The Empty Beach
Josh and I went to the beach for our anniversary. It was cold, certainly too cold to sit on the sand, but we parked the car in the semi-empty beach lot facing the ocean. The sun coming in through the windshield kept the car warm enough to eat a picnic lunch and read books and lounge about. We could see and hear the waves.
We took a bike ride around the nature reserve, pedaling hard in the wind, and marveled at how quiet the town felt now that all the summer tourists had cleared out.
I love the beach in the summer, but there is some part of my personality that connects even more with the beach in winter; the grey waves and the unmarred sand. It was so quiet that you could hear everyone’s conversations wherever we went.
We were in the hotel room when news about the terrorist attacks in Paris came onto our phones. The quietness of the space had already made us contemplative. There is no way to make sense of the idea that a person could go out for the evening to a concert and end up never coming home.
We started the trip bumping into the twins’ beloved Kindergarten teacher, and we ended the trip watching a bunch of horseback riders navigate the marsh. And then we drove home, back to normal life, conducted without the sound of waves.
15 comments
I’ve always loved the beach in the winter, too. There’s something about the vastness of it that makes me feel both smaller and larger at the same time. It’s been a difficult week… I’m glad you and Josh got to spend some time together in the quiet.
Happy Anniversary. There is nothing more peaceful than an empty beach.
Happy Anniversary! So glad you were able to get away for a quiet visit to a favorite place.
I live 22 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. It’s a 30 minute drive on a good day. In the winter, I love to do what you did. Just park and watch the waves and let the sun warm me through the windshield of the car. The trip out and back – mostly on a two lane highway – is not difficult except in the height of summer. Driving through the marsh is actually calming to me and I need to make the time to do it more often.
Once again, happy anniversary to you both!
I love the beach in winter…it’s the rest time for the sand and the water to regenerate and something about that is so refreshing and so lovely…
I know this isn’t quite the same since I’m in California, but I too love the beach in fall and winter. I grew up here on the coast and there’s something soothing about the ocean waves that’s ingrained in me.
I’m with the people who feel soothed by the sea. I think any type of weather or season is better at the seaside.
I love a deserted beach, too. It seems well-suited to my introverted personality.
Happy Anniversary!!!
Happy what…14th?
What a strange and disorienting experience to have such news come in during a celebration. Three years ago I experienced something similar when we took a long weekend in New Orleans, just the 2 of us. When we landed, we heard the news that was unfolding from Sandy Hook. I remember feeling disoriented, like there was nothing solid to tether to.
happy anniversary!
i will dream of the time that i can leave the kids and go on a trip alone with hubby 😛
my family tradition in hk was winter beach barbecues.. ahhh :))
I love beautiful spots in bad or cold weather, almost more than when everything is perfect. Happy Anniversary!
Happy anniversary. It sounds like a nice time.
Happy anniversary!
Happy Anniversary! There’s something calming about the sound of waves hitting the shore.
The events of the past week are disturbing to all of us. It’s a cold, cruel world.
A belated happy anniversary! May you have many more happy years together.
Happy anniversary! My great-aunt, who lived in the Seattle area, used to love to go to Cannon Beach, Oregon, in the winter. She used to work on her Christmas cards there while the waves crashed outside her hotel room. 🙂 Glad the ocean provided some calm moments at a too-turbulent time in our world. 🙁