I Love Being Near the Ocean

Well, I haven't written for awhile. I didn't know what to write about and since Tom's suggestion was to use my "own" pictures, I went through my photo's and randomly picked one. This is me at the beach in Florida.

I love being near the beach. I've been going to the ocean since I can remember. Summers as a child my family and I spent weeks at Atlantic City. Boy, that was the place to be back then with the Steele Pier, Diving Horse, BEAUTIFUL boardwalk and beachs, salt-water taffy, etc. My brother always stayed out late at night playing all the chance games on the Million Dollar Pier and I would wake up each morning with a different stuffed animal in bed with me. We always stayed in a big hotel that had lockers and showers in the basement because you were not allowed to come into the main hotel in your swim clothes and sand in your pants. Air conditioning was not even thought of and the doors to your room were the louver kind with open tops and bottoms. No one even thought someone would try to come in at night (even though it was, after all, New Jersey). Anyway, I learned to love the beach...the smell, the sounds, the food, everything.

Of course, today Atlantic City has been taken over by the casinos and it is an ugly place, There are outlet stores, big hotels, and the beach is dirty and construction makes everything ugly. If you are lucky enough to remember it like I can, you know there will never be another.

Now I cannot swim, nor do I want to. I used to love playing around in the sand and jumping waves. Since two knee replacements, I am frightened of the tide water pulling me down so I don't go into the water but I love sitting on the beach. My daughter and I are going to Cape Cod next month and I'm hoping to spend some time just watching the water and sand.

My ideal vacation spot would not be the woods, historic sight seeing, Paris, or any of the other thing people go for. I would be happy just sitting near the beach.