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Those who live by the sea can hardly form a single thought of which the sea would not be part.
-- Hermann Broch
Tuesday, July 8, 1997
Today my sister B---- and her two boys, my sister M----- and her two boys , and I all drove to Cape Henlopen State Park, which is on the beach at the northernmost point of the Delaware shore.
The non-commercial type of beach is the kind of beach I like. Camping vacations were all we went on when I was growing up. I don't know why my parents decided that camping would be a good family activity, but we started when I was around seven, and went for two weeks every year until I was in my teens.
So my idea of what a beach should be like was determined by the first beach I ever went to, Cape Hatteras National Park in North Carolina. A campground, a beach with barrier dunes, instead of a resort with houses, bars and motels.
Cape Henlopen meets my ideal of a beach. There is a pleasant, well designed bath house and a boardwalk bridge that takes you over the barrier dune to the beach. The surf was moderate and the lifeguards raised the yellow flag. I guess they only raise the green flag when the ocean is flat. We were there by quarter to nine in the morning, but luckily the weather was warm enough to warrant going in that early. We slathered on the sunscreen and hit the waves.
My nephews E---- and T----, the older boys, used boogie boards while my nephew J--- and I went just beyond where the waves were breaking and floated up whenever one passed us. I really love swimming in the ocean, and it's been a while since I last did it. The northwest coast isn't really meant for swimming.
My youngest nephew B----- danced back and forth at the water's edge, sometimes getting wet up to his waist. This was a chasing game after his heart's desire, since the ocean would chase him as long as he wanted. Most adults get tired of such games before kids do.
We left the beach at one o'clock (that's four solid hours of swimming) and drove back to our campsite at Killen's Pond State Park. Then the kids and my sisters went back for another session at the water park while I reposed myself and read a romance novel. Dinner was grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, then we slept the sleep of the well-excercised.
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