Between work shifts, I drove Grace down to the beach. I went to watch the sunset. She went to jump in and over and through and under the waves.
For awhile, a seagull stood near me facing the waves, apparently watching alongside me.
If we looked south, clouds.
But to the right, we watched the sun slide slowly toward the horizon as the sky turned from blue to orange to pink to blue-gray.
When I say “we”, I mean the seagull and me.
Grace was too busy welcoming every foamy wave that came to shore.
A family arrived at the beach shortly before sunset: three little girls in dresses.
“Can we get wet?” the oldest one asked.
I never heard the answer, but soon two of the three girls were frolicking in the waves. (The littlest one, just barely toddling was tended by grandma who kept her out of the surf.) Their little sun-dresses were drenched in salt water and their giggles filled the air. Mom photographed the entire event with a fancy camera with a big lens. It looked like they were on vacation.
I was kind of jealous because I am not on vacation. But I do live near the beach. Sort of.
And then, a dolphin leaped out of the water, just beyond the waves.
I tried to get a shot of it jumping from waves to air, but missed every time. And then it was gone.
The sun sunk lower, disappeared over the horizon. The sky brightened to a pink, then faded.
I motioned for Grace to come out of the waves.
It was a lovely hour, that hour before dark.
And then we came home.
Actual Unretouched Photo 
I have the same trouble, trying to photograph fire flies. They evade me every single time, lol!
LikeLike
Sounds lovely Mel.
LikeLike
Sounds heavenly!!
LikeLike
how nice to be able to enjoy the beauty God provides for us.
LikeLike
I’m jealous! I need to go to the ocean – soon. When I was in Oregon a couple weeks ago, it was at the same time thousands were at the beach playing volleyball, so I could hardly even SEE there were ocean waves. But soon….
I do go to Mukilteo often to watch the eagles, the waves, the ferries, and enjoy the sights and smells.
Glad you take time for the drive and look forward to continued reports.
LikeLike
We live near the beach, too, a popular tourist attraction on Lake Michigan and it’s wild to me how often we are the only “regulars” there. I do love it, tho.
Steph
LikeLike
Sounds lovely! And sunny! 🙂
LikeLike
Hey Mel… long time, yes? I was thinking about you today and I did something about it. There is this art group here called ‘Sketchy Neighbors’. They sketch interesting ideas on unconventional items. They’ve got a call out for ideas. Remember that sentence I liked:
“I cleaned out the closet and threw away a giant box full of stuff. I’m ruthless sometimes, and only later when I hunt for a white queen-sized bed-skirt do I conjure up a fuzzy image of a box destined for Goodwill and taste bitter regret.”
I submitted that as the idea and a queen-sized bed-skirt as the material.
I put the the name under Melodee Fitzpatrick (I’m changing my last name from Bailey to Fitzpatrick).
If they pick the entry, 30 artists (or something like that) will sketch the idea out on a queen sized bed skirt. How cool is that?
Here’s the url: http://sketchyneighbors.com/
I figured you wouldn’t mind. I hope they pick it.
Cheers,
Elizabeth
LikeLike