WHEN: July 30, 2011
WHERE: Sullivan's Island, South Carolina
"...Only worry in the world, is the tide gonna reach my chair..."
Stacie and I went to the beach on Saturday - only her second time and my third time since we moved here last August. We moved here at the end of summer and did not really make a concerted effort to get to the beach before fall and winter set in. We went to the beach a couple times before this summer but never to get in the water. So this trip was still a big deal. It's a 45-minute drive to the beach and then a 1/2-mile walk in the heat, carrying food, chairs, an umbrella, towels and whatever else we decide to bring. We went to the beach about every weekend last summer in Virginia Beach. We were only 15 minutes away then. We are not as spoiled where we live now but I'm not complaining. The beach is worth every minute of the trip.
Saturday's trip was also a big deal because, to my recollection, it was the only time Stacie has spent the entire time with me in the water. And we were there for 3 hours! Yes...she was in the water with me for three straight hours. No sitting under the umbrella in her chair reading a book or playing on her phone. It was just her and I, for three hours, in the water. Stacie and the ocean. What more could I ask for??
There were two reasons, according to her, that she was out in the water with me the whole time.
One, the water was warm. Not only because it was the end of July, but because of the particular beach (Sullivan's Island). There were at least 4 sandbars at the beach we went to and all were exposed because it was low tide. The sandbars created a ridge-and-runnel system (bars and pools). These "pools" were only a couple inches to a couple feet deep. Separated from the ocean and shallow in nature, these pools became natural hot tubs in the hot sun. If I were to guess, some of the the shallower pools were pushing if not exceeding 90°F. Not to be cliche, but it literally felt like bath water! The water was barely a relief to the air temperature (in the upper-90s).
The second reason Stacie joined me the whole time was related to the first...the water was shallow and calm. Stacie doesn't like to be in the ocean because of what's in it (from animals to dirt to salt). Furthermore, she's not one to jump in and around waves and put her head under. The shallow and warm water and the complete lack of waves was the perfect recipe to get Stace in the water for 3 hours apparently. And I loved every minute of it.
Heading over the Ravenel Bridge on our way to Sullivan's Island and the beach
I took Stacie to the Charleston Harbor Marina and down to see the USS Yorktown for the first time.
I went down last fall when she was in Iowa but I had not been back here since.
I went down last fall when she was in Iowa but I had not been back here since.
She was a good sport and she said she even enjoyed going down there. (I have been known to drag her around from place to place against her desires, especially in the heat) :)
Wishing we had a boat but thankful we don't have one to pay for and maintain.
Sailboats in a row - part of the College of Charleston's sailing team
No better place to be in the summer than on the water!
Our second stop was an estate sale on Sullivan's Island. This is a picture I took of the house last fall, obviously unaware we would visit it this past weekend. Stacie bought a $4 book about decorating for Christmas (she's already over summer I think). You can see (all 203) pictures of the home's interior and items for sale here.
Last and most important stop...the beach!
"Wife and Water"...one of my favorite views! :)
Lucky guy!
I brought home a couple handfuls of shells from the beach. I laid them out to dry at home after I cleaned them. I counted that I had collected exactly 100 shells - totally unplanned.
My favorite person to be knee deep in the water with!
Our view from knee deep in the water at Sullivan's Island on Saturday.
0 comments:
Post a Comment