Going to the Beach Today

It's a beautiful, warm and sunny day today, and Melissa and I are heading out to the beach...Daytona Beach, that is.  Specifically, to Daytona Beach Shores and the hotel we stayed at back in early March. With my back feeling much better than the last time we went, I'm looking forward to swimming some and running on the beach.  Plus, just relaxing around and enjoying the ocean and sand...

Also, there's something special about going out on the beach at night, with the stars overheard and the dark surf crashing ashore on one side.  During the last few years, it has been more pleasant with the hotel lights dimmed in order to help out the sea turtle population, which apparently needs darkness at night.  Good, I never did like all of those blinding lights anyway...

When I was a kid, the big attraction for me at the beach was to venture out into the ocean and go up and down with the waves, occasionally doing battle with them as they broke just before reaching me.  As a father, I'd also go out there...with my own kids, who had the same sense of adventure.  But quite honestly, given the choice, nowadays I'd just as soon confine my oceanic forays to wading in the water at about ankle-level!