What I want to focus on for this post, as you can probably infer from the title, is the beach. I love the beach. My grandparents had a timeshare in Cannon Beach, Oregon, all while I was growing up. We went pretty often, and spent a lot of time with my cousins there. Cannon Beach holds a very special place in my heart because it is the first beach I remember every going to. I spent so many days looking through the tide pools by Haystack Rock, searching for starfish and anemones. I spent just as many nights there sitting around a fire in the cold sand, bundled up in an oversized sweatshirt but still wearing shorts, like a true oregonian. I remember the time my cousin was showing us all how she could do the splits, but I couldn't, so I tried jumping of a log so I could land in the splits and then spending the next 30 minutes crying because I really wasn't flexible enough for the splits. I also remember sitting in the hot tub with my cousins, playing lots of water games, because the ocean was always too cold to swim in. I remember exactly what the walk to the beach looked like, and the two beach houses we walked between to get to the actual beach. I so dearly miss walking through the cold sand, watching the sun set over the sea. What I miss the most though is all the time we spent there with our family playing phase 10. Okay, maybe that's not what I miss most, but it was a staple of every trip!
Another beach that I hold close is Corona Del Mar, just south of Newport Beach in SoCal. The first time I went there was with my ward for FHE, where we played beach volleyball and roasted marshmallows over a fire after it got dark. After that first time, I went back almost weekly. It was about 30 minutes from my apartment and I was kind of going through some things at the time, so I spent a lot of time there, usually with friends, just sitting on the sand after dark, listening to the waves. It was my escape. I remember the last time I was there, 2 days after I had lost my job, I went with a handful of friends that I wanted to spend one last night with. It was in late April, so it wasn't particularly warm after dark. The sand was cold, just how I like it, and the waves were strong. I spent nearly an hour, by myself, sitting on the lifeguard stand, just listening to the waves crash onto the jetty. I go back there in my mind whenever I just need to get away from the world.
One thing that I have said before, I don't remember who it was to, but I remember telling them that I always feel at home whenever I am at a beach. Well, I want to revise that a little bit. I always feel at home on a cold beach. Warm beaches feel more like a vacation destination to me. I much prefer the cold sand, water that is far too chilly to swim in, and a brisk breeze, just enough that I need an oversized hoodie :) I would take an Oregon coast beach over a Florida beach any day.
Well, now I live in North Texas, where the only sand is found on the banks of muddy lakes, far away from anything even remotely resembling the beaches that I love. But I still have plenty of memories to look back on.
Cold beaches make me happy :)
The first picture is Corona Del Mar, the second is a heavily edited Cannon Beach. Both pictures were taken by me.
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