the art of beaching

Being on the beach is easy, getting on the beach is not.

First comes the food decision.  There are nine of us. Me, Alexander, Valerie, Abbey, Jean, Jim, Jack, possibly Sally and my mom. That's nine sandwiches.

I play waitress and take the orders. I call Dean's to pre-order and avoid the long lines and associated long wait. No one answers. Abbey and Jack volunteer for the pick up.

We load up two big coolers with cold drinks, chips, fruit and bottles of water. "Where are all the ice packs?"  My mom has no idea. We use what we have, not many.

Next come the chairs. Six chairs won't fit in one golf cart. We are short two. (Sally has called and won't be coming down; she has to work). A neighbor offers us two of her chairs. Even brings them to the beach for us. It's a very friendly neighborhood here at Wild Harbor.

Do we need floats? Sure, why not. Jean refills the floats with air, and Jack volunteers to hold them off the side of the golf cart while Alexander drives. The "boys" have been sent on the set-up mission. 

"Is the tide coming in?" We need to know to determine how far away from the water to place the chairs. We want to be close, but we also don't want to be moving the chairs all day. Someone looks it up and determines that high tide isn't until late afternoon. That's good news; more beach.

The boys are given explicit instructions as to where the chairs go. 

"Not too far down the beach."
"Close to the waterline."
"Avoid any seaweed."
"Be sure to put the towel on the floats so they don't fly away." 
"Cover the cooler to keep the food cold for longer."
" Put the chairs in a semi circle, not to tight."

The boys leave on their mission. 

Everyone checks their own individual essentials.

Hat. 
Sunscreen of varying strengths. 
Book, Kindle, and/or magazine. 
Phone.  
New York Times.
Cover-up in case it gets cold. 

The boys return. Set-up complete.  

"How is it down there?" my mom asks. I'm not sure what answer she's expecting but the boys give a simple one, "Fine."

My mom and I are on the beach by eleven; the rest of the group comes about 12:30.

It's a gorgeous day. 

It's nice to all be together, something that happens only a few times a year. 

Everyone is relaxed. Probably resting up; we still need to get off the beach.