Another Day on the Beach



Many sets of footprints at the tideline. But I already have my beachglass stash.

My husband Chad took one look at me--languishing in the shop on a glorious day--and said,

"You need to get out into the sun."

Oh, hell yeah. He took over the store and I grabbed a bag, hopped on my bike and headed for the beach. After Hurricane Sandy and the nor'easter, the snapping blue sky sang to me of easier days.

The ride got scary in the usual place. The bend in Old Cape Charles road is completely blind from both directions, and usually crowded with pick-ups, concrete plant employees racing to or from work, and delivery trucks. It's been partially improved with a shell path (I worry about my tires) but the path isn't complete. So there's no option but to brave the blind curve, unless you want to walk the bike in the grass--which I do sometimes, when the trucks are thick.

Once off the main road, the ride gets pretty. Fall blooming azaleas, pines and towering magnolias, late roses, and then, the beach.

I wasn't surprised to find ten people stalking the tideline, looking for beachglass. It was a gorgeous day, and Blue Heaven is no longer a secret. But I gave up on finding glass, and focused on taking pictures. I didn't even look for shells.

Suddenly, Erin Harvey swooped by in his kite boat. It doesn't go very high--maybe 100 feet. Probably less. But it gets high enough to see the sandbars glittering amber beneath the sea green water. They're so beautiful! Like a wrinkled, golden carpet spread from the beach to the deep, twinkling with waving sunlight.

I know this because Erin took me up in his kite-boat last Spring. I'll never forget his kindness, or the intense beauty of the flight. To get above the shoreline--not jet height, but just high enough to see the sweep of the land, and the roll of the bay--is an experience I will always treasure. For this picture, Erin slowed almost to a stop, coming so close I could have run out to touch him.

The rest of the trip was meditative. It's interesting to see the repairs to the golf course. Sandy ripped through Blue Heaven's dunes, sweeping the sand out onto the beach. The beach itself is much wider. But the golf course took a beating.

So! My friend--mystery writer Tom--says I need to decide what I want to write about in this blog. I can't describe too many trips to the beach, because that would get boring. But be assured, I'm riding out there every chance I get. Hopefully I will find some glass, but if I don't....well, such is life. I need to look up from the sand and keep my focus on the bigger picture, anyway.