A day at the beach always begins with packing up the food.
Dad brings the big blue cooler in to the kitchen and loads it up with ice.
I add burgers, ham sandwiches, peanut butter cookies and soda.
Mom adds cold juicy slices of watermelon and tangy potato salad.
We drive through town with the car windows down.
The cool morning air fills the car and blows our hair back.
I breath in the sweet smell of fresh cut grass and the coconut sunscreen we have all sprayed on our skin.
Soon I see the Gulf of Mexico on the right.
The sand is so white it looks like snow.
Tall sand dunes slope down to the water.
On the left the dark blue bay is dotted with sail boats.
Their red, blue and green spinnakers are leading the way. Little ski boats speed by cutting a V through the water.
The fine powdery sand squeaks as we all shuffle down to the water’s edge with our heavy load of umbrellas, chairs, cooler and sand buckets.
I can’t wait another minute and I dash into the waves.
It’s freezing!
The waves roll in and out tugging at my swim suit.
Slimy green seaweed slithers around my legs and tiny minnows kiss my toes.
The sand is warm but I dig down deep until my little moat is filled with cool sea water.
My brother and I stretch our beach towels out and lie on our backs.
Seagulls circle overhead always looking for a hand out.
Keow, keow, keow they call to each other but I imagine they are laughing at us. Ha, ha, ha.
The sun is high in the sky and the turquoise water glitters with a million sunbeams.
Umbrellas pop and billow as the wind fills them like sails and blows a mist of sea spray on my face.
I close my eyes and listen to the distant laughter of other families.
The waves push, push against the shore and soon I drift off dreaming of mermaids and talking dolphins.
Burgers sizzling on the grill wake me and my stomach rumbles.
We eat on our towels, the juicy burgers dripping down our faces, as we watch the sun nearing the horizon.
The sand, sky and sea are golden as the sun seems to slip under the waves.
Tiny sandpipers skitter along the wet sand calling weet, weet, weet.
We pack up our stuff.
The cooler is much lighter now, but the walk to the car with the setting sun at my back feels endless.
We drive home with the windows down.
The wind blows through my hair and I smell the salty water dried on my skin. I feel the cool sand between my toes.
The day is over but I take a little bit of the beach home with me.
Tonight I will dream of pirate ships and submarines.