The shop is still there. However with time off for the long holiday weekend who could pass up the chance to spend some time with the family by the sea. It seems that even when relaxing there is a need to create. So this weeks project is daddy and daughter sand "castles". I'll let you guess who's is who's. It's a different medium than what I'm use to and a different subject matter as well but still so much fun.
I love the Texas coast. Oh, there are much prettier beaches in the world for sure but none that hold as many fond memories. The family has been driving down to some beach along the coast for as long as I can remember. It's a place where time stops and goes by so fast at the same time. (I'm not really sure how that happens.) The shoes come off and my biggest decision is what pair of shorts to wear. I think I could get use to this, or maybe I already am.
One of my earliest memories of the ocean was a trip to Port O'Conner with my grandparents and my brother. I'm not sure where my parents were but on this trip it was just the four of us. There are some details that I can see just as clearly as if it was happening in the present moment. I remember the crushed shell parking lot of the hotel, my grandfather backing the boat into the water the whole time my grandmother was backseat reverse driving. I remember the super clear water of the bay and that fish we caught. There was also the ice house/factory that made the largest blocks of ice I have ever seen. I remember the hermit crabs along the waters edge and the fact that some of them actually lived for quite a while back at home.
My brother and I were quite a handful back then and thinking back on it I can only imagine that was not an easy trip for my grandparents. But it was a trip that I will never forget! I wonder if they would have remembered it quite as fondly.
"It isn't the mountain ahead that wears you out; it's the grain of sand in your shoe."