After five hours in the car, driving across the middle of Texas, the last sound I wanted to hear was traffic after I pulled into my campsite at Galveston Island State Park. So I walked away from the road and out onto the beach. Ah, the Gulf Coast is glorious, even when the sun is well-hidden behind the clouds. The waves are endless and they create a natural noise that drowns out everything else.
These two old men passed me, the sounds of a lively conversation reaching me over the surf. I loved the image of them so much I took their picture. It reminds me of long beach walks with my own friends.
An hour’s walk letting the sound of the water wash over me was exactly what I needed.
Postscript: Just in case you think beach walking on the Gulf Coast is all happiness and light, well, here’s the sign at the entrance…
Venomous snakes. I guess it’s trying to prepare me for Louisiana and Florida.
We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch, we are going back from whence we came.
John F. Kennedy