The Seaside

The sand felt muggy between my toes and I wrapped myself up in the wonderful feel of it.  The waves sprayed saltwater at my ankles and I took a deep whiff of the sun-baked, humid air, tinged with sweat and suntan lotion.  I was in my own little world when I closed my eyes to the mass of people around me.  I blocked out all other voices except for the little girls that were squealing and laughing and dancing in the water nearby, like jumping fish.  They had been the most fun and amusing to listen to and watch, wearing pink sunbonnets that hid their flushed faces from adding more freckles to their wee noses, sporting pretty flamingo pink bathing suits with frills.  There was also, no doubt the youngest of the three siblings, a downy, blond-haired boy with chubby, sunburned cheeks who was plopped down in the sand by his parents along with his dandelion-yellow shovel and bucket-- far enough away from the waves so as not to be whisked out with the tide.  Helplessly clumsy when it came to building sandcastles, he only managed to flail his arms and make uninterpreted, but certainly animated and excited sounds when the water dared to come close enough to tickle his sensitive, little toes.  

Blinking, my eyelashes fluttered open when catching a waft of a new and fruity ice cream flavor from a nearby food truck that had parked near the sand dunes further up along the boardwalk's edge.  My teal eyes, the color of a cooler sea color, swept the horizon once more before my hunger got the better of me and, excitedly, I wheeled around, headed to satisfy my craving for something sweet.  Before taking off up the hill, however, I bent over and picked up my stranded flip flops that were covered in sand, and my large beach bag, slinging it over my bare, tanned shoulder, holding my peach colored flip flops precariously in my other free hand.  Skipping over scattered seashells, I began to weave my way through the somewhat-dispersed crowd of beach-lovers and made my way through the creamy smooth, eggshell-colored sand to the food truck.  I placed a quick order for peach ice cream and I was immediately served with a dripping waffle cone from the jolly, bearded man at the window, who was round enough in the middle for one to make an estimate that he had had one too many ice cream cones himself.  Carelessly, I dropped my possessions on the sand and wrapped my sticky fingers around the waffle cone, licking the creamy dessert so quickly, not only did my tongue turn a frosty red, I got an irritating brain freeze.  I finished my cone off in mere minutes, savoring the fresh peach flavor on my tastebuds.  I collected my valuables once again, and then clutching them close to my chest, I turned and my jaw dropped as I beheld the most gorgeous, colorful sunset I'd ever had the pleasure to see.  I planted my feet there in the sand near the dunes, with its wayward grasses swaying in the gentle breeze, and I watched unguardedly in sheer delight as the sun, ever so slowly, slipped away, creating many muted tones resembling a summer flower garden that flickered on the surface of the gently rolling waves.  Eventually, it sunk so low it appeared as though the ocean had opened its arms and embraced the breathtaking colors that danced across the sky, carrying it off until it magically disappeared, and, in that moment, dusk awakened, and I was left standing there, awestruck.

Author's Note

This isn't really a story. It's two descriptive paragraphs I wrote for my composition, based on my senses. I get to go to the beach ever so often (and lived only miles from it some years ago), so I played around with the idea to write about it. It's not supposed to be narrative writing. Anyway, I had fun with it and decided to post here. :) I hope you enjoyed it.

Reviews

[L.A.]

This is a very wonderful descriptive sketch :) It's full of great imagery that really appealed to my senses. It was nice to be whisked off my couch and away to the beach :P Awesome job.

[Kelly M.]

Thanks so much :)