about beaches.

Hawaii is full of beaches. Some beaches are created just for tourists, with sand as soft as talcum powder, brought in by the truckload. Barriers go up, softening the waves into gentle murmurs, and lifeguards guard the buoyed off waters, complete with nets to keep the sharks away. Those beaches are relaxing, full of people, and, just a little, boring. 

Real beaches are wet and tangy, refreshing and wild. The crash of waves and spray of saltwater is constant. The sand is coarse and littered with small pebbles and broken seashells. The water in the ocean changes color with the sky and it swirls in a myriad of delicious hues. Sometimes grey, sometimes green, and sometimes the most shimmering shade of turquoise you have ever seen. The waves pull up from the deep, forming giant whitecaps. Breathtaking and intimidating at the same time. 

Those waves hold the power to hypnotize and make your mind churn as they crack against the shore. Sometimes, as I stood in the water, with the water foaming in swirling fingers around my toes, beckoning me to slide deeper into it's depths, I could almost feel myself being drawn out to sea. And then I would jump back to the safety of dry sand, away from the brilliant depths, the power of the ocean making me dizzy with fear. Timmy would laugh at me, and assure my rapidly beating heart that undertows don't manifest themselves in water less than six inches deep. Hmm. I was not convinced and rarely went into water deeper than my ankles. 

But there is so much more to real beaches than water. 

Palm trees bend and creak in the never ceasing wind that catches your hair and tugs at your clothes. Crab families skitter amidst craggy rocks and snails group in clusters along the rim of the shoreline. Bright green seaweed drapes in wet ribbons and seashells can be found by digging into the cool sand. 

But, the rocks are my favorite. Holes and spouts and crags, pounded into more shapes than you knew existed by the relentless waves. Small pools of water, warm from the bright sunlight, form here and there, home to tiny fish and mussels (until a huge wave comes and pushes them back out to sea). Sharp rocks that poke through your sandals, and smooth rocks, rounded out until they gleam. Ledges, columns, and caves are roughly carved away. 

It is fascinating to see such wild beauty created from pounding force. I have never felt closer to nature than my moments spent with Timmy on real beaches in Hawaii.