Not that I'm keeping score, but on Independence Day I did get another victory against the beach. It wasn't pretty and there was a casulty, but it was rewarding.
The plan was to somehow spend 6-7 hours on the beach in the hot sun. I soaked myself with lotion, brought two books in case I needed them, and mentally tried to figure out what I could do for that long a period of time. The forecast was for rain most of the morning, but there were no dark clouds anywhere around.
The wind was there though and I wondered if our umbrella could hold on.(it was still standing tall, some of it, when the end came) I took a picture of the umbrella looking up at it before it started wilting. About an hour or so in, the umbrella was only about 60-70% open. Still, I was in the shade, which is all that mattered.
I was sitting on a chair that was about a quarter of an inch above the sand. I was told that people sit close to the sand to enjoy the experience more-it's more relaxing. I could only think of how to get up from that position and why I had some sand in my mouth. The wind was still blowing, so maybe that's why I tasted sand.
I ate a little, texted updates to my brother and sister, and read a little. I went in the water with my shirt on and then took it off to dry. The wind blew it on the sand which made putting it on, uncomfortable. Eventually, the rescue began when the clouds started moving in. At first there were a few dark ones, but then the reinforcements marched in. At three hours the umbrella was holding on for dear life, but it was still blocking the sun which I still could not see. And then the clouds covered the sun and I knew I was in good shape.
At three and a half hours I was relaxed as I watched the storm come in. Someone said, "maybe it will pass over?" Those were the last words I remember before the raindrops started which were followed by the buckets of water being tossed at us. We rescued the umbrella and made the journey back to the car, soaked from head to toe.
As we pulled out of the State Park where the beach was, there were lines of cars waiting to get in as the rain continued. A few miles later, the sun was out and there was no sign of rain. I was saved that morning, but our umbrella, which fought bravely, did not survive.
We now have a new umbrella with a table I'm told-I just want it to block the sun.
I'm with you on this one; I could never understand how my relatives spent seven to eight hours on the beach daily (for multiple weeks!) during their vacations in Florida. I get that it probably has something to do with Philly not having beaches :P
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