach, which is mixed with that breeze of the water - well, it’s darn near perfect for me. :P There have been times this week when the *breeze* was so strong it blew my hat off my head but it kept us cool!
5. The smells. Yeah, this is sorta weird. The ocean has a unique smell to it. I don’t know how to describe it so that you might understand it, if you’ve never been here yourself. It smells salty and fishy and sometimes kinda *rank* but even then, I love it. (Yeah, I know…… weird, huh?) I’ve never been anywhere else that had a smell that made me think, “Oh, that smells like the ocean”. Maybe it’s just me…. I’ve always associated smells to places. Or songs to memories.
I think as I write this that I could probably make this a Friday Fifteen because already I’m thinking of other things I love about being here that didn’t make this list of five… but… the days a’wasting! I better get OUT in it and enjoy the last one, right? I’ve had lots of time to think and come to some rational decisions about my life this week. That’s always a pleasant bonus about being here… time to gain perspective. I hate that the time is nearing an end but…. all good things must end, n’est pas?
Now, ya’ll get out an enjoy your Friday too!
Filed in Friday Five, Me |
Marciaon 06 Jun 2008 at 7:59 am 1Enjoy your last day of vacation!! It sounds heavenly.
Marcia
Beccaon 06 Jun 2008 at 9:46 am 2Last day already? It has gone by fast! I hope that you got lots and lot of pictures! And made great memories!
~Hugs,
Becca
Guinieon 06 Jun 2008 at 10:56 am 3I know exactly what you mean….esp. about the smells. The minute we stepped off the plane in Hawaii…wow! I wanted to just stand there and soak everything in….yes, at the airport!!!! lol The reason being, there are no windows in the airport on Maui….so as soon as you step into the gate….it just HITS you. :o) You’re making me homesick for paradise! :o) I’m glad you’ve had a great time…and I’m sorry it’s over so soon! :o)
Guinieon 06 Jun 2008 at 10:58 am 4Well, actually, there are windows in the airport…but it’s still “open”….so you can smell the ocean and feel the humidity….does that make sense? No windows along the walkways outside the gate…and the entrances to the gates are open too.
I have no idea if that makes any sense at all! lol
Clear as mud Guinie.
thotladyon 06 Jun 2008 at 11:06 am 5I agree with you on the power of the beach making everyday troubles in our lives seem insignificant. Perspective is a powerful thing. Sometimes I don’t like it, but mostly I do.
The first time I saw the beach was in California. Everyone has a similar story. When I stepped onto the beach it was saw awe inspiring I immediately took a lot of photos. When I got home and showed my photos to family and friends, when they came to the beach photos, they would move through them very quickly and say…water, water, water, or beach, beach, beach, depending on how many there were…and trust me there were a lot. You can’t quite capture the awesomeness of the beach in photos. You just need to ‘be there’…and lucky you, you are!
Absolutely… like pics of the Grand Canyon… you can’t capture all the colors and shapes and width and depth - it all looks *flat* in pics. That’s why everyone needs to come here just once huh?
Stacyon 06 Jun 2008 at 11:07 am 6Enjoy the last few hours you have there. Savor it until next time, my friend.
giggleson 06 Jun 2008 at 11:21 am 7You are making me homesick…………
enjoy
Scarecrowon 06 Jun 2008 at 12:26 pm 8Okay, so in reverse order…
5) Smells….ever since I was a child, that ‘salt air’, as my parents always called it, was the last milestone of sights, sounds & smells, that announced to me that I was finally “down the shore”. It is one of my favorite smells…even though it always makes my nose run. Go figure.
4) The Sun….yeah, it is different on the beach. I’d take hazy, hot and humid, laying in on the beach over in the city any day. And NO…the bikini’s have nothing to do with it.
3) Again, I agree, the sound of the waves is up there. Probably more so than the sound of rain. Of course, I have heard the sound of rain at the same time as that of the ocean. A rain storm on the beach is actually pretty cool.
2) The sand….um….your a kook.
1) Yeah…it’s a pretty cool sight and does evoke thoughts of being insignificant….but truly you are not. I am happy that it gives you a better perspective, but having a friend like you in our lives is pretty significant. Even if you have horribly deformed feet.
S
LOL… I do NOT… they are sorta cute, in a *feet* sort of way!
megon 06 Jun 2008 at 5:56 pm 9Enjoy your time left & have a safe trip home!
Jenon 06 Jun 2008 at 11:15 pm 10I think the thing that I love most about the ocean is the sound. I left the sliding glass doors to our ocean view balcony open all night long while we were there so I could listen to it. It was music to my ears.
Be safe on the trip home!
Shannonon 07 Jun 2008 at 5:48 am 11I’m so glad you have had such a wonderful and relaxing week! I’m praying that the girls sleep all the way home and you have super safe travels!