Except for a couple of dentist visits that Terry couldn’t put off any longer, we have not left the house in about three months except to go to the grocery store or Walgreens to pick up prescriptions. But yesterday we decided it was time to get a dose of Vitamin Sea.
So, after a stop at the post office to mail out a book order, we drove down to the beach at New Smyrna Beach, planning to spend some time just relaxing and soaking up all of that good salt air and listening to the sounds of the surf. Nothing soothes our souls like spending time at the beach.
If you are a Volusia County resident, you can buy a beach parking pass for $25 a year, which allows you to use any of the beaches in the county that are vehicle accessible. When we pulled up to the kiosk at the beach entrance ramp, the lady there scanned the parking pass on the Explorer’s windshield and told me that it was expired. I thought it might be, and was prepared to pay her, but then she saw my handicap parking sticker and said there is no charge as long as we had that. That’s good to know, and much appreciated.
It was midday on Friday, and the beach was busy, but they are trying to enforce social distancing as much as they could. When you go onto the beach, they tell you that they have poles erected ten feet apart, and you’re supposed to park at a pole. So we found one, backed up to it, and sat there enjoying things for a little bit.
Of course, someone had to come and park on both sides of us, halfway between our space and the next ones over. Both times, we explained to them that they were likely to get a ticket if they left their vehicle there, and both times they thanked us for telling them and went somewhere else. The lifeguard rangers were kept busy trying to make sure people were parked the proper distance apart and maintaining social distancing.
Anytime we are on the beach, we are happy. There were not too many people around us, and we didn’t want to get out and mingle with any of them. We were just fine sitting in the car, away from everybody, with our windows down.
Well, we weren’t quite away from everybody, because an attractive young couple came up and threw their beach towels down on the sand about five feet away from our front bumper. Okay, that still put them more than six feet away from us, so that’s just fine. We didn’t know at the time that we were going to have more than just the beach to look at. They laid there and talked for a while, then talking turned kissing, and pretty soon, we were beyond an R-rated show to almost X-rated. The young lady had her hand inside the gentleman shorts, and several times he pulled the front of her thong open, I guess to let whatever was in there air out, and did the same with her skimpy top. I was so disgusted I almost looked away. Almost. Being the gentleman I am, I was tempted to ask them if they wanted to use our backseat and avoid getting all that sand in places where sand really shouldn’t be.
We were at the beach for about three hours, and while it was busy when we first arrived, over time, it started to thin out quite a bit. There were still a lot of people and a lot of easy-ups and sunshades, but it definitely was not packed. Most people were staying with their own little groups and not intermingling.
Even though it was in the mid-80s, with the windows down and the beach breeze blowing, it was comfortable. The only casualty was my left arm, which was on the side where the sun was coming in, and it got sunburned a bit. But it was worth it. We don’t go to the beach on the weekends because there are too many people there, but Terry and I both said on the way home that we need to go back again sometime midweek when it’s not quite so busy. After all, you can never have enough Vitamin Sea!
Be sure to enter our latest Free Drawing. This week’s prize is an audiobook of The Driving Lesson by my friend Ben Rehder. While Ben writes some excellent, mysteries, including the wildly popular Blanco County series, this tale of a boy and his grandfather on an unplanned road trip across the country is a coming of age story that will tug at your heartstrings. To enter, click on this Free Drawing link or the tab at the top of this page and enter your name (first and last) in the comments section at the bottom of that page (not this one). Only one entry per person per drawing please, and you must enter with your real name. To prevent spam or multiple entries, the names of cartoon or movie characters are not allowed. The winner will be drawn Sunday evening.
Thought For The Day – Sucking on hard candies is basically drinking your favorite flavored spit.
Nick Russell
World-Famous, New York Times Best Selling Author, and All-Around Nice Guy!
Fresh air & sunshine are good for us and you had “entertainment” to boot. Don’t tell me you weren’t tempted to stick you head out the window and yell, “Good show, now go get a room!”