As I look back on all my summers, 40 of them... I try to put them in order and recall all the details of my favorite season and it comes down to one common denominator:
sand between my toes.
Summer of 69
I believe we were somewhere in West Virginia...
okay, no sand between those 6 week old toes.
Summer of 1970
Gulf Shores, Alabama
Definitely sand between the toes.
Mom and dad took me to the beach to celebrate birthday number 1.
I posed with a bulldog, wore a bikini, sported pig tails and wore those big round, face covering shades.
Summer of 1971 to 1973
I will have to do a bit more research.
I am not sure of the time frame, but somewhere in those years I had major surgery to remove a double esophagus. The surgery was a major endeavor where they had to, literally, cut me in half that required at least 4000 stitches, a chest tube and a long hospital stay.
Cinderella's castle in Disney World was a very important part of my recovery, along with various other tourist type destinations in Florida. Does princess dust count as sand?
Summer of 1974
We are officially Floridians and I am once again in the hospital. A quick stop to Manatee Memorial and then in for the long haul at Sarasota's Doctor's Hospital. A broken femur, traction and body cast to repair. I ended up in this predicament from trying to "dismount" like a gymnast from the swing set in our trailer park. Which, was nothing but sugar sand and those round, prickly stickers that you can never seem to get off.
So, technically, my summer started with a little bit of sand and ended with a whole lot of plaster.
Summer's of 1975 to 1981
Sand in the Keys along the 7 mile bridge, Marathon Camp Ground, Vero beach under the sand, Ft. Pierce in the pines, Sanibel and hermit crabs galore, Ruskin shores and blue crabs, and Daytona Beach where the sand had tire tracks, "whack-a-mole" and Noxzema first aid.
Summer's of 1982 to 1984
Nebraska, Kentucky, Tennessee and Winnemucca, Nevada...Tumbleweeds and desert sand does not count! Only a few years, but it seemed like a lifetime of being without my Florida sand.
Summer of 1985
Could have been Galveston sand, but thanks to my dear old Dad, we were back in Florida and I called the Ft. Pierce "Pay Beach" on North Hutchinson Island my home away from home!
Sweet, sweet sand between my toes again.
Summer of 1986
I think my little beige Nissan logged more trips on SR70 than any other time in my life.
The North Jetty Surf Shop became a favorite spot.
Sand between my toes, and on my floorboards!
Summer of 1987
I worked at the orange grove with my dad making 10 bucks an hour but I had to get up at 5 in the morning! : ( Watching the sun rise as we drove in that truck down the bumpy, curvy roads made missing beach time bittersweet. : ) All the hard work paid off that summer...we spent a week in the Bahamas. Abacoa Island sand between my toes was a nice treat.
Summer of 1988
College Days in Orlando. A new beach and surf shop discovered and concrete at Dover Shores City pool replaced a lot of sand that year.
Summer of 1989 to 1998
My sand mixture was made up of Ft. Lauderdale, Hollywood, Coconut Grove and the Keys. The Lauderdale FPL plant even contributed with a mixture of sugar sand and golf carts. We also got to add the Carolina Outerbanks and Georgia coastal sand to our sand repertoire.
Summer of 1999 to 2002
I rediscovered the Florida west coast sand. Whiter, brighter and more sand dollars. Anna Maria Island, where I first learned to swim, staying at the Villa Roma Hotel, which is still there, has great sand! Jupiter Beach Resort was discovered during these years and what a discovery we made. Their sand is captured with all 5 of the children's hand print. I made clay impressions of their hands while on the beach, so it has sand mixed in the mold. : 0
Sand between my toes and their hands!
Summer of 2003
We moved to the "Ocean State," Rhode Island. Not exactly Florida sand, or Florida weather. We explored the sand from Nantucket to Maine, but I prefer the warm breezes in Florida and our lovely sand.
Summer of 2004
We were back in Florida and back on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. I think Lily was 3 or 4 days old when I took her to Holmes Beach.
Summer of 2005 to 2007
We ventured to Martha's Vineyard, rode the ferry and sampled the Island life. We left the cozy New England town and made South Carolina, close to the mountains, our home. No beaches anywhere close, but Florida vacations would now be mandatory!
Summer of 2008
A vacation on Anna Maria Island turned into residency in Florida. Sand between my toes, even though, for the first time in my life, I was craving some Carolina mountain air. Lots of sand between my toes this summer.
Summer of 2009
Full Circle.
The "Pay Beach" has truly become a pay beach I can no longer afford. Our new spot is a cute little park on South Hutchinson Island with a lifeguard stand that we never see guards in but is a really neat place to take pictures at. The North Jetty Surf Shop is gone. I still haven't learned to surf...something I have wanted to do my whole life. But the children are playing in the same sand I did and riding the same waves I did and sitting on the beach watching them play makes me know at the end of the day there's not much better than
sand between my toes.
