I dream of the beach all year long.
Topsail Island, North Carolina, between five and seven o’clock in the evening, to be precise.
The edge sanded off the sun, so I’m no longer in danger of burning the you-know-what out of the backs of my legs, sprawled out reading on my towel.
The sand exhales the heat of the day, and the tips of my toes carve out twin channels behind me.
The sandpipers re-emerge--agile hunters, dodging the edges of surf in search of tiny coquina clams. I could watch them all day, noticing how their tiny feet dance in graceful arcs, teasing the playful tide.
The most perfect breeze picks up, and everyone who’s already gone in to shower and make dinner misses out. It’s like this secret thank you, a reward for staying late after a long day of swimming and beach walks and sand castles. A glimpse of the way the beach prepares itself for goodnight.
Who cares about dinner when there are fewer than seven days a year to soak up this specific slice of beach?
Every minute feeds me.
Your words warm me as if I were at the beach. Beautiful pic too.
ReplyDeleteI love visiting the beach in the late afternoon or early evening. The details in your slice capture some of the magic. Ahhhh....
ReplyDeleteOh, the visuals and the sound!! Thank you for this little mind vacation. There was a high of 36 degrees here today, with 20 mph gusts. I am ready for winter to leave. I am a summer girl. We love the beach.
ReplyDeleteWe've never been to North Carolina. It sounds wonderful!!
Your words are so perfectly chosen - "twin channels," dodging and teasing. The beach, personified, preparing for goodnight. Your long, flowing sentences capture the calm and stretch this moment out until I can tell the last rays of the sanded sun drop below the horizon. Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThe beach is my happy place. You capture it well.
ReplyDeleteI can feel myself there; I wish I were there! This is a very descriptive slice with great sensory details.
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