We live ten minutes from Folly Beach, make frequent trips there and have for 13 years. So, why is it that last weekend when we made another trip, the “Dudes” acted as if they had never seen the place before?
Fogged in at Folly
Folly Beach is a sandbar or Barrier Island or the “Edge of America” as the locals call it just south of Charleston, South Carolina. Although I enjoy the beach, I am not a “beach person”. You know, the kind of people who are passionate about the sand between their toes, salt water up their noses and a toasty burn on their skins, who wouldn’t live anywhere else and if they can’t live there they spend all of their vacation time going there. That’s not me.
I don’t like sand in every orifice or the load of laundry that needs to be done after a trip to the beach, or the sand gnats, or sunburn or the gooey sunscreen you have to put on to keep from getting sunburned or the heat. But, I do enjoy the beach. Really, I do. It’s beautiful. I even ride my bike down on Sunday mornings to sneak in a “mini vacation.” But, I don’t seem to have the same view, the same appreciation or enjoy it the same way the “Dudes” do.
It may be a “crotchety old adult” vs. a “kid in wonderment” sort of thing. Or maybe I am just a fair weather beach person. I don’t have the patience for the annoyances of the beach but thoroughly enjoy the sound of the waves, watching the pelicans fish and finding an unbroken shell. The dudes could care less that it would take a power washer to remove all the sand from their bodies. In fact they pack it on like an expensive spa treatment. The ickier it is, the better. Add some sunscreen and a little sweat and life doesn’t get any sweeter. And they also enjoy finding treasures in the sand, chasing the seagulls and building sand castles. There are no downsides to the beach for them.
So, when some friends offered their beach house to us for the weekend, we didn’t hesitate to take them up on it. Staying at the beach is very different than visiting for the day. You go to bed and wake up to the sound of the waves, you are there at sunrise and sunset, high tide and low tide and your spirit tends to soften and blend rhythmically with your surroundings. It becomes a vacation.
Our first morning was not a “beach day”. It was cold, windy and completely socked in with fog. But, we headed out for a stroll down the beach anyway or so I thought WE were. It was really just me mindlessly strolling. After a few minutes, I turned to find that the Dudes hadn’t made it twenty feet from the dunes before the wonderment thing kicked in. EVERY shell had to be investigated, pictures had to be drawn in the sand, beached starfish needed to be taken back to the sea, a dead pelican needed to be evaluated. Treasures needed to be collected. I had walked past all of it.
Dudes' Treasures
The “Dudes” have been going to this beach for years and every time is like the first time. I began to wonder, at what point do we start passing life by, mindlessly strolling past amazing everyday things. What obstructs the view? What alters our vision? At what point in time did we lose our childhood wonderment of the world and why?
If they can get that enthusiastic about something they have seen a hundred times, how are they going to react to all of the truly new experiences awaiting us on our trip. I was originally thinking that it would be great to take the “Dudes” on a year long adventure across the country and how fun it would be to introduce them to so many new things. But, after some thought, I have decided that THEY will be taking ME on a year long adventure and that I couldn’t have better travel guides.
“Children are so creative and imaginative that they just bring you to life all over again.”
Moira Kelly