Sunny days and sunny beaches

With the promise of summer not too far away I find myself thinking to the times my friends and I would head to California for a day of ocean, beach, and fun. There were times I would go and grossly under use sunblock to protect my extremely fair skin from sunburn. One such fateful trip my friends and I all spent the day on the beach, didn't use near enough sunscreen and came back from vacation with lobster colored skin. Those weren't pleasant experiences. Don't get me wrong, the water was great, the beach was beautiful and the sun felt so good with the cool California breezes. After a day on the water though, we were in pain. I remember after this one time having a sunburn so bad that I had to wear pajama bottoms for the drive home as my jean shorts hurt too much. My entire group spend the majority of time in the car, shoes kicked off on the drive because our feet were sunburned too.

I learned from that trip, I wasn't going to experience that level of pain again. The next trips to the beach, I slathered sunscreen with high SPF on a regular basis. When my friends decided to lay in the sun for a tan, I laid one towel beneath me and put another over me like a blanket. I still enjoyed the warmth of the sun but, dang it, I wasn't getting another sunburn. Not if I could help it! They laughed at me, but I didn't get burnt.

I still have longing to go back and spend time on the beach or on the water. I love being on the water or even near it. Seeing the cool water rush at the shore, feeling the warm sand between my toes. Crossing closer to the water and feeling the sudden shift in temperature of the sand as it goes from dry and warm to wet and cool. I love standing ankle deep in water and feeling the pull of the tide as it washes the sand out from under my feet. I love standing, waiting as waves rush in and out, taking a little more sand each time until I can't keep my footing any longer. I find a new spot, stand in the water, and wait. This hasn't changed but now instead of lightly coated sunscreen and no hat as I enjoy the water, I now stand hat firmly in place on my head, a coat of SPF 50 on my skin as I watch and wait for the sand to wash out from under my feet.