Beachwalking 101

One of the things I find most fascinating about being at the beach is how other people react to it. On a beach such as Long Beach, where we were yesterday for example, you can divide the people into categories. First, because of the nature of the Pacific beaches, you have the surfers, who, of course, are there for the waves, and for the most part are the only folk who really enter the water. (Even in summer, the ocean is bloody cold, and without a wetsuit, can quickly numb you.)

You do see people wading in the shallows where the sun and sand tends to warm the water slightly, and then there are always a few intrepid souls who venture briefly into the waves in just a bathing suit. Generally, they are then seen quickly scrambling back up the beach to their towels.

What always surprises me is that the majority of people congregate on the beach right where they parked their cars, never straying from a narrow corridor from the back of the beach to the water's edge. This behavior is incomprehensible to me. A beach yearns to be explored, from end to end, front to back, low tide and high tide. There is simply so much to see, to experience and the learn!

Those of us who do indeed venture into the misty distances may again be be categorized as well. You have the runners, of course, who tear along the sands, generally with earbuds firmly in place, which is puzzling to me as I find the sound of the surf to be an integral and soothing part of the outdoor experience. Some, like a woman whom we saw yesterday, seem to float past you, running on her tiptoes in bright pink runners. Others have a heavier, plodding gait that makes you tired just watching them.

Then you have the walkers, like ourselves, who wander slowly along, reveling in the detail, detouring here and there to examine some interesting piece of plant or animal life that the ocean has put out for display during the last high tide. And the view is always different. Some days, like yesterday, there is an astonishing amount of detritus that has been scoured from the ocean floor and washed ashore.

Yesterday, in just a short walk, we found several floats, a large industrial light bulb, and a plastic packing palet from Japan, most likely flotsam from the tsunami.

 

 

 

Walking the beach also lets you see the marvelous way that nature finds to perpetuate life. I'm always amazed at where I find plants growing, and what beauty that they add, little oases of colour and form that catch the eye and feed the soul.

 

 

 

Beachwalking is one of life's great goodnesses, it invigorates you with the salty, fresh air, excersises the body, gives a greater understanding and appreciation for nature and guarantees you a good appetite and a great night's sleep. Highly recommended!