The Rest of the Story

Yesterday, I posted about our beach adventure. Since it was already a marathon post, I confined myself to only pictures of people. Today, I have a few of my other favorite pictures.

The ocean is truly amazing to me. I love the sound of the waves crashing and the reminder of how small we really are:
I want to make this one into a poster for Issa with the lyrics from "I Hope You Dance." ("I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean.")

I was terribly amused by the amount of stuff we hauled to the beach:

Two bags and a cooler. I love Issa's little shoes left behind while she's enjoying the sand between her toes.

How cool are these clouds?

I love the brightness of the beach toys against the white caps and clouds. I love that you can barely tell where the ocean stops and the clouds begin.

The boys' sand castle:

I added the "flag" for Evan.

These gulls are hilarious and ornery:

We actually felt like we were being surrounded as we picnicked, and we had to move our things closer to the water because one of the little rascals tried to fly away with Evan's diapers.

I just love this guy:

He was huge and just kind of chill...

...especially compared to this guy:

Evan and I watched this little guy run in and out of the waves, looking for treats the ocean brought in. He never tired; he just kept running and nibbling.

Here in NC, people talk about the beach, but I love the ocean. I love feeling small, and I am awed by the power of the waves and the surf. Maybe that's why I like gloomy days at the beach. The ocean really takes center stage in all her glory. Looking at these pictures, I can still hear the waves crashing, and life is good.