2011 Travels--Florida Part IV: On the Beach

On our last night in Florida, back in April, our hosts Doug and Matt took us to Captiva Beach to see the surf, walk on the sand, watch the sunset and have dinner at a legendary restaurant called The Mucky Duck. The surf was up, the tide was coming in, the breeze was brisk, and the sunset was, well, spectacular. 

 Palms near the restaurant waved in the wind as the setting sun painted the clouds an iconic Florida pink.

 As we walked from our car toward the beach, we spied an osprey having his or her supper high in a tree. I love the zoom lens on my Canon point-and-shoot!

 There was a 30-minute wait for a table, which was just fine because the changing light on the water and sand drew us to the beach with a mesmerizing, restless view that was hard to leave. We left footprints in the sand and waded in the chilly surf. But mostly we listened to the swoosh of the waves as they came ashore.

The light in the sky reflected in the pulsing water of the Gulf as it scoured the beach. As the sun got lower in the sky, the waves seemed to get taller, and the water took on the rich hue of precious metal: silver, or copper, or gold. 

 Perhaps the island is named Captiva for the way the play of light and the continual movement of water just captivate the visitor. It became a challenge to see if I could capture the break of a wave as it washed ashore. This was one time it worked.

 I've written elsewhere about my love affair with rivers, stalking the headwaters of the Mississippi, etc. But the sea is something else entirely. River levels drop, and lakes can dry up, but the sea just keeps coming. The supply of water is endless; it ebbs and flows but it never subsides. It is the nearest metaphor for eternity that I've been able to come up with. 

 The air and the sand are alive with myriad creatures who depend on the gifts the sea brings...smaller bits of life...for their sustenance. Many birds were active but none more interesting than the little sandpipers that dart straight out toward the incoming surf, but run back out of harm's way before the undertow can catch them.

 As this adventurous sandpiper stalked its dinner in the wet sand beyond the retreating surf, we heard our names called out to go in to the restaurant for dinner. The Mucky Duck serves good food in a jovial atmosphere and it felt good to be inside and out of the cool winds of the beach. Later, after we finished, and Norm had bought a souvenir cap and T-shirt (look for him wearing the cap in the garden or the shirt on a summer day) we went back outside and the sky was dark and full of stars. We went back to the sand but we couldn't see the water any more; it was a moonless night. But we could hear the waves, still coming ashore, although a little less urgently than before. I think the tide was going out.

And thus our 2011 Florida adventure came to a satisfying end, thanks to the ingenuity of these guys. We have many good memories to cherish and remember during the coming fall and winter, and we look forward to another visit to sunny Florida sometime in 2012.