The Loveliness of the Seashore

One hot October day in 1999, we took our oldest child, then not quite 1 year old, to the beach for the first time.  I grew up in Santa Barbara, just a mile from the beach.  Then I grew up and married a soldier and moved away.  The Army doesn’t put a lot of it’s bases near the ocean, and it was something I had started to miss.

I love the way the fog rolls in during the late afternoon and doesn’t burn off again until mid-morning of the next day.  I love the smell of the ocean.  I love sound of the foghorns.  I like sleeping with the window open all summer…and having to close it in the hours before dawn because it has gotten too cold.

We moved back to the California coast for one short year while Philip taught ROTC at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.  Summers were cold where we lived, just 2 blocks from the beach.  I remember taking Boo to the pier at Pismo Beach and it being so cold that he had to wear a hat.  We felt bad for the poor tourists, hoping for a sun-filled summer vacation, only to  experience a cold, damp, foggy beach.

The heat wave came in October.  We were out taking a walk and it was all of 80 degrees.  We decided to introduce Boo to the ocean, so we turned down the street towards Oceana Dunes.  He was a little unsure of the wet sand under his feet and the waves lapping against his legs.  He like it best when I was holding him.

This was before we had a digital camera, so while the scans of the pictures aren’t the best, I hope they still convey the beauty of the day.

“My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
my love as deep;
the more I give to thee,
the more I have,
for both are infinite.”
William Shakespeare

Lorri and Boo, Oceana Dunes, CA
October 1999

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