Nothing makes me happier than to hang up my GONE TO THE BEACH SIGN and head for the cottage!
Just the sound of the word BEACH conjures up a passel of images doesn’t it? After all, going to the beach means different things to different people depending on the kind of beach farmgirl you are. For some, nothing but an escape to a tropical paradise will do. White sand, warm, sparkling turquoise blue water, snorkeling and cocktails at sunset is the only way to go. Or, maybe you prefer an overcast day or two mixed in with your sunshine having your cake and eat it too. Me? Well, I like them all! I’ve had the good fortune to dip my toes in the sand of a slew of shorelines over the years. Lake Tahoe, Hawaii ( Oahu and Maui ); California Beaches: San Diego, Santa Monica, Venice Beach, San Jose, San Francisco, Mendocino, Point Reyes National Sea Shore, Carmel and Monterey. Oregon Beaches: Fort Bragg, Crescent City, and Lincoln City. Bar Harbor, Maine, Aruba, Truro beach, The Cape Cod National Sea Shore, Falmouth beach, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard and the Outer Banks of North Carolina just to name a few! While each of them is dreamy in their own way (especially Maui) my heart belongs to a small peninsula on the south shore of Boston.
Psst. Hey…We’re on vacation… Wanna come too?
Oh what memories you stirred! I too have been on the beaches and in the water along the coasts of Washington, Oregon and California; Louisiana’s Gulf Coast, the Carolinas, the New Jersey shore, Florida Keys, Aruba (scuba diving too), Hawaii (North Shore of Oahu Pipeline–didn’t surf but watched the surfers on Banzai), Kauai, Tahiti, Moorea (scuba diving), and my favorite dive spot, Truk. For a year, I had the pleasure of living in Long Beach, CA on Pacific Coast Highway (or PCH) right across the street from the ocean. From the apartment window on the 10th floor, I could see from Pacific Palisades to Dana Point. Ah!
We have a lake place in northern Minnesota where we fish, kayak, sailboat, waterski, paddleboat, swim, and hang out with our two married daughters and two grandchildren, four dogs! We also love to go to Maui and Cozumel for the snorkeling and warm(er) waters.
Deb, I was wanting permission to copy some of the photos you post in your blog. I love the ones at the cottage. The east coast shore has a special place in my heart and currently i live in Washington State, so couldn’t be farther away. Love your blogs! Marie
Oh, Deb, this was just what I needed. I;m green w/evny for your beach cottage. But still terribly thrilled for you and your family. Enjoyenjoyenloy.
Oh, Deb, this was just what I needed. I;m green w/evny for your beach cottage. But still terribly thrilled for you and your family. Enjoyenjoyenloy.
I have a couple of favorite beaches— nothing in your league Deb, but I get very nostaligic thinking of them…..
*When I was a girl (some 50 years ago) our family would travel from Chicago to spend time with my dad’s extended family on the Indiana side of Lake Michigan. I recall going to the distant cousins’ beach house- the Studebakers- to change clothes and walk up and over the dunes. I can still evoke the feel of anticipation seeing the sea grass, coming up over the rise and taking in the vast blue before me. We would spend hours in the water and lounging on the beach.
*My next memory is the shores of California. My husband and I had moved our four children to Glendale. It was a tossup between hiking in the mountains or hitting the beaches in the Los Angeles area. We frequented several different ones over the three years that we were California residents. Each one had their own characteristic, and we loved them all.
*Finally, for our 25th anniversary, while visiting our married son who was in Seminary on the West Coast, my husband surprised me with a visit to Catalina Island. The shops, the boat rides, the treks up and down the narrow roads….the whole thing was a "walk on the beach".
Thanks for letting me share, Deb. I am decorating our basement family room (in Omaha) with a beach theme (it truly is a part of my soul) and have been trying to find a large picture of a dune path with the sea grasses and water in the distance. When I find it, I’ll know I have found "home".
Hi Deb – My favorite beach is Siesta Key near Sarasota, Fla. It’s named one of the 10 best beaches in the USA & has the softest, coolest (doesn’t get hot), whitest sand I’ve ever seen. Secondly, Lake Superior doesn’t have beaches like you’re referring to but, I love it. It’s more of a nature experience then a beach experience. Barb
P.S. I have always longed for a little camper like the one in the picture. Someday………….
I giggled out loud when I read that one of these days, you’ll be glamping in your own tiny house on wheels. Instead of being holed up, you’ll be shelled up! :o) Excited for you and the fun you’ll have looking for it and then finally finding ‘her’. I think a decorative must-have will be some artsy version of Venus standing on her shell. Hmmm, looking like Debbie standing in the doorway of her glamper – ha.
Favorite beach? Not that I’ve spent a lot of time there … Buuuuut, I loved finding seashells on a beach near Pensacola, Florida. I was 16.
Loved the pics in your blog — the fishy deck of cards are SO cool. Enjoy every morsel of your vaykay. shery
What a fun time I just had reading your goings on – my favorite beach – the next one I get to dip my toes in – live in the middle of dryness and long for the beach. Oh my the glamping – if only I was able – her name – that is a long list still and a pipe dream, mostly I’m thinking of having a little building built in my back yard that will be my get away spot. Then I will go there to read about all the wonderful glamping and day dream away. Thanks for the great time.
Hi Deb, thanks for sharing your vacation with us. We have beaches in Alaska, but not like you in the lower 48. We do enjoy the Oregon coast especially Lincoln City and Florence. For the east coast it is our daughter and son-in-law’s lovely place at Kennebunkport. Which I am sure I spelled wrong. We have had a pretty cool summer so a nice day at the beach sounds wonderful. Makes me want to book a flight to the nearest beach. By the way, my husband is still fighting the moose for his garden. They do so like his berries and veggies. (even through the fence). LOL.
Keep on writing.
Your country sis
Merrilyn
Hi everyone! We are home from the beach… what a treat to find your notes! I went – unplugged after posting this blog and I was anxious to see who stopped by to visit me on the shorelines!Bless you all and thank so much for sharing your favorite beaches with me! Just about everyone has a stretch of water they love some place!
LOVED meeting you too! I could have spent all afternoon chatting with you…Such a wonderful day and yes, we knew we’d be kindred. HUGS and LOVE and glad you had a fabulous trip to the beach…I am already daydreaming of next year.
There you are Meg! Oh, it WAS an amazing day!!! One for the farmgirl journal for sure! I’ll be daydreaming for next year right along with ya! HUGS and LOVE! XO Deb
2/13/2014
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