Rekindling my relationship with the ocean

Yesterday, I made my annual pilgrimage to Aunt Carrie's in Point Judith, RI.  It is a classic shoreline clam shack with the best clam cakes ever.  Before visiting Rhode Island, I never heard of clam cakes.  They are tennis ball sized round fritters with cut up clams inside. 

I last visited Aunt Carrie's for a sit down dinner with my parents in 1999.  Little did I think that both of them would leave this place shortly thereafter. 

I arrived 30 minutes early and decided to visit the nearby Scarborough Beach.  I had not been to the ocean since my parents were here and it brought a flood of emotions.

When I was 10, my parents drove us to Cape Cod for a vacation on the 10 year anniversary of their honeymoon there. The ocean and the beach was always magical.  All of the sand, the force of the waves, the seafood, the sun, the seagulls, collecting shells, etc.  This time of year, the beach is nearly empty.

I reunited with the ocean when I first visited Rhode Island in the 1980s.  I visited Aunt Carrie's, ate clam cakes on the beach with beer, and sunbathed on the beach.

In the interim years, I rarely if ever went to the beach, focusing on work, my land and property.

When my parents visited in 1999, we all reunited with the beach, Aunt Carrie's and Cape Cod.  Randomly driving around Provincetown for the day, my Dad spotted the hotel which they spent their honeymoon at.  It was beyond a magical moment. Everything had come full circle.  My Dad was barely able to walk even with a cane, but he got out and walked the deck of that hotel. 

I returned to the ocean yesterday.  As I just stood and watched and listened, I was overwhelmed by the vastness and power.  The sound was strikingly loud to me.  I thought about my relationship with the ocean and decided to take off my socks and shoes. I thought this might be my last opportunity to experience this and I walked in the sand to the water.  I felt so small here. 

As I let the water run over my feet.  I struggled to keep my balance as the outgoing waves pulled the sand from beneath my feet.  Once again, feeling the power that I was touching. The smell of the salt water spray filled my lungs and sinuses. 

Touching the ocean rekindled all of my memories over the decades of my life and the ocean.