The Beach

I absolutely adore going to the beach. I spent a decent amount of my vacation there. It was wretched to have to return to work. Why can't I be independently wealthy? Ah but, I digress...

Second Beach-Newport, RI

I absolutely adore going to the beach. Not only is the sound of waves crashing serene, but it is hypnotic watching the motion of the waves. I could do it for hours. It is suspenseful, the wave building momentum. My favorite part is the moment after it crests. There is a cool streaking visual effect that the waves take on. Then there's the mass confusion of bubbles from the surf.  LOVE IT! The heat wave warmed up the usually frigid Atlantic quite nicely. The clarity of the water was fabulous. It lurred me right in.

North Beach-Padre Island
National Seashore

One of my favorite activities while at the beach is beach combing. I've been an avid rock & shell collector since my twenties. I've spent some money on shells too. My friend thinks I'm crazy, but some of the rarest and most beautiful shells are from exotic places like Sri Lanka and the Philippenes. I'm not sure visiting either of those places is in my future. A notorious place for collecting shells in the U.S. is Sanibel Island, Florida. I had the chance to search for shells there last year and it definitely didn't disappoint;the beach was abundant with scallop and whelk shells. Honorable mention is for North Beach at Padre Island National Seashore in Corpus Christ, TX. I was amazed at the sand dollars, in tact, that copiously littered the beach. What makes this beach so unique is that it is kept in it's raw form. There is no manicuring or clean up. Debris that we saw washed ashore included: chunks of coral, bamboo, blow fish, and a humungous steel drum.

Blowfish