The Beach

 

While on holiday we went to Manasota Beach, Boca Grande Beach, Venice Beach and Siesta Keys - and some of them we went to more than once. While last year on the beach it was all about shells, this year it was all about all the other good things about going to the beach. On Siesta Key the fine white sand is cool even on the hottest day and it is the only place in the world I have ever been to where the sand castles actually come out like the imprint on the bucket - effortlessly. We did lots of snorkelling - which the boys loved - and watched fish swim about around us like opaque, benign ghosts. We saw a manatee in the wild and watched its elephantine nose break the water. We saw dolphins frolic in the waves. Dad almost drowned himself on Mum's sixtieth birthday but that's another story and only available on application (of wine probably). Chris and I just caught the sunset on the last night and we all enjoyed the peaceful balance of nature and people on these beaches where you can't buy a coke or rent a sun-lounger but you can watch the birds fish, hunt for shells and swim in clear, warm water. Not a tough choice.