This journey happened when most of the concerned people around were thinking us to be crazy. Hurricane Irma just said bye bye few days before we would start for our destination and our trip to the Seagrove Beach was planned much before anyone had an inkling about Irma. So we were closely monitoring the weather conditions for places we would cover on our road trip from Atlanta to Seagrove beach and things seemed to cool down a lot by the time it was Friday, the day we started. Atlanta – good and sunny, Seagrove beach- good and sunny, places in between – good and sunny, us- good and on our way.
I am not for long road trips so anything that goes beyond one hour is beyond my comfort zone. I know I know, why do I claim to be an enthusiastic traveller, one would ask?? Honestly if I could, I would walk or ride a bicycle, to every single destination on my wish list(can I be any more unreasonable??). Sitting in an enclosed space for any amount of time drives me nuts and I almost feel the need of a portkey at times like these, you know the one from the Harry Potter(love it, who doesnt!). But my silly issues being what they are, this one we made in six hours with just one pit stop in between to eat. It was not long before we made it to our beautiful one bedroom condominium facing the Gulf of Mexico.
Coming from a jungalow like situation at home few days ago(moved my plants inside due to Irma) to an ocean-facing view from our condo was a view to behold. Least to say, my weariness was gone in a minute. And what welcomed us next within minutes of our arrival was something I wasn’t expecting. I was speechless for few seconds and then came back to my senses and howled my husband’s name that startled him a bit. And there it was. A pack of dolphins jumping so close to the shore that calling it a million dollar view would be an understatement. To witness dolphins from our room doing what they do in their natural habitat is priceless. One cannot put a price tag on such rarity. It is one thing to watch trained dolphins do all the activities in a man-made habitat in aquariums or at a water-park but this was beyond all I had imagined to see and from our room. In no time, we were out in our balcony experiencing probably the best memory of our trip. None of us reached for our cameras and it was perfect.
I am not your happy early-riser and I just about manage to get up as I have to everyday. While on vacations, an upgraded version of me comes out who is never tired. I go to bed right on time and turn into this human being who is not grumpy about 5’o clock alarms. And so this time around, got up early to do my favorite things – watching sunrise, chasing waves, feel the ocean breeze, feel group of tiny fish swimming near my feet at the shore, watching a bird poke their beak into sand looking for food I guess and just gazing at infinity.
If you are like me who appreciates all things nature than the company of people, you would understand the magic one feels when the sky throws the myriad of colors during sunrise and sunset. It is magic and beyond. Not just the sky, the grim looking sand turns into shimmering white sand. Hermit crab concealed inside a shell who I assumed was lazing around like me was the only company I had in those early hours of morning. Every picture are worth a thousand words so here are a few thousand words.
My boys wake up, we have breakfast and now its time to be a part of hurly-burly beach-life which we were all looking forward to. Even with the hustle and the bustle that one normally expects at any beach, Seagrove Beach surprised me. There were people but it wasn’t crowded – it is nothing like your usual beach, it is much quieter. Two young gentlemen whom we saw everyday running their chair and umbrella rental were getting busy. My little boy took out his tools and went from building sand-dinosaurs to catching hermit crabs and giving them a new short-term habitat in his bucket to being just tired after playing for hours in the waves and sand. Releasing those crabs into their natural habitat was something he enjoyed doing the most – yes, we are animal lovers.
After the much needed afternoon nap, it was time to stroll on the beach and wait for the beautiful sunset to begin. The whole sequence of sun disappearing into the ocean a little more every second is such a dreamlike sequence for me that I can never get bored of it. I waited for it every evening and every inch of my skin absorbed it. Few unexpected encounters were cherry on the top especially for my son. A group of young boys who were returning from their fishing trip had caught these enormous fish. My son simply froze and stood their watching them clean fishes. Few other kids joined in and those young boys became celebrities. Us adults were also curious with lots of questions that my husband ended up asking and those boys very happily obliged. Then a guest who no-one recalls sending invitation to joins this little party of ours. A pretty decent size crab sits on their boat and was noticed by one of us. One of the guy holds it in his hand and shows it to the kids and well that guy is now a hero for them. Least to say, all this was a bonus and we thoroughly enjoyed meeting new people and listening to their stories. Would we go again? A million times Yes. Ending this blog with last few moments and the sunset clip that I have not only captured digitally but into my soul.
Sunset we waited for so patiently – excuse our conversation
Leave a Reply