winter beach - first of the year

I love the beach in winter time. It's so quiet you can hear yourself think. I swear I can feel my blood pressure drop and my heart beat slow down each time I come to this water. The first glimpse of it as you come through town still takes my breath away -- every time -- after all these years. It is so familiar to me now, but familiarity has not diminished its beauty. Knowing it so well only lets me love it better.

It was too snowy to come on New Year's Day this year, so today, January 24th, was my first beach visit of the year. A little late perhaps, but I did get there. I grabbed a coffee and an indulgent cinnamon bun and headed for the shore to commune.The tide was all the way in so this little river formed right across the beach all the way down to the water. It's not hard to get over, but with a full coffee in one hand and precious, cinnamon-y cargo in the other I decided settle on this side of it. Some local driftwood obliged and offered me a seat. With the tide so far in a little waterfall formed not five feet from where I sat. As I munched and sipped I had the sound of the waves coming home in one ear and the tinkling bells of the fall in the other. Could any garden seat be sweeter?
It was a perfect day for picking up interesting rocks.
And breathing deeply. And letting the wind dance in your hair.
It was a rather cold wind chasing away visitors. I didn't stay too long past the end of my coffee and walked back to my car shivering and smiling. Beach season has officially begun.