The dappled sunlight filtered through the canopy of trees. The wind brushed over my face and we drove the golf cart across Bald Head Island. We'd been on the island for a couple hours already and had explored Old Baldy (a lighthouse) and had a fantastic lunch right by the water. Now we were making our way through the island to the far end. I was on a mission to see my goal, the Atlantic Ocean. Common sense told me that, I'd already seen the Atlantic. I saw a small piece of it when we took the ferry across the channel between the mainland of North Carolina and Bald Head Island but it just wasn't the same. That view had been impeded by the island I was now crossing, the view I was aiming for was an uninterrupted view. Standing on the beach and seeing the ocean spread out before me seemingly never ending.
We zipped across the island in this golf cart and waved to others who drove their carts in the opposite direction. It was a wonderful and unique experience because there weren't any cars on this island, just golf carts and bicycles. We stopped to explore a marshy area, crossing the boardwalk carefully. We paused to take pictures of water bugs and listen to the birds calling. On our way again, we continued our trek across the island, stopping again when we found a small gift shop to explore. After we finished with the gift shop I wasn't to be deterred again. We were close. We had exited the canopy of trees. The ground to either side of the road had become sand, the air felt just so slightly different.
Spying an empty parking space for the golf cart I parked the cart and waited impatiently as mom fiddled with her stuff before we climbed out of the cart. I eyed the small dunes in front of me, tall grass grew through the sand of the dunes and swayed in the breeze. I could hear the waves but couldn't see the water yet. It was so close. Finally, I kicked off my shoes and stuffed them into the storage for the cart and gingerly made my way over to the sand. I couldn't wait anymore for mom to finish. I climbed the steps to a boardwalk and crested the dune, there it was, the Atlantic. So close and yet a distance to cover still. I moved quickly now, the wood of the boardwalk was sanded smooth and my concern of splinters evaporated. At the end of the boardwalk I stepped down to small steps into the sand and dug my toes in. I reached down and picked up a handful of Atlantic ocean sand and let it sift through my fingers. I was finally there, the Atlantic Ocean.
The dappled sunlight filtered through the canopy of trees. The wind brushed over my face and we drove the golf cart across Bald Head Island. We'd been on the island for a couple hours already and had explored Old Baldy (a lighthouse) and had a fantastic lunch right by the water. Now we were making our way through the island to the far end. I was on a mission to see my goal, the Atlantic Ocean. Common sense told me that, I'd already seen the Atlantic. I saw a small piece of it when we took the ferry across the channel between the mainland of North Carolina and Bald Head Island but it just wasn't the same. That view had been impeded by the island I was now crossing, the view I was aiming for was an uninterrupted view. Standing on the beach and seeing the ocean spread out before me seemingly never ending.
Spying an empty parking space for the golf cart I parked the cart and waited impatiently as mom fiddled with her stuff before we climbed out of the cart. I eyed the small dunes in front of me, tall grass grew through the sand of the dunes and swayed in the breeze. I could hear the waves but couldn't see the water yet. It was so close. Finally, I kicked off my shoes and stuffed them into the storage for the cart and gingerly made my way over to the sand. I couldn't wait anymore for mom to finish. I climbed the steps to a boardwalk and crested the dune, there it was, the Atlantic. So close and yet a distance to cover still. I moved quickly now, the wood of the boardwalk was sanded smooth and my concern of splinters evaporated. At the end of the boardwalk I stepped down to small steps into the sand and dug my toes in. I reached down and picked up a handful of Atlantic ocean sand and let it sift through my fingers. I was finally there, the Atlantic Ocean.
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