WHAT is it? WHAT is it about the beach that calls to us? It's a beckoning. WHAT is that powerful pull it has on us? Well, on some of us...I know not everyone enjoys the beach. I've pondered this distinctive siren call and I can't come up with one definitive answer. I don't believe we come from the water...I believe what Genesis says...we are made in the image of God, by His hands, brought to life by His very breath. Maybe it's the sound...the waves crashing at the shore are loud enough to make hearing yourself think very difficult...and that's a good thing! Maybe it's the smell...the sunshine, the damp sand, the salt...sunscreen and charcoal. Maybe it's the realization that we're not as big and powerful as we pretend to be. There are creatures in the ocean that have been in existence longer than man, have never been seen by man and quite frankly, could eat a man for lunch! (Steven Spielberg RUINED me...the first time I saw his most famous fish story, I never waded in quite as comfortably as I did before. Even into a lake...anything beyond waist deep is too deep for me!)I don't know the answer to this question...but it sure is fun trying to figure it out!
We met with members of our extend family in a place called St. George Island, FL. It's out from Apalachicola Bay. Our cousin's husband used to vacation there, as a child, but it was unfamiliar to the rest of us. I hope you enjoy the pictures.
We met with members of our extend family in a place called St. George Island, FL. It's out from Apalachicola Bay. Our cousin's husband used to vacation there, as a child, but it was unfamiliar to the rest of us. I hope you enjoy the pictures.
This is the view from the "little" bridge of the "big" bridge from the mainland.
St. George lighthouse
901 E. Gorrie Drive...our home for the week
Sea oats and sand dunes
Beautiful beach morning!
Braving the surf with the boogie boards MILove bought (Notice ALL three of the "boyos" have boards. MILove wisely determined that Mr. Snark would be sad if he, too, didn't get a board!) Those were some hard hitting waves, let me tell you! This area has a pretty consistent rip tide anyway, but when you add a tropical storm churning things up to the south, it gets WILD! I'm not kidding you! When the boyos were in the water, I was on the shore...WATCHING. The one time I got in an really played, I got smacked down by one wave and before I could get righted, another one came and slapped me right back down. Sister A couldn't get to me fast enough and I wouldn't stand up...because those waves had knocked me out of my clothes! She's trying to pull me up and I'm trying to stay hidden beneath the surf until I'm decent. She won and my sincere apologies to the unknown man on the beach...you got more of a view that you bargained for!
Mr. Snark and the one he HAD to let go...too small!
Y1 and Y2 aboard our Cousin-in-law's boat! We are very glad he married into the family...he's the State of Florida's version of Steve Irwin...and we're very glad he's so willing to share his toys! The boyos were THRILLED to get to REALLY go fishing. Beats the dog hair out of having to throw stuffed animals in the driveway and fish for them off the retaining wall!
Pelican, bridge and trans oceanic (actually, it's the Apalachicola Bay)power pole...wonder how they work on those power poles?
Hey, there's a man on that cable under the chopper?
Where's he going?
OH...to work! Not your everyday morning commute! There's all sorts of folk lore and smack in the power company world about the lineman. After seeing this...I'm inclined to believe some of the hype!
Y1, Sandspur, Mermaid-girl, and Y2 (Sandspur and Mermaid-girl belong to Our Cousin. They became fast friends!)
Uncle #1 and Uncle #2...seeing the two of them together always reminds me that it is just the two of them...FILove is really gone and it makes me miss him something fierce. I squeeze them extra tight when I hug them...it's almost as good as hugging FILove.
That's us!
Sister A and her boys...she hung the moon, as far as they are concerned!
Tropical Storm Debby invited herself to the party...thankfully, we were off the island and safely home before the island lost power and was EVACUATED! Such is the chance you take when you beach it during hurricane season!
The girls
The boys
Evidently, the males in this family are genetically predisposed to "bunny ears"!
He hears it, too...wonder if he can explain it to me?
When the waves are too rough for playing, you get out the dominoes and build a maze! Anyway, that's what Y2 and his Meemaw did. Yes, that's a stuffed polar bear. Her name is Georgia. She's 17 years old. Mr. Snark bought her for me just before we moved to Georgia. She's a very well traveled bear and
Y2 loves her. Don't know how much longer he will want to play with her...
don't know how attractive it will be when he's of dating age and is still toting around a very old, very well loved stuffed animal!!
The t-shirt to end ALL t-shirts! It's all he wanted and he custom designed it. The folks running the airbrush shop on the island kind of reminded me of the carnies that came to town every summer, to run the local carnival. We began to wonder if it was even going to get done! Sister A was ready to throw in an extra $20 for them to let Y2 do it himself! We got home and he got STRAIGHT to unpacking and hung it on a hanger and posted in the doorway of the kitchen...so I would remember to heat set it before he took it to camp. I hope it survives camp!
A farewell sunset...
MILove...I cannot begin to list the blessings of having her in my life. Obviously, I would start with the fact that she birthed and raised Mr. Snark, but it's so much more than that! She's never pushed, she's never intruded, she's never presumed, she's never been hyper-critical or judgemental. She's shattered EVERY stereotype that there is about mothers-in-law. I know not every girl has what I have and I am sorry for that. I am exceedingly joyful, however, for the blessing that she is to my life.
Y2 at sunset...so bloomin' lovely!
The end
I don't know what it is about the roaring ocean, either, but there's nowhere as peaceful and humbling. Love that Y2 still carries his bear (my boys do, too) and I'm crackin' up at the thought of fishing for stuffed animals in the driveway! However do they get on the line??
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