Rhapsody by the Sea

The sound of the surf rushing in and gifting me with hundreds of shells at my feet; the salty caresses of the breeze on my skin; the laughter and shouts of other beach-goers; the kiss of the late afternoon sun; all these greeted me when, finally, we arrived at Captiva Island on the west coast of Florida.

The earlier storm, which gratefully, we missed, left the water rather rough but that did not discourage our rapid entry into the waves, splashing and frolicking like kids.

My puppy, Rhapsody, actually a puppy in size only, was introduced to the ocean. A dachshund, by breed and temperament, naturally abhors the water. At home, it takes much difficulty to coach her out of doors to use the bathroom if she detects the slightest amount of moisture on the driveway. So I was quite sure she would rapidly retreat from the very wet waves that every few moments threatened to overtake her. Though she certainly didn’t plunge into the surf and was quite cautious, she was also quite curious, carefully checking out each wave. She chased some sea birds and as she became acquainted with this new experience, she pondered the wisdom of proceeding down crab holes. All in all, she seemed to enjoy herself.

My companion and I relished the beautiful sunset, always a marvel, that orange ball dropping silently into the sea. Good food, pleasant conversation and a warm connection was a perfect ending to our first day but also a lovely prelude to the beginning of our mini vacation.

The next day dawned bright and beautiful. We walked across the street to the Gulf with a cooler full of water and other munchies and settled in for the day. My fair skin did not appreciate my lack of attention and as we floated for hours in the warm aqua water, I managed to burn myself nearly senseless. Too late, I applied sunscreen and donned a long sleeve shirt. But I know I’d do it all over again. The call of the sea is too compelling.

In addition to burning my skin practically off, a quick run across the hot sand scorched the bottoms of my poor little feet…compelling or not, I will NOT do that again. Flip-flops are my new best friend.

The next afternoon, we enjoyed a parasail ride. This was something I had wanted to do ever since I arrived in FL nearly 26 yrs ago. Finally I got to go. What an incredible experience! Sitting on the back of the boat, strapped into a harness, the boat took off and as the wind caught in the parachute, we were pulled off the boat and into the wind! Amazing! Exhilarating! Riding approximately 60 ft above the sea, we looked down and saw stingrays, dolphins, sharks, and a sea turtle or two. WOW! I would do it again and again, it was wonderful.

But as the saying goes “all good things must come to an end”, and so it did. But still my gratitude runs deep for the time spent in quiet solitude, enjoying God’s lovely gifts of nature with my companion, Sandy, who made it all possible.