Palm trees mixed with palmetto bushes and pine trees,
skirting through hot sand dotted with those hard, brown sticker things that really hurt bare feet.
Lots of shells and an oily coconut smell.
An ocean breeze that cools the burn from the hot Florida sun.
A rocky jetty,
a brown pelican bobbing,
kids swimming
and
waves crashing.
A bottle of Coke and a candy bar next to the North Jetty Surf Shop.
Surf wax,
cold terazzo floors
and
that bell sound when you open the door to the convenience store.
Blueberry hill where "Lizzie" (my car) got air,
reckless driving and brown summer skin.
An impatient teenager that lost a precious jewel in the sand.
Pure pleasure,
a world to escape to.
Windows rolled down,
very loud music and my hair blowing all over.
I lived for the weekends.
Days to be spent under the blazing heat.
Never enough water, sand or sun for me.
Give me a shack on the beach,
a tikki hut by the river,
or a boat docked in the marina.
I'll never live those years again.
Some days were crazy.
Some days were lazy.
Some days were even hazy.
Those days were lessons in life I will never forget.
Hard lessons I've learned in the sand,
but I am who I am
because of the boardwalk over the sand.
*I know it's Thanksgiving and we are actually getting into the 40's tonight, not exactly the post you might expect. However, "The Beach Where I Grew Up" is about a place I am very thankful for! :) Summer represents celebration and I know that fall is indicitive of the harvest season. But see I am in the winter season right now and even with Christmas songs playing in the background I long for the summer season. A season to celebrate. You must have that particular season to get to the harvest, you know. Another season I long for. Really, I just want winter to end...and when I glance at the calendar...it's just starting...
