My love letter to America Part 1: Beaches

America,

When did my love affair start with your beaches?

Was it when I was a toddler playing in the sand at Sanibel Island?

Was it the loud roar of your crashing waves on the hard-packed sand of the Jersey Shore?

The hot sand that burned my feet on a scalding summer day;

The fine grains that slipped through my fingers as I lay on my beach towel pretending to read a book but really focusing on the feel of the sand slipping through my fingers;

Was it the time I was on a beach towel by myself at Spring Lake while the coastal winds blew a fake orange hibiscus from a wedding arbor about 300 feet away right across my towel—which I still have to this day?

There are infinite ways I love you, American Beaches.

The time I saw dolphins from the beach in Cape May. . .

The time I sat in the sand at sunset in Santa Monica while seagulls squawked and sand blew in my eyes while I was on video messenger with my boyfriend. . . so that we could experience it together from opposite Coasts, proving that time is truly an illusion. . .

The time I walked to Venice Beach, saw the sunset, and then bought a gold pyrite heart, the likes of which I have not seen before or since. . .

The time I visited Cape May on New Year’s with my sister, but it was too cold to leave our room, too cold to do more than grab a pizza and bring it back to the room. . .

Perhaps it was the time I wrote “Aloha” in the black sand beach on the Big Island and posed for a photo. . .

Or saw the humongous rays beyond the railing of the hotel’s outside deck later that night,

Was it Pele speaking to me as I stood on her black lava ledge, only flip-flops between us, feeling a heat coming up through my feet, but feeling cool to the touch of my hand?

Or maybe the almost monotonous lifting and lowering of my left foot and then my right in a sandy beach near Kona, with the name Lili’uokalani playing in my mind like a mantra.

The warm waters of Fort Lauderdale in winter?

Palm trees swaying in the breeze?

The rocky shore of Maine?

Or maybe it was the sand sculpture contest in Hampton Beach, which made some of my videos go viral but otherwise left my life unchanged?

Have you ever seen storms and lightning in the distance over the ocean? I have.

Have you ever seen a swarm of huge dragonflies migrating past where you stand? Here one moment, gone as if they never passed through three minutes later. . .

Have you walked a boardwalk? Traveled on an accessible path laid out on the sand? Sat in a rocking chair while the waves crashed in the distance? 

I have.  These are all my experiences, plus many more.  It would be my pleasure to assist you in starting to grow your love of American Beaches. Whether it be something simple, like a stay at a beachside hotel, a yacht charter, or something else entirely, think of Balanced Explorations first when making your travel plans. Reach out by email to start your love affair with the beach. [email protected]